Model child

We went through a couple of years where Elisabeth, our strong-willed child who will undoubtedly do the opposite of what we'd like because that's the kind of model child she is, refused to smile for the camera. It was like we were torturing her by asking her to take a nice picture for us. We often used reverse psychology to get the smile out of her; that is until she was old enough to pick up on our tactics and then we were just left smile-less.

That is until recently. Now when I break out the camera she picks out the perfect location, cocks her head to the side, and gives me a gorgeous look. A lot of the whole posing thing started with her first teen idol Hannah Montana, and her desire to be all grown up and cool like Miley. But now I honestly think she's blossoming into this tiny grown up person who just likes to smile for the camera. When it's on her terms, of course (because some things will most likely never change - and I have a feeling the strong-willed nature of our sweet Elisabeth is here to stay).

She has been so amazingly helpful with Sydney lately, who is starting to enter a bit of a defiant/stubborn stage. Elisabeth has a way of calming Sydney down and explaining the facts to her in ways that I could only dream of. And she gives the best advice to her baby sister. Tonight we had the joy of hearing Elisabeth say "Sydney, you need to listen and respect your mama." AMEN TO THAT!