No such thing as a candid...

Without fail, every time I break out the camera to try to catch something cute that the kids are doing, Addy drops whatever she's doing to strike a pose. She's quite good at it, actually. She's got those deep brown eyes and a sweet little smile that makes her quite photogenic, if I do say so myself.

Her "standard" pose is as follows: head tilted slightly to the side (okay, usually it's way more than slightly), hands folded and tucked neatly under her chin, with a demure little smile. Don't ask me where she learned this. I swear I did not coach her.

She even attempts to do it one-handed while swinging. Is this girl talented, or what?

Her other favorite trick is to beg me to photograph her with her favorite "props." This could be anything that she's carrying around with her: a favorite toy she's latched onto that particular day, an outfit she thinks is especially cute, or anything else she considers "camera worthy."

It's gotten to the point that anytime she snuggles up to one of the babies, or does something equally cute, she instructs me, "You should take a picture of this, Mom."

This is one of my very favorite pictures of Addy, and I think it's because it's the real, unguarded, natural Addison--caught relaxing with her usual method of self-soothing (sucking her tongue, which she has done since she was a baby, but only when she's got her blanket up to her mouth). This picture probably isn't that remarkabl;e to anyone else, but to me it's a perfect likeness of a part of Addy that is not usually caught with the camera. Her cute little poses are great, but this one is just so real to me. Guess that's why I love it.

Spontaneous shots like this are rare, but that's okay. I guess it's obvious she is the product of a camera-crazy mama! I hope she never grows out of being a willing subject of my photos.