I Should Archive This For Her Future Therapy Sessions

What's the point, exactly, of the photography classes that I have taken if this child refuses to cooperate for my pictures? I think the trick to being a good photographer is to not be related to the kid you are photographing.

That, or a lot of great Prozac.

I want you to know that one millisecond before I took this picture she was standing up and looking straight at the camera asking me to take her picture. But by the time I put my eye through the viewfinder she looked like this:

...and then she mocked me by laughing hysterically.
As if to say, "haha! All those nights that you have been away from us trying to figure out your fancy camera were for nothing!" or possibly, "Good try, Lady, but I will beat you with my blatant disregard for anything you have to say. Ever." or maybe even, "I think I will mess with your head and ask you to take my picture over and over but then refuse to actually stand still while you snap the photo."

And then she started dancing around so it was impossible to get a clean shot. Of course, she knows that. She has several tricks up her sleeve and she pulls them all out when the camera leaves the bag. The camera, by the way, that SHE asked me to get out.
Of course, this is the worst. She finally agrees to stand still (in a place with a terrible background) and then gives the world's cheesiest smile because SHE KNOWS that it will get under my skin.

But I am older and wiser. And I know what will get under her skin...

Hi Happy Boy! What a great smiler! Look at my big boy and his willingness to participate in my attempts to take pictures in order to document their childhood. No issues with the "second child not getting as many pictures as the first" in this family because he is very cooperative.
...Even if he doesn't know what to do with his hands when I tell him to stop trying to kill the bushes in the front yard. (The poor, poor bushes that we planted in the Spring and then nursed as best we could during the 106 degree summer we had this year. Wasn't that enough abuse for those poor plants? Why must they now endure the wrath of a 19 month old? They are still alive, though! Check out my mad horticulture skills!)

(Except that I haven't cut the established bushes in my yard all summer so they look like an uneven mess. But why are we even discussing this when we should be discussing my psychological warfare against Avery?)

Clearly she realizes that she has been defeated. I almost feel sorry for her as she looks down in defeat with a sad little smile painted on her face. She is a great adversary but victory is mine.

(Unless you consider "victory" to be getting an actual good picture of her. In that case, I guess you could say it is a draw.)