Cadence...smiles?

So it takes a lot of work to get our girl Cady to smile for the camera. I will follow her around for several days at a time saying things like, "Cady smile for mommy!" "Cady! I'm gonna tickle you!" "Cady if you don't smile I'm gonna..." You get the "picture" I am sure. Mostly what I get is pictures like this:

Sure she looks darn cute, but she would look infinitely cuter if she would just SMILE! Fortunately she has been very good about smiling when we are actually PAYING for the pictures so that counts for something.

Just the other day though she obliged me and our photo shoot came out like this:

YEAH! I KNOW! Adorable, cute, should be on TV, right? ***sigh*** I so wish that she would do this kind of thing all the time. As it is, she gave me about 15 shots to work with and they will be perfect for Christmas cards in case she never gives me anymore to work with!
She is turning into a regular little demon, and I mean that in the most loving way possible. She is talking in complete sentences though some of the words aren't all that recognizable. If we don't understand then she just takes us and shows us (all with a "you should know this by now" attitude). She has taken to screaming (yes I said screaming but this appears to be the standard decibel level for children this age) the word "No!" whenever she feels like it, which is just about all the time (especially in the car and at the dog who is, in her esteemed opinion, lower in the pecking order than she is). Her FAVORITE song is "If your happy and you know it" and she will demand that it be sung anytime she hears the word "happy." That and she wants you to skip the clap your hands part and go right to the stomp your feet part cause that is (obviously) the best part. She also has Brady melting at the word "Please."

But she is ours and we love her, because most of the time she is cuddly, sweet, helpful, and obliging. She is so independent and spirited. Our house is filled to the brim with her laughter and silliness. I wouldn't want her any other way, even when she is in demon girl mode, because then she wouldn't be Cadence and that would break my heart.