Megan McKinley Photography: My 3-year-old Ella

Well, I have to tell you, I never thought it would happen. I never thought Ella would happily go with me and have her photos taken. I have been planning her three-year-old shoot in my head for months now, but I was dreading every moment of it. I knew our experience with photos - the fighting, the bribing, the threatening, the screaming and the crying, and I was definitely not looking forward to it. Then last week I decided that it just could not be put off any longer and I had to just bite the bullet and take her out and try to get some decent photos for her. That's all I had come to expect, just decent. Just one photo in which she wouldn't be crying or screaming or making funny faces at me.

So for the two days before her shoot I started to talk to her about it. We talked about what she would wear and how much fun it would be and how beautiful she would look. She almost seemed excited about it. Then on Saturday morning she actually was excited about it. She willing let me try clothes on her and get her ready. Weird, I thought. This must just be the calm before the storm. When we arrived in the park she was still excited. She let me fix her hair, we gave her some balloons, and she was happy as a clam. And that's when the really amazing thing happened - she let me take her photos. She went where I asked her to, she posed, she let me change her clothes, she LISTENED. This child of mine actually cooperated with me. It was like a miracle! I don't think I could have been happier.

I was so thrilled that I ended up taking way too many photos, but here are some of my favorites. Yes, there are a lot. That's because I am still so proud of how well she acted for me. It gives me hope for the future and makes my heart smile. So here she is, my three-year-old (when did she get so old?) Ella.