Ava was not having a good day.

No matter what we did, where we went, what we offered or how we pleaded, she was not having any of it. She was just not interested in having her picture taken.

All of us who are parents know that sometimes it’s just like that with 2-year-olds. There are times when they are willing to do whatever you ask. And then sometimes they cannot be persuaded for love or money.

Ava was definitely the latter on this day. So after 15 minutes of trying, we suggested to mom Leslie and dad Matt that we reschedule, which was not a problem for us. We would rather Ava be a willing participant than to push a situation that was unlikely to get better.

Turned out that was the right choice. A couple of weeks later, we met again and Ava, who was our runner-up in this past spring’s Cutest Kid Contest, was in a much better mood. She was happy, mom and dad were happy and we were able to capture some pretty cute moments.

A few of shots from the first session turned out, but the vast majority of them were from the makeup. And that’s just fine. Sometimes you just need a do-over.