Um, Sam...

The best way to make a change where kids are involved is to make a blanket statement. "She already sleeps through the night!" will certainly be followed by no sleep for a month. "He is so good at listening to me!" can cause a great kid to turn into a monster. I avoid blanket statements for this very reason. But I thought I was safe with one -

"Sam ALWAYS takes great pictures!"

This is now how Sam smiles when a camera comes out. Every time. I beg and plead and this look never comes off his face. I tell him to think of something nice and he looks like this. I ask him to smile gently and he looks like this. I tell him I'll give him candy if he relaxes and he looks like this.

And I JUST started figuring out how to get good pictures of Matilda. I give up.