In true beauty contest style Ella Martin was quite overcome and shed a tear or two when the spotlight turned on her.
So Michele Martin thought her adorable 17-month-old daughter was unlikely to win the Northern Advocate Baby Photo Competition.
But Ella's big, limpid eyes and slightly anxious expression struck a note
with the judges - the public - and the Matarau toddler took first place with 520 votes.
Mum Michele is thrilled, but Ella's win is not the Martin children's first in a baby photo competition. Ella's brother Andrew, 9, won a similar one when he was a tiny tot. There was no baby contest held when brother Brad, 7, was little - but he was gorgeous too, his mum said.
The first 120 babies to be registered had their photos displayed in the Advocate last week. The $15 entry fee covered the babies' Pixie Foto studio shots. Judging was by text messaging or voting form, with all proceeds from the 99c per call texts going to Plunket.
Ella received the second highest number of votes across all the Advocate's sister APN newspapers running the contest in their own regions. It was the first time the Advocate had run the competition.
