A couple of cuties

The “cute factor” was off the charts on a recent Saturday, as 120 babies flashed their prettiest smiles as they competed at the Clark County Fair. But the cutest of them all was a true little bundle of sunshine, appropriately named “Sunni.”

Sunni Lambert, daughter of Megan and Travis Lambert of Washougal, took home the top prize during the fair’s “Pretty Baby” contest. The proud mom said her 14-month-old daughter has a naturally outgoing nature.

“We get a lot of comments on her personality,” said Megan, 27. “Her dad is kind of quiet, so I guess it would have to be credited to me.”

Megan’s longtime friend Brandie Castellani, 27, also entered her daughter, Preslie, 11 months, into the Pretty Baby contest. Both women, as well as their husbands are Washougal High School graduates.

After meeting in the seventh grade, Megan and Brandie became fast friends. Through high school, they played sports and participated in a variety of school activities together. They were even maid and matron of honor in each others’ weddings.

“We’ve hit most of the major milestones together,” Megan said.

With their daughters so close in age, they are hoping Sunni and Preslie will also become friends.

“No pressure for the girls,” Megan said, “but we hope it carries on.”

Initially, the friends didn’t think their daughters would be competing against each other during the Pretty Baby contest. But as it turned out, the two ended up in the same age group category — 10 to 14 months.

“It was fun that we were in the same category,” Megan said. “We thought it was cute.”

At the end of that initial competition, Preslie placed first and Sunni placed second. But in the overall competition, which included the top two babies from each four categories, Sunni turned on the charm as she ran across the stage in front of the judges.

Pageant winning happens to run in the family. Sunni’s great-grandfather, the late Oral “Sonny” Wilson, whom she is named for, won a prettiest baby contest in Stevenson 85 years ago.

Despite the win, Megan said she doesn’t plan on making pageantry a habit for her daughter.

“It was just for fun,” Megan said. “But my family keeps giving me a bad time, saying ‘you’re going to be a pageant mom.'”