The big one.

March 13, 2011 by janette | 2 Comments

We’ve been talking with Ellie for awhile now about cutting her beautiful hair.

It had gotten to the point where she’d cry when i mentioned combing it…which when you do it everyday…got to be a little much.

She didn’t like the tangles when she woke up, after bath, after nap, or after playing…

So, we decided it was time.

The before picture. I took this one right before we went to preschool. I told her that morning I’d be braiding her hair because I wouldn’t be able to for a long time after the haircut.

I think the whole thing was so hard and took so long for us to do because I remember when this kid didn’t have hair. We waited and waited for her to get hair…for her two year old pictures, I put a bow in it to sweep her bangs to the side, but it wasn’t even long enough for pig tails.

She kept telling me she wanted it cut as short as mine…well, we didn’t go that short. Just something about going from super long to super short all at the same time may have pushed me over the edge. I thought it was appropriate as i was leaving work today, someone told me to be brave through the haircut…not Ellie…me. I’m not sure why hair is as big of a deal to me as it is…I need to let it go. Someday she’ll probably dye it green for St. Patrick’s day…and then what will i do?

We put it in a ponytail and then started measuring. Pantene Great Lengths and Pink Heart Fund needs 8 inches at least, Locks of Love needs 10. We didn’t have a set length or style we were set on, we just kept sliding the band until we felt it was good. We ended up agreeing on donating 10.5 inches…meaning it would cut between 11 and 11.5 off her hair. Whew.

Here goes…that big first cut. She says right before this, “I’m going to be brave. Let’s cut it.”

(Keep in mind, she also thinks by cutting her hair, we’ll never have to comb it again. I reassured her we’d still be combing it everyday…it just wouldn’t take nearly as long and there wouldn’t be nearly as much of it to get tangled.)

And she was brave…and she was one excited little girl. The look on her face is priceless. SO EXCITED!

My hairdresser must think we’re nuts…with as often as we take a camera in for our haircuts. I’m sure she loves it when we show up. She’s been cutting my hair for 15 years, she should be used to my craziness by now. I think it’s kind-of fun that she was the one that cut my hair from mid-back to chin length 14 years ago, and now she did the same with my daughter’s today.

At this point, I’m starting to realize just how different she’s going to look…so big! It was also at this point, she looked into the mirror and says “don’t i look fabulous?” What a kill.