My baby girl... Growing up....

After 2 yrs of growing her hair out, my baby girl has finally donated close to 13 inches to Locks of Love (www.locksoflove.org) .... It's something we've been putting off for a few months waiting for the opportunity to take her in for some nice pictures of her with long hair. So we went in yesterday morning for the pictures and then got it cut yesterday afternoon. This is a picture of her hair the night before, before we started rolling it in curlers. It's nearly to her waist right now. This is her hair after the rollers were placed in. It was a family affair getting ready for this. Dad took pictures, and both brothers were in there watching. As you can see, Joey thought it was quite amusing. :-) He was doing it all in fun.. As a side note, yes the mirror says Love you too.... Jeff will quite often write me a note on the mirror in my lipstick, and had written Good morning I love you... And then I wrote that message back to him. He used to write me notes in the steamed mirror all of the time, but our shower is so far away from the mirror they don't get steamed over anymore.

Aleena's curly hair before heading out to our photo shoot... I'm so glad it took so well, I've never rolled her hair before... And here's my gorgeous girl after her hair cut. She looks so grown up!!
For days leading up to going in and donating it she talked non-stop about it, so thrilled that she was getting ready to do this. After the ponytail got cut off she held it and stuck out a pouty lip. It was finally sinking in for her what she was doing. After it was all cut off though she was happy with her decision again. She went on and on about how great it felt, couldn't wait to brush it, wash it, wondering what kind of styles I could do with it, how fast it would grow out etc. That was until late last night when her hair dried and we stuck it in a ziploc bag to be mailed out. She broke down in tears in my arms, sad that it was gone. It was so heartbreaking. She knows that her hair will grow back, and that she's doing it for a great cause. She cried about it for about 30 mins or so, and has been fine since then. It's a big shock, and a major change for her.

I've always said I feel like I'm doing a good job as a parent. I know I make mistakes, we all do. But I think I'm setting a good foundation for them. I always say I won't know the full effect of what I'm doing until they are adults and I see the parents they become. But it's moments like this, that I sit back with a smile on my face... "I've done something right here...." I'm VERY proud of my baby girl. Words just can't express the joy this experience has brought to me. She realizes now that she's done something good. And I know one day she'll really understand it all in full depth, and have a full sense of gratification on what she's done.

I love you babygirl!