Her hair

I had to capture this particular phase Anna is going through. She is obsessed with her hair. Before school each morning she will gaze at herself in the mirror and ponder which hairstyle to go with.

She has her own style vocabulary: Circle braid, sidetail, full hairtail, alien buns, twisties, half braid, full braid, flat, the list goes on.

The style is not the only choice, either - then come the accessories. Flowers, clips, bows, headbands...

And boy, is she particular. Most days the hair gets done without incident. But then there are the other days. The days that make me cringe because they foreshadow days of melt downs over her hair in high school.

If she can't get the curls to lay just right or the clip to go where she wants it to, stand back. She will proclaim her hair "weird" and stomp/roll her eyes better than any 13 year old.

I try to console her as best I can (if my patience allows), but my words usually make the situation worse (a daughter getting annoyed with her mom?!?). I just hate that she would ever not like the way she looks (having those beautiful curls and all), but we've all been there. And, I do believe she has a flair for the dramatic.

I hope the future isn't too hairy in this arena (ha ha)...

I think she's beautiful no matter what!

Circle braid with flowers

Half sidetail with a twist (and blue arms/red face)

Fancy sidetail

Twisties

Headband (and a beautiful sweater made by Grammy)