Talking to strangers

Once upon a time, Annabelle winked at strangers in passing. Separation anxiety seemed to bring an end to that fun phase. Then, gradually as she began to talk more, she would occasionally offer a "Hi!" or at least stare at them instead of burrowing her head in my shoulder when spoken to by a stranger.

Today she clearly found a catch phrase that fit every single interaction with any adult.

To the chiropractor this morning, the clerk at the store, the shopper who stopped to comment on her dress, the guy at the recycling center who loaded our car... they all got the same puckered face, squinty eyes and then, with a mischievous smile, a very loud, over-articulated, "YOU'RE SOOO SILLY!!!!"

Six inches

I promised myself that I wouldn't cut it. I wanted her to be in Kindergarten with those sweet newborn curls on the end of her long blonde locks. I wanted it to be her decision.

But nightly screams during hair brushing changed my mind. And I was regularly cutting out huge masses of tangles. And last month she cut her own bangs with the scissors. And I finally realized that it was time.

It turned out cuter than I expected. And better yet, she loves it! "CUT MORE!", she said this afternoon.

Before ::

After ::