They say the apple does not fall far from the tree. When it comes to my girls and their hair, though, if I’m the tree, my little apples have gone and rolled out of the orchard and are currently making their way across county lines to be sold at the market.

Both my husband and I have thick, textured, wavy hair. It’s one of our best features! Our girls, however, have been blessed—or cursed rather—with thin, brittle, straw like locks. Up until very recently, neither girl has preferred to have her hair done up in barrettes or ponytails, which makes matters worse, since the wayward strands cannot be contained. Basically, the girls’ hair is in a state of ratty bed head throughout the day, despite several attempts to brush, comb and detangle it. It’s also a sad fact that our littlest has less hair than most six-month-olds; she will be two in just over a month.

Above: Our oldest’s typical summer-do a couple of years ago. Sweat and sunscreen make for good styling. Below: Making muffins with weekend morning bedheads.

         Back view of midday, post-nap rat’s nest.

                      Side view of the same nest.

The good news is that the girls have just recently gotten into hair accessories. They enjoy wearing an occasional headband (for a few minutes, at least), and are experimenting more and more with wearing barrettes. Just this weekend I taught the oldest how to attempt a ponytail. She’s been practicing on me, her dolls and stuffed animals, and her little sister, of course! I’m hopeful that this practice will encourage her to let me style her hair more. At least until it grows into its full potential and matches the strength and beauty of her parents’ tresses. If this is not in the cards, well, we can always get into wearing hats.

Evidence of the oldest’s use of random hair things as practice on the poor pet plant frond. 

Little sister gets pigtails (done by older sister), and pet pony gets an aptly named pony tail!

A self-do in action. We can only improve from here, right?