Hair Photo Shoot

Breeley's hair has finally started getting some length to it, and by "length" I really mean more curls! When we are washing her hair and it's straight it goes halfway down her back, but when it's dry it is just at her shoulders. I used to always put it half up because it was in her face so much (and all over the place) and tended to be frizzy, which we call "crazy hair." It is starting to lay a little flatter, so I've been letting her wear it down a lot more lately, which she prefers. She'll say, "I don't want a hair bow; my hair's not crazy today."

I've been loving her hair more than ever, so I decided to snap a few quick shots the other night (without any combing or styling whatsoever since about 12 hours earlier). She was happy to model for me:

  

A cute little girl with red, curly hair gets a lot of attention. Just today at a store I overheard a woman say, "We're hoping for red hair... (voice trails off as she spots Breeley as we pass)... like THAT. Oh my gosh!" Breeley learned a long time ago to say "thank you" when people say they like her hair, which happens often.

Because of that, I was very confused to recently realize that people get picked on for having red hair. My college roommate and a good friend in high school had red hair, and I don't remember anyone making fun of their hair or calling them "ginger." That doesn't mean it didn't happen (it probably did), but I feel like I was with these two girls enough that 12 years later, I shouldn't have been completely naive and had no clue that "ginger" was used as a derogatory put-down. Now I'm noticing it more, and What Would You Do? even did a segment where a kid with red hair was being bullied.

Last year, when Breeley first switched to a new class, some older girls were giggling after something she said. I'm sure it was completely innocent and not even directed at her, but for some reason it hit me that one day someone is actually going to make fun of my child and mean it. I pictured her with head hung and a broken spirit, ashamed, embarrassed, and not wanting to speak up again, and the image nearly brought me to tears. That kind of thing can have a huge impact on a child's self-esteem and confidence, and I realize that one day, I won't be able to protect her. That is not a great feeling. But the thought of her hurting over the color of her hair, now that just makes me mad!!

For some reason, people think it's okay to make comments and judge based on hair color alone. (Think about all the blonde jokes you've heard.) It may be okay to joke with confident adults, but for the record, it's not very cool to comment to a 3-year-old that she must be a "fireball" or have a temper. Today at the grocery store (different store than above--it's impossible to go anywhere without hearing hair comments), the check-out clerk said, "I bet one of these kids has a temper?" I responded, "Yes, but it's not the red head!" I'm a big believer in the idea of "self-fulfilling prophecy" and I don't want either of my kids to hear negative things that they may start to believe about themselves, and then act on. I feel the same way about people saying, "I bet she's gonna hate her hair one day." I'm pretty sure most girls hate their hair at some point, but I don't want to give her any ideas or make her think there's some reason she should hate her hair. I hope she always loves her hair as much as I do!

SC Fair: Find Your Happy

I loved the theme of the state fair this year: Find Your Happy! This might be my new motto. It goes along the same line as "make it a good day," which is another favorite ditty of mine. They are good reminders that our happiness is largely up to us.

Here are some things that made us happy at this year's fair:

Breeley was big enough for many of the kid rides and she was fearless! She is often timid and cautious with new situations, so I'm amazed when she just jumps on by herself. (She did the same thing at Tweetsie Railroad.) She was so excited to wave to us on every ride.


 
We had fun riding with her on a few--except the swings. Neither Brian or I are fans of the swings. Brian did a "doubles swing" with her and admitted to feeling queasy afterwards. Later, I was hesitant to let her go on a single swing because I thought she'd freak out by herself. Nope, it was the only ride she asked to go on again!!
 

 Zack was too short for most of the rides, but he enjoyed watching Breeley, and he loved the few rides he got to go on.

We're in the second-to-last car. Breeley is laughing and waving at Daddy and Zack.

I love this picture! Zack was so excited!


Breeley ended up crying on this motorcycle ride, but not because she was scared. Another (older) kid started crying after the ride started, so they stopped to let him off. She thought it was over and started to unbuckle her seatbeat right as they were starting again, so we both jumped toward her and yelled to stop. Ever the sensitive one, it startled Breeley and she thought she was in trouble, so then she cried. Thankfully, we moved on quickly and all was well.

 

I like to watch all the shows, but it's hard to get there at the scheduled times and then get the kids to sit still if it's not highly interactive or stimulating. We watched the pig races, but the kids loved the High-Flying K9s the best. Zack loves dogs and was entranced!



View from the Ferris Wheel, with USC football stadium in the background.

Of course we had to indulge in some yummy fair food! I got a delicious Greek gyro and Brian got his usual polish sausage. The kids had corn dogs and fries. We aren't very adventurous with our food selections, but we did get the kids ice cream cones and let them go at them alone! Zack caused many passing chuckles because his ice cream ended up all over his face!


I always like checking out the animals, and these cows were HUGE!! It was cool to see young kids taking care of many of the animals. I often wonder what my life would have been like if we'd stayed on the farm and I grew up as a WV 4-H girl. I bet I'd be right at home with the sights, sounds, and smells of these barns!

Breeley making a pig face. She was also oinking.

We got to the fair in late afternoon and were there until after 10:00!! We didn't have time to visit the exhibits, which was only a disappointment to me, so I took advantage of free lunchtime admission and went during lunch at work one day. I browsed the artwork, checked out the giant sand replica of the State House, and found my friend Anna's prize-winning ginger cookies, brownies, and canned pickles! (I don't eat pickles, but she gave us a jar of her dill pickles and Brian said he agreed with the judges' first-place ranking!)

Helicopters. Swings. Smiling kids. Racing pigs. Flying dogs. Food. Ice cream. Family. Fun. I'd say we found our HAPPY!