Summer haircuts

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(seriously, she has the most creative poses for photos)

When the girls woke up Friday morning they were insistent that it was the day to finally get their haircuts.  Honestly Kait has been asking for quite some time to get hers cut again, she very much prefers it short but grew it out for ballet recital at mama's request.  I'm really not sure what took us so long to actually make it to the salon to get it cut, but something always seemed to get in the way of our plans.  It turns out that we were delayed for a very good reason.  Kinsley came home from her dance camp this summer ready to jump on the haircut bandwagon, which was really quite a shock to all of us.  You see, she's always insisted on keeping her hair long and never wanted scissors anywhere near it so we knew she had a really good reason in mind for this sudden change.  Of course Mama had to snap a couple before pictures...

Aren't they adorable with their new shorter looks?  Kinsley was a bit apprehensive just before the cutting started, but she quickly built up excitement and by the time the haircut was over we could hardly keep her feet on the ground.  Bouncy doesn't even begin to describe her mood for the rest of the day, though it's certainly a good place to start.  But, I don't think it was simply due to her new and lighter look, you see she had an ulterior motive for cutting her hair. 

During summer dance camp she heard the other moms and girls talking with one of the sweet dance moms who was diagnosed with breast cancer over the summer.  She asked a bit about what it all meant and why she was losing her hair and we explained as much as we could, and as much as she seemed to need.  She really didn't mention much about it after, but a week or so later she came to me asking if her hair could be used to help make a wig for her friend's mother.  Absolutely yes!

Sometimes your kids will do something that stops you right in your tracks and makes you think that perhaps you are doing a pretty good job at this parenting gig after all - this was one of those moments for me.  Helping others is something that has always been important to us, and we try to model that example for the girls and get them involved from a very young age.  Donating to charities and causes, volunteering our time where we can, and always looking for ways to help those around us are things we've done for so long that the girls can sometimes seem to gloss over the importance of it.  While it's great that the girls view these things as commonplace in their lives we don't want them to do it just because it's what we do.  We've made a conscious effort to explain the "whys" behind doing these things as well, to help them really understand the importance of looking carefully at the world around them and seeing beyond themselves.  But sometimes, when raising young kids, it can seem like so much of what we say goes in one ear and right out the other, but I'm here to tell you it's not.  

They are watching, and listening to everything you say and do so keep right on doing it.  Keep leading by example and being the kind of person you want your children to be and they'll get there, and they'll likely even surprise you along the way.  And sometimes, they might even teach you a thing or two as well...