so... I caved

For years Monkey has been begging... complaining... nagging... demanding... ranting... etc... for a hair cut.  I have told her "no" over and over.  Her last short cut was three years ago and since then, we have only done trims, to keep it healthy.  I've told her she was doomed to have long hair until she learned to care for it.  I really hoped that she would, and that in the doing, she'd learn to enjoy her curls.  Well, it hasn't been working.  Although she loves the way her hair looks when it's nicely styled, she just can't seem to care for it on her own, and doesn't want help, either.  She still can't successfully brush through her hair, so the tangles just build and build until I step in and get them out, and by then it's usually a painful experience that we both hate.  She still can't wash it well and her hair and scalp get... yucky.  So, yesterday, I caved.  I offered her a hair cut.  Maybe she'll do better learning to brush and scrub short hair at age 12. 

 BEFORE.  Goodbye curls...

AFTER.  Short A-line, layered in the back.  It's a lot like Nini's current cut, only with more hair.  I had her leave one side not tucked behind her ear, so we could show how long (I mean short) it is at the front.  I'll have to get some pics of the back and of it styled.

For the record, although she loves her short hair, she has instructed me NOT to cut her hair again, no matter how much she begs, for the next three years, so she can have long hair for High School.  :)