Pretty Purple Girl

Leah loves wearing dresses and being so physically active she doesn't wear them as much as she'd like. Today she was happy to wear a cute maxi dress.

Getting a Lil Manic Panic'd

Leah has been bugging me and asking to dye her hair purple for 3 years. Every year I've told her "maybe in the Summer" but the Summer would come around and we'd never get around to it. I promised her once it was the last week of school I'd do it for her.

I struggled quite a bit with the decision. I spoke to other friends, including two top of the line Vidal Sassoon colorists (one does Dakota Fanning's hair and other celeb kids) about it and at the end of the day I decided that it Leah's hair and she could do what she wants with it. Her stake in her own individuality is more important to me than what others may deem as appropriate for a 7 year old.

Hair at the end of the day is a decoration and as such she can choose what to do with it. My only guidelines were that she had to take care of it and that it would only be for the Summer. In elementary school hair colors can be a bit too much of a distraction for some kids.  It was just like her ear piercings. I refused to take her until she wanted to have it done and was willing to care for them on her own.

In order to get the purple she wanted I knew we'd have to lighten her hair, after some research on what the best natural alternative would be we settled on a plan of action. She wanted just the front of her hair done so we lightened the front. Followed by an application of Manic Panic Purple Haze. Manic Panic is a great choice for anyone who wants some alarmingly unnatural colors. It is gentle on the hair as it is a vegetable based dye (Vegan too!) and it is a conditioner. It stains the hair, is semi-permanent and on hair like Leah's? It washes out very quickly. She will be swimming every day at camp so it won't be long before it's gone and I'll have to retouch it.  I've been using it for years (since childhood) and considering all the comments I get about how vibrant and shiny my hair is? I felt confident that her hair would be fine afterward and that her health would not be adversely affected.

She absolutely loves it and I do love that she shares my love for the quirky and fun colored hair. It suits her.

First Dance Competition--Bravo!

Today Leah competed in her first ever dance competition. She's on a team of 7 & 8 year olds. They danced 4 routines together and one large company routine. Their dances include lyrical, jazz, hip-hop and tap. Leah has worked hard this year and has been dedicated to attending her dance classes, practicing her routines and staying on top of her school work as well. She danced very well and the team won Golds/high gold for their dances.

Our day began earlier than usual. Leah woke up on her own, showered and then woke me up to help get her ready. I made sure to organize, label and double AND triple check all of her supplies the night before. I did the same two more times in the morning.

Except for two mishaps (both my doing) everything worked out well. I braided Leah's hair the wrong way so I had to fix it when we got to the school. We also had an issue with a wig she wears for her tap number. Even though we had it held down with a dozen bobby pins AND she danced, jumped and ran for 15 minutes before her dance, it still fell off her while dancing. We will make sure this does not happen again at the next competition. I missed the number because I ran to grab some coffee and it took longer than expected. Fortunately a parent recorded it so I was able to see it. She danced beautifully even with the wig coming off her head.

Sleepover with Abuela

This weekend Leah spent the night with my mom, Abuela, in the Bronx. They had a great time together. Went out to dinner, stayed up late watching a movie, spent the next day getting haircuts & having their hair done, went shopping. All the things any girl would love to do, especially Leah.

My mom took her to the salon & after her haircut Leah got her first professional blow out. What a big girl!

She also bought some new clothes. Very cute pair of boats and sweater Leah is in love with.

Fashion Diva

Leah in an outfit my mom bought her recently- jean shirt dress with black gladiator sandals. Leah asked me to style her hair into an updo, one she saw on tv. She wanted to dress up because we were going out to celebrate Matt's birthday.













Even with a nice dress & sandals on Leah still gets her hula hooping on.

Party Time

We went to a birthday party for one of Leah's classmates this morning. It was held at Just Fabulous & Outrageous Events. It was a glamour party where the girls get dressed up & have their nails, make-up & hair done. There is music and dancing, and at the end a run way fashion show. This was Leah's second time there. We had a great time.

Afterward we hit up Toys R US & Babies R Us for some shopping. Then we went to Olive Garden for a late lunch/early dinner. We filled up on good food and delicious desserts. After being cooped up inside for what seems like forever due to the cold weather it was nice to get out for the afternoon.











Tired after a long day of parties and shopping.

Big Girl Haircut

Leah had her first big girl haircut today. She has been growing out her hair because she wants it "long like Rapunzel's" for about a year now. She understood it was time for a cut and was excited to get it over and done with. Her only comment was that she did not want her hair to be shorter than a lil past her shoulders when curly.

Long like Rapunzel's & Tea time

Some time around Leah's 3rd birthday she informed me that she wanted "hair as long as Rapunzel's". I explained to her that hair like her's, similar in texture and curl to my own, has to be taken care of, especially when it is kept long. She agreed to deal with the upkeep and ever since then it has been growing long. Hard to tell when it is dry and curly, as it curls up right to her shoulders. The actual length is about mid back.

Our hair routine may be different from other people. She does not wash her hair every day. That is terrible for coarser hair and especially bad for curly hair. It is conditioned with leave in conditioner on a regular basis. Washed about twice a week. For people who wash their hair every day that may seem kind of gross but it isn't. Try washing curly hair everyday and you get a big frizzy knotty mess on your hands. Her hair is deep conditioned at least once a week. It is never brushed. Always combed with a wide tooth detangling comb. It is important not to brush curly hair. Sometimes I let it air dry but on a day like today Leah asked that I braid it for her.



For dessert tonight Leah wanted tea and biscuits.

We made two small servings in my tea pot (present from Ruth).



Leah loves having tea.

Curly Sue

The other day Leah wanted straight hair and today she wanted her hair curly. She also asked to wear it out. During the week we normally have her hair up in a pony tail or in a braid. For school it isn't practical for her to wear her hair down. It becomes knotty and there is always the fear of picking up some lice.

Her hair is getting pretty long. It isn't nearly as noticeable when her hair is curly. Her hairs starts off down the back and as it dries it boings back up past her shoulders. Leah wants hair "As long as Rapunzel's". I think by the end of the summer it will have reached past the middle of her back.

Leah is learning how to care for her curly hair. Hair care differs greatly from curly to straight, thick to thin, coarse to fine and so forth. Leah knows if she wants to wear her hair long then she has to take extra good care of it.

Leah is wearing her Tinkerbell "Life is a bowl of cherries" pajamas. One of the many things we purchased at Disney World.

Age Old Question: Straight or Curly?

Fortunately for Leah she can have both.

Leah's Straight Hair Day

Leah has been asking me to straighten her hair over a year now. I told her once she wasn't a tot anymore that I would but only if she was sure she could sit still for the whole time. Today she told me she thought she could.

She also spent about 30 minutes practicing her ballet turns. She has come a long way from where she was September of last year. She used to be quite clumsy on her feet, a year later and she has gotten a lot of the technique down.




The hair is straight!

Decorating Time

Leah decided to add some extra touches to her new bed.



Leah's hair changes from day to day depending on what we do with it. Though naturally it is very curly.