13 inches

Ella has been begging for a haircut for months now.  I just couldn't do it. Yeah, I know it's a pride issue of mine. You see I never ever had long hair as a child. I had thin, wispy, short hair. And I longed for long beautiful tresses. So to have a daughter with such a beautiful head of hair was amazing to me.  Hair that I have loved brushing,styling, and running my fingers through since she was a baby.  Well I just couldn't part with those lovely locks.  

But her hair was getting so long that something needed done. Either a good trim or a radical cut.  I had talked to Ella about donating her hair to Locks of Love and she was very excited about the idea.  She liked the idea of helping some child who didn't have any hair.  It is interesting to note that 80% of the donations to Locks of Love come from children.  But really this is not too surprising.  Children are so much less attached to things and so much more willing to give than adults are.  

And so after a few days of pondering (for me really, not for her) we decided to do it.  If we were going to cut it we might as well go big and do something good too.

So here is her haircut journey in pictures

One last look at all that hair:

Getting ready to cut - she's pretty excited about all of this!

Measuring to make sure we have the right length.  Locks of Love requires 10 inches. Ella's donation ended up being 13 inches long.

Snip, snip there it goes!

I think she was a little shocked to see her hair all cut off like that!

Finishing up her cut.  Ella has never had her hair cut by a professional, just trimmed a bit here and there by me. So today was a pretty big day for her.

 Checking out the finished product in the mirror. I'm so happy that she is happy with the result.

Oh she looks so grown up!  What a fabulous haircut.  Ella you look wonderful!

One last look before we mail the hair off to Locks of Love.

Ella we are so proud of you.  You have a kind, generous, giving spirit! I know someone will love getting your beautiful hair.