There’s something about a little one-year-old in pigtails that melts my heart.  Especially, when they’re my own little girls.  I remember the first time I could pull all the tiny strands of my first born’s hair back into two little piggie’s.  I was on a mission to conceal the natural mullet that her hair insisted on growing into…no matter how we cut it.  Poor thing’s eyes were slanted, I had her hair pulled so tight.  But, from that day on, she sported pig tails just about every day.  She looked completely different without them.

Brianne, 1 1/2, and her 'Piggies'

Those little pigtails are bouncing around countless hours of video, now.  Footage of her running from here to there…and there to here…and here to there again.  The girl skipped walking and went right to running…and stopped only to sleep.  All her cute little ‘cheese’s’ for pictures with those piggies sticking straight up in the air.  Birthday pictures with cake smashed in them…winter days when they got matted underneath her dinosaur snow hat.

Now, she’s almost four.  Most days, she insists on wearing her hair ‘down and flowy.’  It’s halfway down her back now…and only bounces when she has it in a pig-tail that naturally forms a single ringlet.  Lately, she’s been letting me braid it like ‘Tangled…’  Where did those little piggies, go?

I remember having to ‘let go’ of the everyday pigtail routine.  In the hospital, just after little sister was born, my husband brought Brianne into the room with a brush and a confused look on his face.  Clearly Mom’s territory.  I hadn’t told him where the piggie tail hair bands were, so I had to make do.  After that day, I just stopped making a point to always pull her hair back.  It was finally starting to grow out of ‘baby stage’ hair, and she liked having it down so she could swipe it out of her face like a big girl.

That went fast.

Little Lo doesn’t tolerate pigtails too often.  She’s not patient enough to sit while I put them in at breakfast time, as I did with Bri.  All I can manage with her is a Pebbles-like half pony flying on top of her head.  Fits her personality.  She doesn’t look the same without it.  One day, I’ll be missing it just like Bri’s piggies.

Today, at breakfast, Brianne asked…”Mom, can we very put Loey’s hair in two piggies today?”

Lo let me put piggies in her hair…mostly because of the attention she was getting from big sister…and has not ripped them out yet.  Almost dinnertime…  She looks so much like her sister with them bouncing along as she runs through the house insisting on watching ‘Nemo’ again.  Ironic, also, because that was her big sisters first favorite movie.

Lo Lo in 'piggies'

Even consciously documenting each day with photos…videos…blogs….it STILL goes so fast.  Too fast, for me.  I don’t’ want my babies to grow up.  I just don’t.

Happy Pigtails…

Megs