The Evolution of My Hair :)

I've been going back through old pictures a lot lately. Every so often, the mood just strikes, you know? This is why I know I'm going to appreciate all the work I put into managing our family record keeping (photos, videos, blog, albums, notebooks, etc.) It's very time consuming, but so very worth it!

Anyhow, one thing that struck me as I was browsing, was how much my hair has changed since I've know Craig and specifically since we've been married. I remember looking through my mom's photo albums of our childhood and thinking "Wow! Mom looks so different with that hair style!" And it seemed to change... A LOT! I didn't think that would be the case with me. I've always considered my hair pretty boring and same-old, same-old: long, straight, kind of blah, just hanging with no real style. I did have a year or so in there that it was shorter and had kind of a flippy thing going on. But it always happens that I get tired of doing it and prefer to just leave it long and simple. I've had several "whoa!" moments while looking at these. I don't know what I was thinking with those ridiculous blonde highlights all those years. They're horrible!

So I thought I'd share some old pictures with you!

Here you go:

The Evolution of My Hair! Haha. ;)

We'll start with summer 2004, just a few months before we were married. And just as I described: long, straight, streaky blonde, no real style. But it's just what I was used to and Craig likes my hair long. These are engagement pictures, by the way.

Honeymoon in Hawaii - October, 2004.

Christmas 2004. Craig took this. I always pose like a goof for him.

Early summer 2005. The first pic I could find of my new, short hair style. I actually like it in this picture, but it gets worse shortly. This was completely new to me: a style that required actual maintenance... and products... and a round brush. Eek! P.S. Do I look a little bit Miami Vice in my white jacket?

June 2005 - family cruise. Pretty sure I got it highlighted again just before this trip and it looks uber-blonde in some pics.

Like this one... aaah!!!

And this one!!! So jealous of Casey's naturally awesome hair color. She had a scary trip down blonde lane in college too and (no offense, Case) it was not her color either. Now she has this rich, gorgeous, completely-untreated hair color and that I wish I had. But I did not luck out with that family gene. Boo.

I included this one just because it was back in the pre-kids days when my dog was my baby. Poor Brutus. Don't know why I'm standing so weird. I look pregnant in that dress.

October 2005 - our first anniversary. Traverse City, MI.

Ha! Brutus even came to Christmas parties with us! He really was our baby. And God bless my grandma. She is not a dog person, but she allowed him to come. :)

Fast forward almost a year to November 2006 - my dad's 50th birthday. I was just about 8 weeks pregnant with Will (that's sparkling grape juice, by the way) and we were having brunch and giving him his big gift from us kids: an Alaskan Cruise! I'm way less blonde here and obviously no longer allowed to color my hair. It's also in a grow-out period where there's no real style.

Another goofy pose at Christmas 2006.

Right around my birthday 2007 - about 20 weeks pregnant with Will - and I really hate my hair here. The color is icky and full of roots and I don't know what to do with it.

Lovely. Just lovely. March 2007.

Still March 2007 - about 26-ish weeks and getting ready to put together the crib. I went to the salon to have someone actually do my hair for the shower because it just never looked good when I did it. (April 2007)

July 2007 - a little longer length, terrible roots because I haven't had time to even think about my hair - but who cares? Because look at how cute my baby is!! :) (On vacation in Grand Haven, MI)

September 2007 - Will's baptism day and 3 month birthday. Finally I made an appointment between feedings (that's tough when he was eating every two hours!) and just did it. The girl talked me into a non-permanent glaze, which is supposedly less damaging than highlights. Craig had been suggesting I go darker for a little while... so I did... with a little red. Whoa. It was a big change. But I really liked it, actually! Took a little while for me not to startle myself every time I glanced in the mirror, but... :)

Spring 2008 - still pretty dark but starting to fade and a little more length.

June 2008. Nice face, Ash. I was in a curling iron phase here.

This was July 2008 - Cora's baptism. I'm on the right in the navy dress and I actually loved my hair on this day. Still using a curling iron and I think I was still having it glazed every so often?

November 2008 - 15 weeks with Sophia. Again, no more color/treatments for 9 months. But what I like about the glazes is that the period of abstaining from coloring isn't such a drastic change.

Thanksgiving 2008 - longer length, blah look.

July 2009 - class reunion. Even longer length, still no real style or color.

Halloween 2009 - the length continues. Good grief - can you believe it wasn't until September 2010 (almost a year later) that I finally cut it? And the color? Au naturel. (Sp?)

Easter 2010 - more length.

April 2010 - Sophie's birthday party.

Finally, September 2010 and going in for the big chop. I got another subtle glaze too.

Post cut - 10" shorter.

January 2011 - my b-day. It's already grown quite a bit. Haven't been back to the salon since September and the way it was cut is not really fitting for longer hair - it's kind of longer around the front and that's really hideous sometimes. But I can't really afford to do anything about it for awhile. So I'm dealing.

So that's a look at my hair for the last six and a half years. :) I hope you enjoyed yourself! LOL Surprisingly, there were a lot of changes! I'm not a person who's big on change, so it's funny to see the progression. I wonder how much different it will look over the next six years?...