Evolution of my hair.

So, I'm growing my hair out. (GASP!) I know, shocking. Or, at least, I'm trying to grow my hair out. Yes, I still adore my short hair. I'm not even sure if I'm going to keep this up or just hack it off all over again. But for now, I'm growing my hair out.

And oh, what an enormous pain in the butt that process is.

I used to have really long hair. I was kind of notorious for it in high school. Jenna, the one with insanely long, thick, blond hair. Behold, my senior picture:

2004

I know, right? So pretty. But so difficult to style. See, I have naturally wavy hair (like this):

Yep, it's real.

So about half-way through my pregnancy with Bubby, I got sick of fixing it. I got sick of ponytails. And therefore, I had it cut.

June 2007

And then, after Bubby came, I had it cut again AND had the stylist add some highlights. First time I'd ever had it colored. I lost my hair virginity. It was so weird to see myself as a light blond again. I felt like my 13-year-old self.

November 2007

About five months later, I decided I wanted to be a weather anchor for the BYU Daily News. I had it chopped into a nice, camera-friendly A-line cut and kept the highlights.

April 2008

That was a stinking cute haircut, but my goodness, 'twas a pain to fix.

After that, I kind of just let it grow. It quickly became formless and I began resorting to elastic bands again. I felt pretty frumpy. I read that no-poo would make it more manageable, so I tried it:

May 2009

But it kind of made my hair worse.

By this point, I was entirely ready for something new. Something drastic. I had just graduated from college. I'd long since returned to my pre-baby shape. I felt confident and fresh. I'd always wanted to do it but hadn't had the guts. Now, things were different. I was a grown-up; I was ready. So:

June 2009, the day I became Tinker Bell.

I got a pixie cut and more highlights. It felt crazy, fun and awesome all at once. I felt a little dangerous. I'd lived my whole life with long-ish hair and never dreamed I'd have the gumption to cut it this short. Once I took the plunge, I truly felt liberated.

I kept up the pixie cut for a year, even through my second pregnancy.

November 2009, pregnant with Smush

And then, after the baby came, I got crazy. Too crazy. I decided I wanted a faux-hawk.

June 2010

At first, I loved it. It was funky and cool. But I quickly started to get sick of it. And I felt like it wasn't quite me. It was too dangerous. I felt uncomfortable with myself. So, I let the top grow back out.

And that's where we are now:

January 2011

So, what's next? I've toyed with the idea of going PLATINUM BLONDE but keeping it pixie-length:

Growing it out to a short A-line bob:

Or, letting it grow and grow until I achieve this:

Which we all know is entirely impossible with two children.

One thing's for sure: I'm keeping bangs. People with fiveheads like mine need them.

What do you think?