Rylee Jane was born with a head-full of dark black hair
Her hair has probably been the subject matter of the majority of questions/comments we get regarding Rylee. People wondering if she had lost it, some surprised by how much she still had, others wondered whether she'd lose it at all. I remember in the first few days as we were learning about the new journey ahead, this was one aspect that both Justin and myself thought would be very difficult. We cried. None of this is easy, but for some reason, the hair thing makes it so obvious. It's like we might as well strap a big neon flashing sign on her that says, "Look! I've got cancer." It's either that or people wondering if we're some militant family raising up a GI Jane.
She had this great head of hair until she was about 6 months old. Then it started to thin as her head grew.
She was always a bow/headband/hat baby. I think she wears them well.
It has been thinning gradually all throughout, but this last week it was literally like hair today, gone tomorrow. I’ve been bracing myself for the day that it would fall out- a little anxious by the uncertainty of it. I wasn’t sure if it would be like a shock- she wakes up one morning and it’s gone suddenly, or if it would fall out in chunks or little by little. I even began to hope that maybe we wouldn’t end up losing it in the end, since she held on to it for so long. Well, the anticipation is over. Now I know. For her, it left kind of like an onion in reverse. Layer by layer from the bottom up. Rylee's also split or broke off, almost like being cinged as opposed to falling out in big chunks. She just has a few straggling pieces on the top layer, which we're debating whether or not to just shave it and finish the job.
Her first official pony tail was at 10 months old. A single front pony.
And two back pony's followed a few days after (once I figured out all I needed was a fine tooth comb and some tiny elastics).
By her first birthday, she was starting to have enough hair to try a few different styles. The front was getting longer.
She had more hair last Easter than this one. (Top double pony's). We never thought that would happen.
I’m glad that it happened gradually over time. It’s gets you used to the idea. Time has a way of healing and preparing you. I’m also thankful that she had it for as long as she did. In the beginning, they said some kids lose it in the first couple of months and some hold onto it for six months. They said if she kept it for this long, it wouldn’t be gone for long, because it’s able to start growing back in the maintenance phase, which we are now in. I thought it would be gone by Christmas, so having it for as long as she did was a nice bonus for us.
By last summer, we were just getting to the fun stage. I could do low pigtails in the back.
A full back pony with ribbon. 
High pig tails, which basically became her signature look. 
I even got to try some fun clips and curls.
And of course the double loop throughs.
Or an easy single paired with a bow. So many options, so little time.
So…it is, what it is. Bald is beautiful! Hats and headbands, here we come! I’m very anxious to see what her second crop of hair will grow back like. They say that it often grows back in a different color or texture. Come what may....and we'll love it!
{And then she was diagnosed with Leukemia and little by little we lost our little crop of hair. Here's a look at the goodbye process.}
October- month of diagnosis. Still there as normal. 
By December we still had a good covering, although it had been breaking off over the past months. 
January: I could still do most the styles we had been doing. We still had good coverage, but still thinning. 
February: I thought that this would be our last back pony tail. The Dr. was certain the chemo she got this month would take her hair. It didn't.
I was thrilled that she had more hair than her new baby brother by mid-Feb. We could even still style it in back pony loop throughs. 
A month later, on her last day of the last phase of treatment (March 19), was her last set of pony tails. It was now noticeably taking a toll. It would thin more and more each day. 
By the very end of March, I could still get a single pony up front, but had to include all the bangs. It was pretty slim pickins' to get enough to fit in the elastic. I did the best I could with what we had to work with. 
And her last official "ponytail" was at the first of April, just a few days before her second birthday. It was a back pony that looked more like the "shave the bottom, leave the top look" popular from the early 90's. Oh ya, we're bringin it back!
On April 7, we had thin, blow in the wind, bald on the bottom hair. The very first picture of this post was taken just 6 days later.
Goodbye hair.
So now we're here. Sporting looks such as:
The hat
The headband (minus most hair)
But probably not so much this look. Although she's brought it to me a few times and says "bow". Um...maybe if we go to Disneyland?!
Also not sure about the do-rag look. We'll see. Never say never.
Happy Birthday to our little princess (a straggly little princess in this picture). We sure hope you have a great second year!
I had an instant and immediate love for Rylee. Even before she was born, I was so grateful to know that I would have a daughter (they are rare in the Taylor family). She was and is a precious addition to our family. She is more than I could have ever imagined.
Rylee has always had an independent spirit. She's brave & shows courage everyday. She walked at just before 10 months, has always been a good eater and is friendly to most people. She's a little pack rat and clean freak. She likes to have a paper towel next to her while she eats to wipe up any messes, she always wipes her nose on a tissue and always piles up a bunch of crap into corners, hallways and entries and feels like she's picking up. One time she went and picked up any and everything off the floor in Jace's & our bedroom, piled it all up into her crib and then came and got me to show me her cleaning job. She was so proud of herself.
I love the little wide-eyed surprise look she always does. She is full of expression & is so cute to watch. I love it when she wiggles her hips when she dances. I love how she acts after getting all dolled up in the mornings- she feels cute & goes and prances around to her brothers and dad to show them what a princess she is. We always say, "Woo, woo..look at you, you're a fancy lady." or "How do you like me now boys, how do you like me now?" as she admires herself in the mirror or prances around to the boys. I love how loving she is- always has to give hugs and kisses before Jus leaves for work or before she goes to bed at night. I love how she plays on her phones and gets a paper and acts like she's having some business call. I love it when she says, "MOM" every morning when she wakes up- if I don't come after awhile, she'll start on "Dad", "Mom, Dad". I love it when she plays babies or loads a bunch of purses up on her arm and walks around playing store or house or whatever. I could go on and on.
I was going to list all that she's accomplished milestone wise so far, but then I thought, what really trumps fighting cancer? On many levels, she's just on a different playing field. We're looking forward to a lot in her second year though. Now that the intense part of her treatments are done, we hope that her language will take off some more, we hope to have her hair thicken back up, we look forward to having her finally go to nursery, have her counts higher more consistently so that we don't have to be such germaphobes and she can do all that any other 2 year old enjoys doing. We plan to potty train, make the move out of the crib, take the pink bink away and see our baby girl blossom this year. I think it will be a good year!
