Criss Cross Hair

I love this hairdo because it looks complicated, but it is sooo easy (they have to be for me to do them on my 18 mo old) It also stays in pretty well. Here are some general directions.

1. Part hair down the middle to the crown (or thereabouts)
   
2. Make a "T" part from the middle out to the sides. For Kate's hair, I usually line it up to the front/middle of her ears but you can vary this according to how much hair/thickness your daughter has.
   
3. Pull each side up into a little pony tail. I like using the colored little rubberbands you can get at Wal-Mart in the baby section but you have to wrap them about 5-8 times around baby hair and they are only good for one use. Still the colors can add some fun/sporty flair to the do and they usually carry different colors as the seasons change.
   
4. Split each of the top 2 pony tails in half.
   
5. Take the inner half of each pony and combine together in the middle of the back of your daughter's head with the hair that is normally there in a new ponytail. You can make this look very neat by parting the hair diagonally from the rubber bands on the upper pony tails to the "middle" part on the head. Also, make sure to make a clean part under the hair you take. It should look like and upside down triangle in the middle when you are done.
6. Split the middle ponytail in half
   
7. Combine left half of middle pony with outer half of top left pony and remaining hair left of middle part on the bottom into a new ponytail (or as low as you want to go. Kate's hair is too sparse/fine at the very bottom to stay in well so I do a clean horizontal part all the way across and leave a bunch loose at the bottom to curl under)
8. Combine right half of middle pony with outer half of top right pony and reamining hair right of the middle part on the bottom into a new ponytail.
   
9. Add bows or leave the colored rubber bands. I have even seen small clips added.
   
10. If you daughter has more/thicker hair, you can continue the criss cross pattern down her head for more than one "x". You can also make the ponytail sections smaller so you can fit more in on a small head.
    

Bobbed Piggy Braids

I love this hairdo when I am looking for something that will stay for the day but still looks girly. It holds up pretty well. Here are some very general directions

1. Part hair down the middle to the crown
2. Make a T part from the middle to the ears on both sides at about the crown
3. Put in elastics to make 2 little pony tails(i like the colored elastics from wal-mart but you have to wrap them 5-8 times on little girl hair and they are only good for one use)
   
4. Braid the little pony
   
5. If your little girl is big enough, she can hold the end for you. Otherwise, you have to put a small rubberband (loose enough to get out easily) at the end of each braid.
   
6. Take each braid and make a little loop. Fasten the looped braid to the pig tail base with another rubberband. (and pull out the place holder you were using)
7. Attach little clips or bows to dress it up or just leave it with colored rubber bands
8. The unbraided ends of the braid stick out in a "messy bun" type way. You can straighten them or curl them or just leave em alone. Kate's are pretty short and there aren't many of them so I just leave em.