. Her and hair look beautiful! I remember this thread well. 
. *gets emotional*
I really want to thank everyone who showed so much concern and support. I really don't post that often anymore, so please forgive me for making you all wait for an update.
Naiomi's hair has been through a few setbacks over the past few year due to a number of factors. The most glaring issue is that I am not home to take care of it (yeah, still in Iraq). My Mom is a minimalist when it comes to hair (she has alopecia, almost completely bald and wears wigs), she does as little as she can get away with. So although Naiomi's hair has been braided, it has still been neglected to some extent. My Mom finds whoever to braid her hair, and it has suffered at the hands of braiders that braid too tightly or who use the cheapest quality of hair. I send all kinds of products that just sit and collect dust (Megatek, Aubrey Organics, MTG, oils, herbs, nuts, berries, etc). Add to that Naiomi playing in her hair like most pre-teens tend to do. She has cut it, pulled at it, put all kinds of hair clips and what-not in her hair. I was expecting her hair to be in worse condition when I got home 3 weeks ago, but I was pleasantly surprised. Imagine how much better it will be in a years' time with proper care. No doubt, it should be MUCH longer and MUCH thicker after this amount of time, but the circumstances have made it quite difficult for all of us. I am far away and everyone else is just pretty damn lazy. I'll be home for good in a few months and she will be on track for sure. Right now, she gets it pressed every two weeks. I found a stylist that will come and pick her up for her bi-weekly appointments (she's a good friend) and I just Paypal her the $$. This way no one can come up with any excuses about transportation or lack of funds.
ETA: I put the cousin out in July 2008. She was my (ex)husbands cousin, I was just trying to help her out. By the time she left, she had thrashed my home, used several of my credit cards, and basically stole my identity. Haven't seen or heard from her since.
More pics!
