a new 'do...

A few times, we'd heard "Aww...her hair is getting so long!" And it truly was, but in typical baby style, it didn't seem to feel the need to grow in evenly. The top section decided to get longer and longer, hair growing over her eyes. The side and back have kept pace, but in what seemed a much slower rate. I also heard (more frequently), "She can't see - she needs her bangs cut." That one came from my mom, and we heard it about every time we went over there. But there was some truth behind it.

Not wanting to take the plunge and cut some of those soft, wispy strands shorter, I opted to try some clips. (I refused to move into the headband world - particularly those that had the lace and flower attached...puh-leeze.) The clips, bedecked with colorful butterflies, looked adorable.

Unfortunately, super soft hair has its downfalls - nothing seems to want to stay put. Sure - out and about, the clip stayed in. But begin to play and move around? It would be a lost cause. This was particularly noticeable when I'd pick her up from daycare and find that the clip that had traveled in with her in the morning was now MIA (typically stashed in her lunchbox, of all places). I realized that constantly slipping clips have no place in the daycare world. There's a reason the packaging says, "Choking hazard - not for children under 3." My daughter eats everything, so there's the first threat, but what stops another baby from looking at her, thinking "Damn that would look sexy on me too...or I'll eat it...one or the other"? I'd hate to be responsible for a death-by-accessory for the sake of beauty.

So the time came. Let's cut the bangs. I get out our best scissors, check in with Jamie who is still sleeping. "Can I cut her hair or do you want me to wait until you get up?" "I don't care," he replies. Ok - works for me. We sit on the bathroom floor, I try to hold a chunk of that incredibly silky hair between my fingers, hair-dresser style. And then she looks up at me, hair slipping out from my fingers. Hmmm...I'm going to need her to sit still. I reach up, grab a bottle of Jamie's cologne (blue bottle - that should be fun, right?) and try again. I was on a mission to make it look very natural. No straight lines here. I'd snip upwards, going for a piece-y, non-linear look. I made my way across her bangs, and did a really good job, if I may say so myself. Not evidence of a hair cut here. Simply a magically shorter bang, complete with increased visibility.

So there it is. The first home haircut. I didn't keep a lock of her hair - that's kind of creepy to me. I'd rather not. I have no future in the hair business, but this do-it-yourself jobby turned out well. Kudos to me.