Cut Your Hair

This weekend we finally did it!  We took Jack for his very first haircut.  I've wanted to give him a trim for about a month now, but we didn't have time.  Twice while Christmas shopping he was mistaken for a girl and I knew it was time.*  We had a big debate between whether we were going to go the traditional barber route or try one of the places that specialize in children.  After researching prices we decided to go with Melonhead in Bloor West Village.  The cost was $21 (plus tax I think) and he received a certificate to commemorate the occasion along with a photo and saved clips of his locks for his baby book.**  The entire front of the store is set up like an accessory Toy Emporium so you can reward your little munchkin with hair clips, toy ducks, nice smelling shampoo or books about getting your hair cut.

These barbers/hairdressers are experts in cutting straight with a moving target.  And now for the big question, how did he do?

 This is the before picture of Jackie Bear's Shaggy Locks

 Here he is getting his hair cut inside a Thomas the Train Car...They also gave him a toy firetruck to play with to distract him.

The After!  I'm just a boy with a new haircut.  It's a pretty nice haircut!***

Jack was a trouper...He was good the entire time, he only cried once, but that was because he got over excited about the steering wheel on Thomas and smacked his head into it.  We remedied this by feeding him clementine segments.  It turns out that our hairdresser happened to be a mother to 22 year old boy/girl twins, she had mastered the gentle head lock to keep him calm and still while she cut.  They also used silent clippers at the back, so he wouldn't get scared.

Molly will get her first haircut next month.  This time she sat by quietly, intent on watching a four year old boy throw a 30 minute tantrum pre, during and after his haircut****.  This kid's mother literally had him in a bear hug to hold him still while the barber worked.  10 minutes after the haircut, even though he had a giant lolly pop in his hands he was still freaking out, screaming and carrying on.

We judged silently at the store and then vocally on our trip home.  We can judge because we don't have four year olds...yet.  Stay tuned for Molly's performance at her debut haircut next month....I'm guessing it will be operatic.




*Chris still insists that both mistakes were from stupid people who clearly didn't look at his uber masculine face, you know because 16 month old babies are known for their masculinity.
**Or maybe for me to put into my locket so I can stare at it fondly when he's all grown up as if I'm Golum and it's "my precious".  There may be enough hair to serve both purposes.
***These are actually lyrics to a song by the band Pavement
****She always watches other children throwing fits quite intently.  We're convinced she's doing research for future performances.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

One afternoon in the mid 1990's teenage me went into my mother's top dresser drawer (her sewing drawer) to get some supplies to replace a missing button.  I grabbed an appropriate sized needle from her tomato shaped pin cushion, pulled out a pair of scissors and scoured the drawer for an appropriate sized button.  I don't know if my mother still does this, but she used to store spare buttons in old pill bottles.  I dumped out the contents of two bottles onto her bed, unable to find an appropriate match, and I went back to the drawer and in the very back, behind some make up remover I found an additional 3 pill bottles.  Jackpot!

Only, not really.  I pulled out the bottles to find out that they were each clearly marked and contained first teeth for myself and my two siblings.  Being 15, and not very sentimental at the time I felt weirded out, returned the teeth to the back corner of the drawer not saying a word and secretly suspected  my mom of being some sort of freaky bone collector.*  Nowadays some people save teeth in hope of providing stem cells to treat diseases like leukemia and other blood disorders.  

As an adult I find many of the things that my mother has saved over the years amazing, hilarious and surprising.  Our crappy attempts at crafts still clutter up the shelves of my childhood home.  When my sister had children we were shocked to discover that many of the toys that my mother had donated to charity miraculously reappeared for her grandchildren to play with after years of hiding in the attic.

Since the minions came into existence there are many things I have recorded, saved and others that I've thought about, but decided against putting in the time capsule.  I'm trying to ride the fine balance between caring mom who wants to preserve her offspring's childhood and crazy hoarder with way too many weird items.

This note was sent to my mother from my kindergarten teacher.   This seemingly insignificant note home is paramount to understanding me the child and the person that I am today.  28 years later I continue to experience intense rage and freak out over hosiery malfunctions.  If you ever see me grappling with a pair of leotards stand back!

Items that I Didn't Save

• Pregnancy tests - I had mixed feelings about storing dried urine, in retrospect I probably should have just taken a digital photo to put in the baby books
• Umbilical cords when they fell off**
• Welcome baby cards.  Many were addressed to both babies and I didn't know how to divide them up, so I kept them on display for a few weeks and then recycled
• Some breast milk - I wish I had frozen some, so I could feed it to the minions when they were ill or could use it on their cuts and scrapes, especially now that Molly is crawling

Items that I Have Saved/Will Be Saving & Recording

• Hospital bracelets 
• Ultrasound photos
• Medical Immunization records (cause that just makes sense)
• Baby Books/ Calendar of firsts with dates - using my baby book as a guideline for teething symptoms, first time crawling etc. has been a godsend and puts a family perspective on What to Expect in the First Year
• Locket of hair from first hair-cut
• Report cards and notes from school
• School pictures
• First shoes, my mom gave me my first shoes as a baby shower gift
• A million photos, I'm trying to slowly accumulate photos of the minions with relatives and friends for their baby books and beyond
• The "best" cards they make, art projects or crafts
• Badges, patches, trophies and awards
• Audio recordings of their voices, laughs and coos during various ages
• Favorite childhood toy(s)
• A birthday card from Chris and I for each birthday with personalized messages
• Finger prints of both children
• Letters to Santa

I am wondering if there is anything else that I'm going to kick myself for not saving. Or when is the right time or way to pass these items onto the kids at a time when they'll appreciate them and not be embarrassed by them, because I'd hate to save these things to only have them destroyed in a fit of teenage insensitivity or embarrassment.

I'm still on the fence about the teeth, maybe I'll save them and have them inserted into a pair of matching "teeth maracas".***  

* I think in my cynical teenage way I suspected something like the tooth fairy episode of The Family Guy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_orfBLh7qY 

**I asked Chris if he wanted to save these and he gave me a look like I'd asked about saving their first dirty diapers.

***In the 1980s people used to bronze baby shoes all the time, this is the evolution of that.