Haircuts

The very word brings groans and drama from the boys. We have cut our boys' hair about 90% of the time. Last summer when cousin Kevin got married, we took the boys to a barber shop to have it done and have gone back a few times, too.

Dave still waits until we visit Los Angeles to have his dad cut his hair. Usually one of the nights that we are staying at my in-laws' home, Dave and his dad will whip out a folding chair and put down a drop cloth in the kitchen, and take turns cutting each other's hair. If I am in the next room, I hear the clippers humming, the sounds of the shears snipping, all the while with their conversation in the background. While the cutting is happening, they catch up and fellowship. Dave has never paid for a haircut for all the time that we have been married. He now knows how to do it himself (he had to learn since we are farther away from his parents), but I know he prefers to have his dad do it.

I also remember that a college friend of mine told me that his mother was a professional hairdresser. He also balked at the thought of going elsewhere for a haircut. He said simply that he wanted his mother to do it because "I get a haircut, and I get love from my mom."

Nice, right?

So despite the boys' protestations and the mess it makes, I think that Dave and I are persisting with this home cutting thing. Well, at least until one by one they become teenagers and probably won't want us to do it anymore. We'll see.

But I have photographic evidence here that proves it is not that bad once you get in the chair.

You get Daddy's love and skill.

Aaron volunteered to be first :-).

Matthew reading one of the books from the Jedi Apprentice Series (thank you, Debbie, for the recommendation) on his kindle to pass the time.

And hey - Dave even got a smile out of Nathan. I love those tummy wrinkles!

We had a bit of a scare when Dave found two nits on Nathan's hair during the haircut. If you have been following along, you know that the boys have had lice twice in the last few months, with our last infestation just a month or so ago. To our relief, those two nits were flat indicating that they were old and had hatched already (and their spawn eradicated in the last round of medicated shampoo). They also were a bit further out from the scalp as the hair they were attached to had grown out a bit over the last couple of weeks. Phew! I don't know if I could handle another round of lice!

Oh, and this is the alligator that spends time in our sink. I can't remember where Aaron got it (birthday party?) but it's one of those things that grows to be 3 times its size when you soak it in water. It has been grown out and shrunken many times already. Aaron loves that thing. Dave doesn't like it because when it is in its "growing phase," it occupies a much needed sink. Daddy never remembers it's there until he is ready to spit out his toothpaste and has to move to another sink!

No - not brave enough to cut a girl's hair! Lily spent the time in the bathtub (her favorite past time), into which Aaron plopped in after his haircut. She was delighted to be able to have her bath and have the whole family bustling about in the bathroom and keeping her company.