Ryan's first "official" haircut

I'm back ... sort of.

On Jan. 10, I closed this blog. A week after the announcement, I made the blog private and that ended my relationship with Blogher. Now, two weeks later, I'm back, but this time without the help of Blogher. My intention was to keep this blog private and just invite friends and family to read, but after some thought I felt that it would be easier to make the blog public, but make it public on my own terms. I'm a little sad about not being part of Blogher any longer, but I feel like the pressure to write will be gone and, therefore, maybe I'll have less writer's block.

So, on with the show...

Today Ryan had his first "official" haircut. His last cut was done covertly by Daddy and I was not too pleased by it at all. This time, we took him to the "Princess Hair Salon" and had both Sophia and Ryan's hair cut.

Sophia before haircut

Sophia went first, she was a little more timid this time than she was the last time I took her. I think her shyness had more to do with both me and Jon being there with her than the fact that she was being shy at all. She wouldn't sit on the chair by herself, like she did last time. so she sat on my lap. Besides that, she was very well behaved and her hair looks adorable.

Sophia after her haircut!!

Ryan went second. We were hoping he'd see his big sister get her hair cut and feel a little more comfortable with the whole process, but he hardly looked at her at all while she was getting her hair cut. But, he sat on my lap and was pretty still the entire time. Jon fed him a steady supply of fruit snacks and that kept him relatively still.

Ryan before his hair cut.

During his haircut ... look how good he is!

After his haircut. What a handsome little guy!

I was very proud of both Sophia and Ryan.

When a haircut isn't really a haircut

Remember when I wrote this? I was struggling about whether or not to get Ryan's haircut. I didn't want for my little baby boy to get his hair cut and start looking like a little boy instead of a baby. Well, Saturday night, while I was at work, that decision was taken out of my hands.


Sunday morning Jon let me sleep in. When I got up, he brought me coffee and I went downstairs to say good morning to the kids. Sitting, drinking my coffee, I looked at Ryan playing on the floor. Looking closer, I noticed he looks a little different.

Me: Jon, you cut Ryan's hair, didn't you?!

Jon: I just trimmed the front. It's not a real hair cut.

Me: You gave him his first haircut after I specifically asked you not to do it!

Jon: Diane, It's not a real haircut. It's not a big deal.

Me: If it wasn't a big deal, then why didn't you tell me?

Jon: The hair was in his eyes.

Me: So. Did you save any of the hair?

Jon: No.

Me: I am so upset about this.

Yes, I did make him feel guilty enough that he dug in the trash and found some hair clippings. All has been forgiven (shh! Don't tell Jon, Ryan does look really cute), but Ryan will now have to get his "real" first hair very soon.

Here is Ryan's "not really" very first haircut …

A hairy mess

I have a problem. Ryan needs a hair cut. It will be his first hair cut and I'm afraid to get it cut. Every single day someone reminds me that his hair is getting long. Yes, it's in his eyes, and yes, it is crazy-looking, but I love it. I love every part of it. I love the way it smells. I love how soft it feels. I love that it's a little shaggy. It is pure baby and once it's gone, it's gone for good.

Jon has threatened to cut it himself if I didn't get it cut. It's not an empty threat either, he will cut it. He once cut Sophia's hair and I freaked out about it. But he's not afraid of my wrath. I know he'll cut Ryan's hair if I don't do something about it soon.

But I don't want to cut it. After it's cut he's going to start looking like a little boy instead of my little baby.

I'm not ready for that.

I'm not ready for my little baby boy to become a big boy. I love his hair, in fact, I might never cut it.

More than just a haircut

My sister cut Sophia's hair for the very first time. I think she likes her new "do."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Easter was this weekend. It was cute and we ate lots and lots of candy and hunted for Easter eggs. But the real star of the weekend wasn't the Easter Bunny, it was Sophia's first haircut.

It's taken her 20 months to grow enough hair to justify a haircut and once we decided it was time to cut it, I couldn't wait for it to happen. In fact, I've been bugging my sister for months now to cut her hair.

One of my sister's many talents is cutting hair, so it was important to me that Carol was the one who gave my daughter her very first haircut. Plus, I was certain Sophia would freak out during the process and I thought if Carol did it, the whole experience would be much more tolerable and hopefully make the hair cut experience a pleasant one.

On Saturday, my sister drove more than 300 miles to my house with her two sons for our pre-Easter dinner and to cut Sophia's hair. At about 3 p.m., my parents also came over and we were all together, ready for the big snip.

We sat Sophia at the table and handed her a piece of white chocolate (her favorite special treat) and my sister got to cutting. With a comb and scissors in hand, my sister cut the first lock of hair and handed it to me and I started crying like a baby.

This reaction was completely unexpected and I couldn't stop it. I didn't stop crying until the haircut was over. So, with my entire family laughing hysterically at my crying, we cheered Sophia for sitting like a big girl while my husband handed her one piece of chocolate after another. We videotaped the entire haircut and probably took 50 pictures.

By the end of the haircut, Sophia was hopped up on sugar and ready to run around and play with her cousins.

Sophia's hair looks beautiful and I learned how emotional something like this can really be. This haircut symbolized my little baby girl becoming a big girl. Her little baby curls that fell exactly where nature put them are now little bangs. It also symbolized the day I realized I am going to HAVE to learn how to do something with her hair besides brush it.

Sophia will never remember this haircut, but I will never forget it. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I'm pretty sure if my sister couldn't cut hair, Sophia would never have gotten a haircut. I think Sophia was happy with it too.