The Taming of the Mane

I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they had “crazy curls” when they were babies, and after their first haircut, their curls were never to be seen again! Since it took ages for Lilah to grow her hair, I have never had it professionally cut (I always trimmed it myself).  It was time to ‘tame her mane’ of curly hair; and though I was fairly certain that she would not lose her curls…in the back of my mind, I was preparing myself for the possibility. Her hair was getting too unhealthy and difficult to manage so this last weekend was going to be another “first” – The Official Haircut.

As usual, I did my research. I went online and typed in “children’s hair salon” in my area and read all of the reviews I could get my hands on. I wanted this to be an experience that she wanted to repeat, so I felt that a salon catering to children would be the best option. There are surprisingly few in the 50 miles around my house. In the end, it was down to a franchise and an independent, both were similar in what they did, i.e. the quality of the cut seemed the same, the price was within $2, and the locations were only one town away from each other. I decided to go with the independent because that’s the way I roll. 🙂

Lilah in her 'salon seat' at the end of her haircut.

I had hyped up the haircut to Lilah and she was ready and willing. We walked in and she was given her choice of a white horse, a boat, a motorcycle, a cute little animal, and other similar options to sit on. My little tomboy picked the green tractor (of course!). The hair stylist put on a Dora video and we were off. Her hair was not washed (just sprayed with a detangler) or blown dry, but I guess just getting kids to sit still for this kind of thing can be a challenge. I asked for all the dead ends off and to layer the curls. It took a total of 10 minutes (they work fast).  Lilah was fabulous and did everything she was told.

Once done, she received a Certificate of Completion and they included a little plastic baggy with some of her hair in it (how cute!) We went a couple of doors down for some ice cream as a reward. By the time we finished eating her hair was dry and I realized it needed a bit more layering to bring out the curls on the top.  We went back and the stylist happily re-trimmed it for me. Since everyone has different hair, cowlicks, etc. don’t be afraid to ask for a touch up if it’s not right. In the end I was very happy with the results. She looks adorable and now I can get a brush through her hair. Yaayyyyy!

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My Baby is Growing Up

We had a milestone weekend. We sold our daughter’s crib. I didn’t really think it would be that big of a deal but when I got off the phone with the buyer, I suddenly realized that our lives were changing. I felt a little sad that her baby years were officially gone. The craigslist buyer came by on Sunday (yes, Mother’s Day) to pick up the crib.  I hadn’t even dismantled it yet since we let her sleep in it one last night. It was a frenzy to get it taken apart, and Lilah watched somewhat bewildered as her crib was hauled out the door and loaded into someone else’s car. I assured her that she was now a big girl and could sleep in a regular bed. We told her that her new bed was on the way.

Lilah's last night in her crib, and her first night in a big-girl bed...

Not ten minutes later my parents showed up with the new bed. We went over every detail of it with her and explained that it was special, just for her. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to sleep in it for about a week since we still have to stain and seal it. While we worked on it during the day Lilah played in the built-in toy box. It will be a big hit once it’s all done.

We temporarily moved a twin bed into her room and put all the pretty bedding on. When I went to put her down for a nap, I realized that if she wanted to just get out of bed, she could. Of course, she did! She ended up falling asleep next to grandpa watching a show on Sprout. At bedtime I had to spend much more time that usual reading and making her comfortable so she didn’t just get out of bed. She fell asleep after about 10 times of reading our usual book. One time during the night she awoke feeling a bit out of sorts, but I was able to snuggle up to her and get her back to sleep. A pillow then took my place, and she blissfully slept through the rest of the night. I can’t wait until we get the 6am wake-up from her on the weekend with her staring at us wondering why we’re not up. Like I said, life is changing! I can’t believe she’s 28 months already.

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