3 HAIRCUTS

Team Lindsay got haircuts today.

We debated and discussed for months whether to cut James' hair... We didn't want to do it. We considered waiting until he turned 2-years-old. We thought the flyaway fluff was adorable. But you've all seen the video of James being "full of crazy". We really were becoming convinced that his long hair was tickling his neck. Then something happened that convinced us a haircut was needed... We accidently snapped James' rat-tail into his PJs one night (you know, those PJ tops for babies that have the snaps down the back of the neck?) For the rest of the week it became an issue as we realized how many of his shirts (and PJ tops) have snaps down the back of the neck. Fighting with his hair (on top of already fighting a wiggly 15-month-old who does NOT want to get dressed) was just not something we were willing to continue doing. Besides, just look how long that rat-tail (and his "bangs") had gotten:

So we searched for the "perfect place" to take James for his first haircut. My requirement was child-friendly AND cute. I was envisioning one of those salons where the kids sit in brightly colored boats, but the 'burg has no such place. Luckily, we found something even better, thanks to our friend Dawn. An old-timey barber shop with an old-timer barber who has been cutting hair for well over 30 years (at least - we met a 32-year-old there for his 1-year-old son's first haircut, taking him to see the same barber who gave him HIS first haircut 31 years ago). For some reason, James is a HUGE fan of older men, so we figured Mr. Downey would be a hit. He was. James didn't care for the booster seat (he actually pitched quite the fit when we tried to set him down), but as soon as he was allowed to sit on his Daddy's lap, he was good to go. All smiles for Mr. Downey, no crying, and no fidgeting (thank goodness, since one of my biggest fears this morning was of James jerking his head around and getting stabbed by scissors). He even read a book while he was under the trimmer:

And THEN he noticed himself in the mirror, so he was content to sit and watch the rest of the haircut:It ended up being quite a bit shorter than Jay or I expected, but we think he looks oh-so handsome. And older (boo). Mr. Downey even gave him his first part before posing for a photo:Jay's turn was next. It's been a LONG time since I've seen Jay's hair this short (or this well cut, since I usually do it for him myself). I left the shop with two very handsome dudes and an envelope of my baby's hair (and one free haircut, since Mr. Downey doesn't charge for first-timers)! You can see the back of James' hair in this photo (as he's gazing at the barber shop pole):Don't worry grandmas, we've still got some fluff up top to blow in the breeze:On our way to the barber shop, Jay promised James that he could have a smoothie from The Tomato Place if he behaved during his haircut. And since he was such a good boy (even waving at all the other gentlemen awaiting their turn, clapping for the little boy who was in line before him, and flirting with the little girl who was waiting on her daddy), we stopped by for some "Heavenly Blues" on the way home. Ah, the anticipation:Delicious!

(For some reason James always holds his arms/hands like this when he drinks from a straw - so cute!)

Oh yes, and I got my hair cut this afternoon as well. Nothing fancy, just a shorter version of my norm, in preparation for Cora and to battle the summer heat, which is really starting to get to me...