First Haircut

Yesterday afternoon, it was haircut day for my boys.  Early in our marriage, Ted was getting sick of paying money to get his hair cut, so he bought a $20 haircut kit and convinced me to cut his hair.  Almanzo got his first haircut done at a salon where my friend, Liz, worked, but after that he was always excited to get his haircut with daddy.  After Ted got his haircut yesterday, Almanzo climbed up on the stool all ready for his turn...until Oliver started jumping around, begging me to cut HIS hair too.  It's hard to tell in photos, but his hair was starting to get long in the back.  I just wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to his baby hair.

But in that moment, as he stared at me with his big, bright eyes, I couldn't resist.  I knew it was time and I wanted to take advantage of his excitement to make it a fun experience too.  So, Almanzo climbed off the stool and let Oliver have his first haircut.  Ted snapped a few photos and before I had a chance to get all sentimental and emotional, Oliver started giggling that full belly toddler laugh that is completely contagious as I started using the buzzer to trim the long hairs in the back.  It was certainly a challenge between his giggling and squirming over the way the buzzer tickled his neck but by the time I pulled out the scissors to trim the top he sat still enough for me to finish.

When it was all done, I stared at the pile of bleach blond baby hair on the floor and then at the big grin on his big boy face and I couldn't help smiling.  As bittersweet as these milestone moments are, I'm just so grateful God gave me this little boy just when I needed him.  There was a time, in the midst of a long and hard battle with postpartum depression and anxiety that I thought we were done after two kids.  But then Oliver came along and brought so much healing and joy to our home and I just can't imagine our days without his smiles.