Joshua's First Haircut - Part One

Yes, it's true! Even though Joshua is two and a half, he has never had a haircut until recently. Some of you may remember the little cue ball (with a slightly reddish fuzz) we used to carry around. Joshua had a rather hairless first year of life. But he was such a cute little cue ball! Then he started to get red hair and curls. There was no way I was cutting those. Too cute!

But Josh began to look shaggy and we didn't want him to be mistaken for a girl. So we asked our dear friend Patsy to do the honors. The only haircutting I have ever done was on myself. I used to try to trim my own bangs in high school. (Yikes!) The mixed success I had with that made me realize that cutting Josh's hair could be a risky business. But Patsy cuts hair all the time... her father's, her husband's, her son's, her nephew's. And Patsy loves Josh so we knew we could trust her to do it.

As you can see from the first and second pictures, trust is something that has to be earned. Josh is not sure he likes what is happening. But a little bribery (and sugar) never hurt. The paper cup in front of Josh is filled with mini marshmallows, a little trick of Patsy's. As Josh raised the first marshmallow tentatively to his lips, Jason and I realized we had missed a fundamental part of his upbringing. He had never had a marshmallow!(Sorry Grams!) We know you value the importance of introducing sweets to your grandchildren. In fact, I was rather shocked that between Grams and Jason, Josh had somehow missed this delight. Maybe my sugar vigilance has not been completely in vain. Too bad I gave up a while ago.

Still, I don't think Joshua actually ate any of the marshmallows. I don't think the sweetness could overcome his uncertainty. I like how the second picture shows a wide-eyed Josh with powdered sugar on his face. It reminds me of the time my mother bought me an ice-cream to distract me from the fact that I was in line for the Matterhorn at Disneyland. (Not sure what was going on there Mom, but I'm sure you wanted to toughen me up. No one likes a wimp.) Once it dawned on me where the line was going, I completely lost my taste for ice-cream (tragic) and threw my half-eaten frozen delight in the trash. I think its speaks to my courage that I went on the ride anyway, although I can't remember how old I was at the time. Hopefully not a teenager.

Anyway, as you can see by the third picture, Josh started to relax and have fun. Eventually he commandeered one of Patsy's combs and began to "help." I just started snapping pictures to capture the moment. I was surprised how emotional I felt. This was my baby boy after all and The First Haircut is a rite of passage you never get to do over again.