First Haircut

the "before" photo

Having a good time! (Check out that dimple!)

"Hey Grandma!  This place seems fun!"

 Today Avery went for his first haircut.  I'm not sure that it exactly needed to be done this early, but since Noel tried to cut it himself a few weeks ago, my Mom and I decided that we should get a professional to do it before Noel tried again.  So, after two failed attempts (due to illness and Avery napping through his appointment time) we decided to try again today. 


There's a really cute video at the end of this post, so if you lose interest in reading just scroll down and watch that. It's not too long.

 The place my Mom wanted to go didn't have any appointments today, so we went to First Choice Haircutters.  We had  to go on a waiting list and come back 45 minutes later, so we went home in the meantime, took the dogs for a walk, then returned.  My biggest concern when we got there was that I didn't want someone who smoked to cut Avery's hair.  There's a lady who works there who has cut my hair twice and both times I could smell the smoke on her.  So we asked the other hairdresser if she smoked and she did, so we didn't really have any better options.  So, the smokey lady was going to cut Avery's hair.  I like to think that since it is winter she probably takes her smoke breaks with a jacket on and that keeps some of the smoke off her clothes (and subsequently, off my son).

"There's so much to see here!"

Avery was very good.  He sat in the chair all by himself (on those little bench thingies they have to make kids taller).  He wore the cape and didn't really try to eat it.  He did, however, keep whipping his head all around because there were so many interesting things to see and here.  The hairdresser went and got a stuffed singing Lion and Mouse in the hopes that Avery would focus on that.  It helped a bit.  He also spent a lot of the haircut chewing on his own envelope (without hair in it), a comb and playing with a squirt bottle.
When I got there, the smokey hairdresser asked me how I wanted his hair.  Correction: she said "how short do you want it".  I thought it meant that same thing, but in retrospect I realize that she was just going to cut it however she wanted to (maybe she only knows how to cut it one way?) and it didn't matter what I said.  I remember now that she was like that when cutting my hair too.  I told her that I liked the length on top, and to take a bit off the bangs (as I held my finger just above Avery's eyebrows) and to cut around his ears and trim the back so he didn't have a mullet.  So she proceeded to cut his hair, giving each clipping to my mom to keep in an envelope.  When the hairdresser asked why my mom wanted it, I told her it was to clone Avery, but the truth is that my mom knows someone who takes the hair and makes it into a necklace.  That sounds weird but she showed me photos of what the necklaces look like and it's not that bad.  So my mom is going to have a necklace of the hair from Avery's first haircut.
And so I watched as she cut it shorter and shorter.  Not much I could do about it really, other than watch.  It's not like you can glue it back on, and it will grow back!

In the end, he still looks really cute.  I think you focus more on his eyes now when looking at him.  I also think he looks like he is headed to the military, which is a bit disturbing.
The hairdresser gave us an official "first haircut" certificate, with a piece of his hair taped to it.  Also, apparently all first haircuts are free at First Choice Haircutters!  So that was exciting.
Overall, it went well and Avery is just as cute as ever!

The "after" photo
("Cadet Avery reporting for training Sir!")

Here's the video: