Haircut

Malia likes to twirl her hair around her forefinger.  However, her hair is very fine and scanty and it quickly becomes tangled and fuzzy.  When she twirls her hair, she'll generally leave a funny looking corkscrew sticking out of her head at an odd angle.  Or, worse yet, her finger will become stuck in her hair.  And then she must pull and tug until her finger is free.

A few days ago, I noticed a bald spot on Malia's head.  She had literally twirled her hair right out of her head.  What had been a rather charming habit of hers suddenly seemed like a much more sinister hobby.  What child repeatedly pulls chunks of hair out of her follicles to the point of baldness?

She needed a haircut - badly!

I also had the hunch that neatly trimmed  hair would make Malia would cool and modern.  Nelly, a good friend of ours, offered to do the trim.  This morning after our walk, we plunked Malia down on the porch and Nelly set to work.  She was rather dubious about the giant orange shears that I handed her, but she gamely set to work.  Snip, snip, snip....soon Malia's lap was full of sweet blond tendrils of hair.  I couldn't tell if she was curious or worried about their appearance on her lap.  She was staring down so intently.

Post haircut, Malia looked hip and relaxed.  I think she new "do" suits her.  Unfortunately, we can no longer comb over the bald spot.  It's there and it's visible.  

Happily, this bald spot in no way impedes Malia's ability to have fun.  After her haircut, Malia and Carter played with abandon.  When it was time for Carter to go home, they both cheerfully displayed their dirty, chalky hands.