The first cut is the deepest

Sameer and I have often debated which of us is responsible for various bad traits that Sonia seems to have inherited, but I have to admit I am definitely to blame for her hair. Not the cute curly ringlets part of it (which I suspect is short-lived), but rather its color (flat brown?) and its texture (super fine). Perhaps this is why I have been so hesitant to cut it (foolishly hoping that length would somehow address these issues), but finally it was clear that the time had come to bite the bullet and take Sonia in for her first ever haircut.

As you can see from the "before" shot below, the main problem was that Sonia was sporting the rare "natural mullet" where the hair in the back grows longer than the hair on the sides, despite the fact the sides have never been cut. We have been putting it in ponytails most days, but Sonia is not a big fan of this trend, and with newfound 2-year-old dexterity is quite adept at undoing whatever hairstyle you create.



So, on Saturday we went to visit a brand new kids' hair salon that has opened up in Palo Alto (I will reserve my comments about how you can rent it out to have "glamour parties" for your toddler, complete with "spa treatments", for another time). Sonia was pretty excited to see the train table in the waiting area, but once we made it to the hair cutting station she proceeded to have a full on meltdown. I thought we were going to have to either strap her down to the chair or embrace her future as Crystal Gayle, when the hairdresser proceeded to pull off a feat of magic called "give child first ever lollipop." As soon as Sonia tasted the candy and understood she had to sit in the chair to keep it, she sat motionless, sucking on the lollipop (and watching the video screens) for the next 20 minutes. She even let the hairdresser blow dry her hair, which was remarkable because she runs out of the bathroom when I blow dry my own hair at home.



In the end, we left with a cute new haircut (back now same length as the sides!) and a newfound love of strawberry lollipops. Now if only we can keep her thinking that they only exist at the hair salon, life will be good.