Once it did, I was thrilled to discover curls. Sweet little ringlets.
They were to die for.
Notice that I said "were"...as in PAST tense.
Avery has two very significant coping mechanisms:
One of them is sucking her thumb.
The other is twirling her hair.
This summer, Avery started twirling her hair with more frequency and greater intensity.
She twirled her hair so tightly, that knots formed where her beautiful ringlets were.
Horrible knots.
HUGE knots.
Sticky, toddler-crust-coated knots.
LOTS of knots.
I tried many, many tactics to keep her curls from knotting up: sprays, conditioners, shampoos, brushes - you name it.
Nothing worked.
The twirling continued and I spent many, many hours picking the evil knots out of her hair.
Despite my best efforts, the scissors were used MORE THAN ONCE on her beautiful, beautiful curls.
The scissors got rid of the knots...AND the curls.
Sad.
Sad.
Sad.
I had to chop away so much of her hair that I finally took her to my hair stylist to see if she would trim it up...to keep the dreaded MULLET from forming.
I spent the 80's sporting a mullet.
I can't pass that humiliation on to the next generation.
It just ain't right.
The thing is, Avery's not picky about the hair she twirls. Any hair will do.
Even Charlie has fallen victim to Avery's habit.
It's out of control.
Over the last couple of weeks, David and I have been trying our hardest to re-train her not to twirl her hair.
We remind her no less than 20 times a day (and NO that's not an exaggeration, kris, maribeth, and jennifer).
When she's with us, she does a great job keeping her hair "knot free".
When she's in her bed, however, this is what happens:
Darn it.
As a last ditch effort to save the curls Avery has left, I've decided to call for reinforcements:
Dora's definitely taking one for the team. God bless her.
I gotta tell you - I thought introducing Dora was a genius idea.
Sadly, it seems that Dora is a poor substitute for Avery's own curls.
She'll twirl Dora's hair, but not with the same intensity or excitement that she twirls her own.
Pray for me, my sisters and brothers.
I need it.
This is going to be a long process.
Evidently, vanity won't kick in for a couple more years...
14 comments:
Oh my! That is both funny and sad all at once!
My niece does the hair twirling all the time, too...but it's still short, so no damage done yet. I'd better warn my sister-in-law. ;-)
Her curls are so pretty; I wish you success in saving them. The picture of her and Charlie is precious!
I am right there with you on this. My Jamison twirls her hair ALL the time and we have to remind her 20 times, no lie, to stop but nothing helps. We've had to use scissors too.
awww her hair is/was so pretty. That picture of her and baby Charlie is adorable. I LOVE your blog btw, it's adorable :)
If I figure out something with the hair twirling I'll let you know. It's a daily battle in our house.
Worthington Christian...we thought of sending Jamison there. A lady in my Bible study teaches there too. Small world. We love our area, just not right now with the gloomy days, yuk!
Oh that is cute and sad at the same time. my sister use to be a hair twirler...I'm hoping Dora pulls through for ya
I know it's hard - and I do sympathize, but I couldnt help but laugh as I saw picture after picture of her twirling other peoples/dolls hair. :)
Praying for you! You are a good mommy!
How about wearing mittens (or socks on her hands) to bed? That is a tough habit to break!
Wow those curls are beautiful! My husband has a habit of playing with hair, he sometimes twirls he doesn't play in his own hair just mine and his mom's when he was little. And me I have a habit of pulling my hair out, literally. I know its weird, luckily our daughter doesn't have any strange hair habits, at least none that we know of. The Dora idea was genius, I hope it helps.
I cannot tell you how hard I laughed when I read this. Oh, Avery...you are a girl after my own heart...I have twirled my hair since I can remember, and when I sit and read a book, I still do it. But wow...those are some serious knots she creates.
Avery twirling other people's hair and Dora taking one for the team...oh my. Hilarious!
having spent the last three preschool days chanting the "no hair" mantra, i know the 20 times a day isn't an exaggeration. or at least not much of one. not like the incredible growing button jar ;) and sad, dora was NOT at school today. naps did not happen, although she did twirl my hair and doze a little... ;)
Oh I love those curls. My son has a head full of them too! I get his hair cut and then cry cause he looks to big. So I decided I'm never cutting it again. Or maybe just a teeny trim. My best friend's middle child does something similar -- but he rubs ear lobes. All the time. He's five and still does it a bit but not as much as before!
My son has a thing about holding other people's ears as he sucks his thumb...and now he's taught his younger brother to do the same :)
oh my! i am cracking up...i can't believe she does both at the same time....you've got quite a habit on your hands!
good luck!
lily had a major thumb sucking habit...but never the hair twirling.
the dentist got her to break it though...it was amazing!
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