Grace got her haircut!

I have been thinking about getting Grace's hair cut for a while now, but it is a decision I have struggled with.  There is something so adorable about little girls with their hair down their back that has stopped me from getting her hair cut short.  But it is {truly} a pain to take care of her hair and has been for months.  It is beautiful and healthy but she gets knots in it very easily and she has started to pull at it and twist it, which causes more knots.  There was a day not too long ago that it took me over 15 minutes to get all of the knots out of her hair.  That is a long time for any 3 1/2 year old to sit while her hair gets pulled and tugged but for one who is cognitively much far behind her age, it was TOO long.  It was after that experience that I decided I needed to pursue a haircut for Grace.

Like many things in our life, it is not as simple at it sounds.  Grace is very distracted by lights, sounds and voices.  Which rules out just taking her to a salon or even the barber that Mark takes the boys too.  I went to the salon that I have been going to for 5 years and was getting my hair cut when it hit me, this salon specializes in wig fittings and taking care of women who are affected by cancer.  I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me right away, since this is the salon my sister Cathy went to 3 years ago when she lost her hair during chemotherapy (Praise God, she is healthy now with a beautiful, curly head of hair!).  While getting my hair cut, I talked with my stylist about Grace and her special needs for a hair cut and Kimberly said she would be happy to cut Grace's hair.

Well, yesterday was the big day!  I took Grace in for her appointment and she did really well.  She loved the salon and walked around like she owned the place :)  We went back to one of the private rooms they have and put Grace in the chair.  She did not fuss once and by the end was making her happy sound and laughing.  It was such a great experience for me.  Of course, I took my camera and took pictures.

Here she is before Kimberly started cutting.  See how long her hair was?  

It was half way down her back and starting too look really uneven and raggedy.

It was so cute, she watched every move Kimberly made but she held still the whole time.

She looked so little in the chair

And here is the reveal!  It is not the best picture of her face but it shows her new hairdo.  It is to her shoulders and makes her look like such a big girl.  I know that she will be 4 in January but since she still has so many characteristics of a baby, I forget how old she actually is sometimes.

Here is the back so you can see the length better.

I love Grace's new haircut!  And I am so glad I remembered about the private rooms for wigs and other treatments.  Sometimes, it is not that difficult to make arrangements for our special children.  We may have to think a little more and different ask questions - but in the end, it was so easy to get Grace's haircut and the salon was more than willing to help us.