Baby's First Haircut

Kane in all his wet, furry glory, about to dive into the pool. (The sunset light is what's making him look so brown here.)

Don't you hate those baby books? You know -- the ones where the exhausted new mother is supposed to remember the date that her third child said its first words? Those books were a constant accusation to me, a guilt trip about what an incompetent mother I was.

Confession: for most of the milestones, unless there was something unusual in the child's development, I just looked up what was normal and said that's when the child rolled over/sat up/ate solids.

Anyway . . . that's really just a side note because of the title I chose for this piece. Unlike my early-motherhood years, I actually have the luxury of time and energy to document Kane's milestones. And Kane has had his first haircut at 19 months of age.

Kane shorn.

He needed it, that's for sure. He's double-coated, which is great in the winter time; it's like a built-in layer of down. And those long outer hairs keep moisture from seeping down to the inner layers to chill him.

Unfortunately, what works in winter doesn't work quite so well in summer. He loves to swim and we love to take him on walks near streams and dog-friendly water, but that isn't always possible. Even when he comes home and jumps in our pool, he is often very hot.

And he takes for-freaking-ever to dry. Yah. Wet dog in the living room. Mmmmm. His signature aroma.

So today Steve took the dog to be shaved. Not bald, but just really, really short. I was worried he'd come home looking naked, but I think he looks quite handsome after all.

And he certainly didn't seem to let the haircut affect his esteem.

Another iPhone snap of the shaved pup.

He does look leaner, though. The groomer said she couldn't believe how much hair he had . . . it just kept coming and coming and coming. That didn't surprise me because I've seen the bagfuls of hair we get from using the FURminator.

And wouldn't you know it that, after weeks of sweltering heat, we had a cold day today? Rainy and cold enough that I wore a jacket when I took Kane for his walk. He didn't seem bothered by it, but when we got in, Steve noticed that Kane was curled up in his bed, rather than stretched out over the tile hearth (which is cooler) where he had dwelt for the past few days weeks.

So I got him a blanky.

So snuggley!

And he seemed to really like it.

Happiness is a warm dog.

We've all warmed up now, and he is playing with his toys. Happy dog.