Simon was still sick, so Zac stayed home with him while Alice and I went to get her hair cut and hang out at the mall. Four years ago I never dreamed I'd write a sentence like that, but here I am.
Alice gets her hair cut at JJ's Kids Cuts. It's far away from where we live, but when she was younger and squirmier, it was a life saver. They have cool cars and airplanes the kids sit in to get their hair cut, and there's a video screen in front of each chair and you get to pick which VHS tape to watch. Here's Alice getting her first haircut (and me tearing up because it was a "moment") when she was 22 months old (and Simon was -3 months old).
That time, it took all of our efforts to keep her occupied so she wouldn't stand up and try to climb out of the chair. She's had four or five haircuts since then, and now it is a piece of cake. She just sits there and turns into a video zombie while the lady cuts her hair. She is even capable of following instructions like holding her head still or putting her chin down. I love these moments where I realize things are getting easier.
Normally after her haircut, we go to a nearby park. But the weather was downright dreary, so I took her to the mall instead. The mall is a sensory overload for Alice. So many people, pictures, stores...it is just too much for her. She didn't want to go in any of the stores because she is terrified of mannequins in the storefronts. She was also afraid to look at Santa (we are not interested in having her sit on Santa's lap unless she wants to, so this was a non-issue).
However, she was not afraid to blast off into space. Actually, I never put coins in these things--she seems to have fun just getting in and out and sitting in them for a few moments. The one time I did put a coin in the dragon outside of Harris Teeter (because it only cost a penny) she was scared and wanted off.
The one store she was willing to go into was the toy store. She had a lot of fun playing with the stuffed dinosaurs and shark, although the poor stuffed turtle did not fare very well.
I get really irritated by the gender-oriented marketing of toys, because I think kids really pick up on the subtle hints, and it may dissuade them from pursuing their actual interests. Zac and I will try to counter this as much as we can, but it is still frustrating to think of the ways society will still exert its pressure. I've got a daughter who loves dinosaurs and a son who loves butterflies, so I have a vested interest in this issue.
Then, for a treat, we ate pizza in the food court, which was great fun for Alice. She doesn't do well with restaurant food, but pizza is a winner no matter what.
Then we took a train ride (in the caboose of course) and finished up in the play area. Alice always seems happiest when doing physical play.
Back at home, Alice was clearly still processing all the headless and faceless mannequins because she put a hat on a stick and said, "Look, it's a person with no head or body."
I said, "So it's a hat?"
She looked at it again. "Yeah. It's a hat. "
