Renee's first haircut and pierced ears!

Well big changes for Renee last Friday! And some interesting adjustments for Mommy and Daddy, too! Mommy and Renee have been talking about getting Renee's hair cut for a few months now. We decided (Mom decided and Renee agreed) that maybe we could get Renee's hair cut short (but, no, NOT like Daddy's hair) and give her hair to other kids who need it! Locks of Love accepts donations of hair that are 10 inches or longer, and they make the hair into wigs for children suffering hair loss due to serious illness. Coincidentally a few weeks ago, a John Deere employee organized a group willing to donate their hair to Locks of Love in exchange for a free haircut. So the timing seemed right and we met them all for the appointment last Friday afternoon!

I should note that both Daddy and Mommy were a little nervous about doing this... for one reason, preschool pictures are coming up in less than a week! And this is Renee's first time to a hair salon. And this is her original baby hair! It has never been cut in the back (that's why it's so long after 3 1/2 years)! But we committed to the idea. And Mommy decided that after the haircut, if Renee still wanted to, she could get her ears pierced, too! Mommy figured the sparkling ears would be a nice compliment to the pretty new haircut! Renee has been asking about getting her ears pierced for quite awhile... and we talked about the fact that it would hurt, but sort of like a pinch and then the hurt would be all done. Depending on how Renee reacted to the haircut and any last minute nerves she might have about getting holes in her ears, we had a tentative plan in place, but the decision was always up to Renee.



These are the final moments of Renee's original baby hair.



The stylist is cutting off Renee's ponytail. Locks of Love likes to have the hair in ponytail form.



And there it is... or shall we say, was...



Renee was a very good girl, and got the hang of sitting still and looking in one direction for the stylist. The stylist said Renee was the best behaved little kid she's ever given a haircut to!



The stylist had a little booster (gray colored) she put across the arms of the big chair, and Renee sat on that so she'd be high enough for the stylist to work on her comfortably.



Getting her bangs trimmed, she's squinting while the stylist works close to her eyes.



A few final snips.... looking good!



Almost done! They stylist is just blowing it dry!



A first look at Renee's finished new haircut, and wow look at all that hair she used to have!



These are the three gals who donated their hair to Locks Of Love through John Deere. Notice, just one adult and 2 kids! On the Locks of Love website it actually mentions that most of the donations of hair they receive come from children!



After choosing which style of earring she wanted- regular sparkles, or flower shaped sparkles... Daddy finally helped decide: flower sparkles! Renee is exciting and waiting happily to get her ears pierced at Claire's!



This is the moment of truth...



And my tough kid! No tears at all! The gals asked her if it hurt, and she simply answered, "No".



Then the superstar got treated to one of her favorite things: a horse-y ride! What a night!