Haircut & "Shon"

I'll have to admit, I've been dragging my feet about giving ESK her first haircut. I love the little curls that form at the nape of her neck, especially after a bath. Unfortunately, after a few hours, her hair really starts to look a little wild, getting in her eyes, straggly at the ends and uneven all over. It doesn't help that she pulls out any kind of hair accessory I try to put in. How many barrettes have I lost?

So last week, ESK had her first haircut at a specialized children's hair place called Pigtails & Crewcuts. It went over pretty well, thanks to an experienced hairdresser, the special shiny airplane seat and a mesmerizing episode of Dora the Explorer. ESK stayed very still and actually didn't want to get off the seat when the haircut was over. And much to my satisfaction, she still has some of her curls!

The finished product:

"Ta Da!", as ESK likes to say these days....

First Portland Snowstorm
We had our first snowstorm here in Portland on Sunday. Last year, there were numerous weather reports portending white-out conditions and piles of snow in the Portland metro area. But of course, every morning we woke up to the usual .... rain & gray skies. It was like the weather forecaster who cried "Snow!" And when we actually got snow, it was a mere dusting, which amazingly still seemed to paralyze the city (see this post).

So this weekend, when everyone was abuzz about a snowstorm, I said to myself, "Pfff! I'll believe it when I see it!"

Of course, it snows all day Sunday. It was nice and cozy inside with our fireplace running and the whole fam in pjs all through the day, but I was definitely ill-prepared. For dinner, I was rummaging through the freezer to see what kind of meal I could scrap together. And as of lunchtime Monday, ESK has no more milk to drink!

We did venture outside for a short while with ESK to play, and despite the howling wind and snow stinging her cheeks, she had a great time. The rest of the evening, she had her nose pressed to the window and pointed out all the "shon". I guess that "sn" sound is kind tricky.

The city and Portlanders are just ill-equipped to deal with the white stuff. There is evidence that a snow plow has gone through the major artery in our neighborhood, but shockingly no salt. Hubs went out to work (with chains!! attached to our tires) and said that the major highways are fine, but that most locals streets are in pretty bad shape.

To cap it all off, it is frigid here (mid-20s), something I haven't experienced in a long time. I have spent two winters away from the Northeast and I have definitely gone soft.