last friday i
went to maddy’s daycare
to pick her up,
and i found her
and a boy,
sitting on the floor,
listening intently as one
of the daycare workers
read them a story.
madeline turned her
head when she heard
my footsteps behind her
“daddy! sit! daddy! sit!”
she said, as she
patted the ground next
to her.
i sat down and
waited until the
last page was turned.
then we sat through
it two more times
when the daycare employee
indicated that reading time
was over, maddy grabbed
the book from him
and returned it
to the bookshelf.
i was so proud to
see her so patient
and so quick to
clean up.
as she headed to the
the bookshelf, the daycare
employee said,
“she’s so great during story time; she always sits here without moving. but in circle time, when it’s time to sing and dance, she doesn’t participate.”
“really? she sings in the car and dances at home all the time.”
“yeah. she likes to stand outside of the circle and watch the rest of the kids.”
“what kind of music are you playing and singing?”
before he could
answer the
question, i realized
what the problem was…
i have created
a music snob.
i saw her going
down this road,
so in the past
few months
i’ve introduced some
kids music into her
life, mostly via
yo gabba gabba
and classic disney films,
(i’ve been buying lots of soundtracks for her lately)
but damn.
my kid is so much
like me.
i can just see her
standing outside the
circle thinking,
“damn. this music sucks, and there’s no way i’m gonna dance to it.”
looks like i’m gonna
have to further curb
the depressing indie shit
when she’s around.
friday night we
listened to some happier
indie shit,
and played with her train set.
then she demonstrated
how well she
can clean up her toys.
this weekend our
friends mark, jeffra
and mckenna came
into town for a visit.
before they got to
the house on saturday afternoon,
i decided
(against my best judgement)
to trim maddy’s hair.
she’s been long
overdue for a
haircut, and for the
past two weeks she’s
been trying hard
to look through her bangs
to see the world
around her.
so on saturday morning
i could handle it
no longer.
i convinced her to sit
still long enough
for me to make
an attempt at
helping her see.
as i went in
for the first cut,
i thought,
“this is a really bad idea.”
i put the scissors to
her hair, just above
her eyebrows, then for some
reason i worried about
poking out her eyes,
so i moved the scissors
up another quarter inch.
and then i cut.
and she moved.
and my heart sunk.
crooked, jagged, uneven, rough
or a couple
other synonyms that
would describe her
hair, but i can
sum things up and
tell you that
i fucked up.
but i wasn’t done.
no.
i decided i should
try to even them out.
so i tried.
and i made things worse.
so much worse.
now every time i
look at her
i see my failure
as a father.
but there’s lots of
good news…
1. it’s just hair and it will grow back (eventually).
2. she won’t remember this.
3. she’s too young to be made fun of, so there should be no lasting psychological damage.
4. she now looks like many of the hipster women in our part of town.
5. the hair clips help to conceal the damage.
mark and jeffra
were speechless when
they arrived, and i
removed the clips from
her hair.
i told them
not to bring it
up the rest of the weekend.
we decided to
head down to the
aquarium in long beach
so the girls could
have some fun.
the girls had a
spent the afternoon
looking at the sea creatures
and madeline kept
touching her head
to make sure i
hadn’t cut any more hair.
the rain stopped,
so we went outside
and walked through
the lorikeet forest
where jeffra and mark
fed the birds
i decided against
feeding them
because i’d been here
before and i know
how nasty those
little bastards can be.
after joking all
day about a birdemic,
mark experienced one
of his own,
getting attacked by
a lorikeet that actually
took a chunk
out of his arm
and his ear.
enough of that.
after a walk through
the rest of the
aquarium, we drove
back to the house,
where jeffra stayed home
with the girls
and mark and i
went downtown
to see a show.
(got some tickets at the door…the ones i bought never arrived).
had a nice night
in a beautiful venue,
listening to the la philharmonic
play some great selections
that fit surprising
well with the
music of the dirty projectors.
got home earlier
than i expected,
said goodbye to
our friends and
spent the rest of
the night writing.
sunday, a beautiful
southern california day
that demanded we
spend it outside.
we settled on one
of our favorite spots
in the area,
a place where the
girls could splash
and run wild.
maddy picked some flowers
then came close
to passing out
from exhaustion.
that night i cooked
dinner for our guests
then sent them
on their way with
some music and
some candy.
i continued my
quest to finish
my book as
madeline slept.
before i went to
bed, i quietly opened
her door to
check in on her.
it’s not something i
normally do, but
that night i needed it.
there she was,
on her stomach,
sleeping next to her
favorite plush toys.
it was well after 4:00am,
and i knew that
she would be up
in three or four hours.
but no matter how little
sleep i get,
there’s nothing better
than waking up
to her yelling, “daddy! daddy!”
now if only her
bangs would grow out.
283 Comments
sounds wonderful….
Matt, here’s a true story.
When I was between ages 4 and 7, my mom went to work early. I mean EARLY. Like, 4 a.m. My dad was responsible for fixing my hair in the morning. It was pretty simple: a ponytail. My hair was remarkably like Maddy’s. He just could NOT get it right. Every day, for three years, I stood in front of him, staring straight up and the ceiling, so that “gravity would pull my hair down to make it easier” for him to gather my hair into a rubber band.
I’m almost 30 now, and this is one of my very favorite memories of my childhood. My poor, befuddled, 28-year-old dad, being forced to do my hair.
My 2 yr-old loves to have me read to her. She will bring me book after book until we have a huge pile next to us.
Aside from the bangs disaster, it sounds like a nice weekend.
Eeek! Those bangs! My mom did something similar to me, but I was in jr. high. HORRIFIED! She looks great with the clips, though, so YAY!
My 17-month-old has particular music taste, too. She prefers hip hop, and new jack swing, thanks to her daddy. This weekend we discovered at our farmer’s market that she has an affinity for klezmer music.
Ha ha! Youre right its only hair, and a great memory that will make you laugh for years!
Tut tut tut. Rule number one! If it makes you feel better, I’ve seen much worse. For example..
My cousin got a hold of scissors and cut her OWN hair. I can’t explain to you the mess that was on her head.. and her bangs were about an inch long and just little spikes on her head. This same cousin got lice a few months later and her mom died her hair blond to kill them. Worked, but oh what a mess..
I can so relate to the hair incident! Been there, regretted that. Sucks, but even with jacked up bangs that girl is a doll.
i had a nightmare a few months ago that my husband cut our daughter’s bangs really short. in the dream i didn’t notice for a few days, so it must not have been that bad, but then when i did notice and unleashed hell on him he totally denied it! the nerve! dream husbands are always up to something. i took my daughter to get her haircut (professionally) today, and i was adamant that they not cut her bangs.
You know, I laughed hysterically when I first saw because of the look on her face, but with them pinned back and the wisps flowing it really doesn’t look that bad and kind of cute!
Gosh she is so gorgeous, people will be too busy looking at her gorgeous eyes to even notice a little crooked hair!
That was hilarious to read Matt. I laughed out loud. No worries! We’ve all had the bad haircut that mom or dad gave us and we survived.
yeah.. maybe a quick trip to supercuts is in order in a few weeks…
doesn’t make her any less cute though!
I laughed out loud at Maddy’s unfortunate new bangs, but she still is a pretty darn cute kid. They only add to her charm! Hope your book writing continues to go well.
love it!
by the way, have you heard of milkshake? my girls and i love their music!
http://www.milkshakemusic.com/
well, well….another step in parenthood….i think most parents who try to cut hair (and are not pros) end up like that at one point:)
When you come to Paris…stick to the Marais, the Bastille & any other funky hip areas…Maddy will fit right chic in!! You used the same phrase I always have as I’ve migrated from bad coiffeur to not so bad…”it’s only hair and always grows out”! Without parental ‘incidents’ to laugh about years later it just wouldn’t be a proper childhood!
Wow, you’re really brave for cutting her hair with your eyes shut….
;-P
One of my friend’s daughters (age 3) recently got a hold of some scissors and cut herself a major she-mullet. Things could definitely be worse…..
Love that shot of your friend getting attacked by the lorikeet. I’m always too chicken to go in that place, but now I feel justified. The sharks, I’ll touch, but I’m terrified of the little birds.
As a mother to a 5 year old music snob, I say HURRAH! I’m glad that my son likes the Beatles and Joy Division and Micah P. Hinson, and doesn’t have any High School Musical paraphernalia around my house! Now of course, I live in perpetual fear (read: TOTAL MORTAL TERROR) that he may rebel against these musical foundations I have so carefully and painstakingly laid for him in his later years, but that’s a gamble I’m willing to take.
Yay Maddy — maybe this standing back with discerning ear may give rise to a lucrative future career in music journalism? (aka free gig tickets for Daddy!) Be still my indie beating heart!
If you grow Maddy’s bangs out you will never need to worry about unfortunate bang trims again! My mother gave me a similar haircut when I was much older than Maddy. Headbands work wonders! ^_^
She totally has enough style to pull off any haircut she likes. She still looks ridiculously cool!
That first aquarium photo of the two girls sitting down is magic. Love it.
And I kinda love that she’s a music snob. The girl has taste!
At least you only went for the bangs! My (stay at home) Dad tried to give me a few haircuts. And he never seemed to learn that its best left to the professionals.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now, and its been incredible to see the journey that you’ve taken and all of the cool things you’re doing with Maddie. She is going to appreciate all of this so much someday. Not to mention that she’ll have the best childhood pictures of anyone she ever meets!
Matt,,from what we can all clearly see,,,,,that haircut is the only mistake you’ve made in Maddy’s almost 2 years! Sounds like you had a great weekend with good friends! Love the photos; as always!
If Maddy likes storytime so much, maybe it’s time for you to start reading to her at home. I’ve heard that parents reading to their children when they’re little is a good way to help their development.
Oh I did the same thing to my daughter’s hair when she was about 1 – I figured, hey, I’ll save some money, I’ll do it myself, besides, it’s just a little trim – oh man. She looked ridiculous – but the pictures still make me laugh, and no harm done.
Great post! Your so right, its only hair and it grows back
She is always so adorable, with or with out bangs~
I trimmed my daughters bangs when she was that age, only I kept trimming until her bangs went from almost ear to ear. I was horrified when I realize how she looked. It does grow out quickly so no lasting effects.
My mother ALWAYS used to cut my bangs. HORRIBLY. She would uses my dad’s shears from work. Oh it was horrific. Finally when I was 10 I told her she wasn’t allowed anymore. My aunt vouched for me too. And so my aunt took over bangs duty with a pair of hair cutting scissors! Luckily, for Maddie’s sake, they make some pretty rad hair clips. Back in the 80′s… not so much
I think her hair looks adorable!! You did a fine job Daddy!!!
I have been giggling about that picture of her haircut since I saw it in your twitpic account- the look on her face is priceless. You are so right, it will grow, and you honestly did an awesome job with the clips. She would be gorgeous no matter what–and good for you for being able to laugh it off –and for sharing with us. This was such a fun, sweet post–the way she is patient and helpful–and I LOVE the music/dancing thing. Poo on Disney– this girl knows her music!
I have photos of my now 7 year old from when she was Madeline’s age with the worst haircut on the planet.
It had similar bangs and long in the back like a weird mullet.
What was I thinking?
I have no clue.
But when she sees these someday…boy am I gonna get some shit for it!
Oh my gosh! That poor little girls hair!! LOL. Please promise me you will take her to a professional next time – or just don’t cut her bangs and let them grow out. Little girls look so cute with out bangs. I do have to say I have screwed up my boys’ hair too, but they are boys and I can just buzz the mistake.
you forgot something on your bad haircut/good news list:
6. now you know better.
A couple of years ago, I made the horrible mistake of running into one of those quickie cut places to have my bangs trimmed. Just a little trim. They were somewhere around the bridge of my nose and I asked for 1/4 of an inch trimmed off. I came out looking just like Maddy, no joke. And I’m 38. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to rock the hair clips like Maddy. I just walked around looking like an ass for about a month until they grew, pretending like I didn’t know what everyone was starting at. Luckily for little kids, they all end up with jacked-up hair at one time or another…it’s a right of passage! Anyway, your post was great and I’ll be smiling the rest of the day about it.
looks like ya’ll had an awesome weekend {except for you butchering maddy’s hair!} LOL i haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! thanks for the good laugh. don’t tell maddy i was laughing hysterically! atleast she won’t remember..hopefully! much love and blessings~erin
This confirms why I hate birds.. Sweet post. Maddie is more beautiful every time I check your blog.
The clips conceal it completely. And, maybe this counts as the wicked, bad cut and she will never cut her own hair like my oldest did.
You know, this is the very first time I remember you saying Maddy is just like you. I like it.
You are an awesome dad Matt. Madeline is so lucky to have you in her life. I hope you’ve learned your lesson and will bring her to a hair salon next time you want her bangs cut! These photos are priceless though. Think of all the great bribe material you’ll have!
Oh, Matt! I have made the same mistake with my own daughter. I have learned something from those mistakes…leave it to the professionals.
Love the pictures! No matter what her hair looks like, she’s a little beauty!
Sorry to laugh at your pain but Maddy’s bang incident was hilarious! My daughter is almost 2 and she also struggles with long bangs (makes it sound like it’s some sort of syndrome that needs a magic pill to cure). She’s forever trying to push them aside but I refuse to cut them myself because of just that reason. Maddy is still adorable and of course the bangs will grow out. You definitely didn’t fail at being a father. You just took a risk and it didn’t turn out so well.
I am a preschool teacher to 16 lovely 2 year olds. Over half of them have awful hair cuts! That’s not the point. I am also a music snob. Well, not AS snobby because I still dig most of what is played on the Top 40. The idea of listening to Dr. Jean 9 hours a day drove me mad! Here are a few children’s CD’s that I have found with more of an edgy feel. “B is for Bob” Ziggy reworked Bob Marley’s songs to make for a simpler rendition of his most popular songs. My kids are singing “Three Little Birds” for their end of the year program. (Did I mention I work at a Church Preschool? So this is BIG) “You are my Little Bird” by Elizabeth Mitchell is a great folksy CD with songs in Korean and Spanish! Snacktime by The Bare Naked Ladies I hear is a good one. I want this one next. Another random off the wall CD is “Choo Choo Boogaloo” by Buckwheat Zydeco. You may not be familiar with Zydeco. It’s a cajan thang! I am from East Texas (right on the border with LA). This CD is so fun and it teaches different instruments. You can’t beat a kid’s CD that sings in french cajan! Let me know what you think. You may hate them but it’s better than the alternative!
HI, NEVER cut your own kids bangs!!! Bad idea. Let this be a lesson!! Take her to your person and let them do it. I got a HUGE laugh out of that brilliant hair cut. Sorry but you kinda deserve it.
No permanent harm done, the bangs will grow back. And by the way. Let the bangs grow out and sweep them behind her ears next time.
We’ve all done it, and we all regret it, I swear!!
I did the exact same thing to Alexandra
( It felt like forever for those bangs to grow out but didn’t seem to have any impact on her at all. Thank God for hair clips! Awesome post and can’t wait to read the book!!!
I had bangs like that once because YEAH, I cut them MYSELF. NEVER AGAIN will I cut my own bangs.
And don’t feel too bad. My kids have ALL suffered through my horrible hair cuts. They’ve been so far beyond TERRIBLE that they make MULLETS look hot. So I think you did pretty well.
My husband and I have also created a little 2 year old music snob. He now only likes the BEST of what we like. Listening to Grizzly Bear the other day, he made us skip over the more “poppy” Cheerleader, until we arrived at his favorite (and more obscure) “Ready Able.” Still can’t bring myself to buy kiddie music for him.
Ha, about every parent does that. You’re right they will grow back, it’s just hair, the hairclips do a superb job. I love your photos, I know you shoot with a Nikon, I bought a Canon Rebel, if you have time let me know how to shoot in aquariums like that, going to the Pittsburgh Zoo in June. (are you a manual shooter?) I didn’t post on your Brooke post, but wanted to say good for you and Maddy. You deserve it!! Love and prayers from PA
The picture of the bangs made me burst out laughing. I think it happened to me when I was a little girl as well – no damage done! And – it’s funny!
LOL Matt!! Aww it’s ok. Hair grows quickly. And you can’t even tell when it’s clipped back. She is beautiful regardless.
When I was about 2, my mom sent my dad to take me to get my bangs trimmed at the hairdresser (Why? I don’t know.) Anyway, he took me to the barber shop, where the barber proceeded to cut off all of bangs so there were none left except for little spikes of hair at my hairline. There are NO pictures of that time lol. But, the good news is, my hair grew back and I don’t remember a thing!
I can’t count the number of times I have fucked up my daughter’s hair. The wonderful thing about bangs is that they grow so damn fast (which is bullshit when you need to trim them every other week and yet you continue to keep fucking them up!). Take a deep breath, this isn’t your failure as a father, this is a parenting rite of passage. Also, I think I’ve already said this on twitter but I think she looks super cute. Maybe it’s the old buried hipster in me.
We love listening to MMW’s Let’s Go Everywhere kids album for a good dance party.
http://www.last.fm/music/Medeski,+Martin+and+Wood/_/Let%27s+Go+Everywhere
This song is like dancing a game of musical chairs: http://www.last.fm/music/Medeski,+Martin+and+Wood/_/Where%27s+the+Music
haha, she is a music snob. too funny.
i had the same horrible bangs from the ages of 2 to 10, thanks to my mom. she’d do them uneven and they’d always end up super-short when she tried to fix her mistake. they are easy to cut when you learn how though, so just ask your hairdresser to do it next time!! (though maddy’s bangs really aren’t too bad)
I laughed out loud, especially as I was cutting my sons hair this morning. But it was in the back and it’s kind of wavy, so I figured any mistakes would be hidden!
Maddy is still adorable, though, even w/ super short bangs!
That made me laugh
Two words of advice next time she needs a trim:
scotch tape
Just put the tape across with the bottom edge where you want the bangs to end and voila! a magic guide for your cutting.
My mom trimmed mine like that when I was a kid and it worked out fine. Now when she had my hair cut short when I was like 6… that was another story entirely.
I too am guilty of giving my daughter a Bang-ectomy gone wrong. And I will never ever do it again. It did grow out, but took a LOT longer than I hoped–at least in the respect that I got hit with it every time we went out…
Looks so lovely outside!
I still have a huge fear of curling irons because of my mother accidentally burning my ears when I was little. Every school picture or Christmas concert she would insist on curling my hair to try to make my bowl cut look a little “cuter”…really, like you can improve on the bowl cut. Traumatizing.
So…no worries, you’re right, she won’t remember and you didn’t poke her eyeballs out and she doesn’t have any weird burn scars on her ears…all good. No harm, no foul.
LOL…you had to know the music snobbery would eventually appear. In a few years I’m sure you’ll be battling for her musical soul when the other kids are listening to the likes of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus or whatever new flavor of the month enters the scene.
Maddy will survive the bangs incident. With the clips there, you can’t even tell they are short. She’s still adorable, no matter what her bangs look like!
I’ve experienced that before with my kids… although, I have boys – and if you mess up cutting, you can always buzz it.
Doesn’t work that way with girls, unfortunately.
It looks like you had a fun weekend. I’m jealous of all the sun you have there in California. It’s still cold here in Missouri. I don’t think spring will ever come!
Here’s a tip…take a piece of scotch tape and put it where you want to cut and then cut ABOVE the tape. Off comes the hair, it stays pretty even and since you cut it off, you don’t have to worry about unsticking it after. Of course, you’re gonna have to wait a while before you can try it with Maddy. She’s still an adorable little lady though, even with crooked bangs.
My best friend and I both cut off our pony tails when we were five and we lived through it. No lasting damage. She’ll survive!
We need more music snobs in the world. This is proof that you are doing a great job as a parent. And Maddy’s learned condescention will quickly teach other kids that Nickelback does not qualify as music and never will. Keep up the good work!
Oh have I been there. My Mom always cut my bangs and I often had them cut to short. Dad also took me to get a ‘trim’ when I was about 5. My hair was sooo short afterwards, like barely to my chin. Needless to say, Dad was never allowed to take me to get a hair cut again. haha
On another note, and I’m sure you’ve answered this before, but when is the book due out? I’m really looking forward to reading it and can’t wait to get my hands on a copy when it gets published.
I did the same thing to my own bangs in middle school! She looks way cuter than I did
You’re totally right, Matt–they are very hipsterish right now. All she needs is skinny jeans and converse and she’ll be on her way! Better she gets her hair catastrophes out of the way young; she’s still cute though!
Ha Ha just you wait till she discovers how to cut her own hair. I still find clumps of hair around the house.
I’m cracking up over here, reading this post. It reminds me of the time I decided i could cut my husband’s hair. I had been after him for months that I could totally do it. He got his head shaved at the bottom, with longer hair on top, so I was thinking, I can totally shave his hair–no problem. Right before a trip to Costa Rica, he says I can do it. So I do my thing and tell him I’m done. He says, “great, but you need to fade it.” Then we proceeded to spend 5 min fighting over what the term “fade” means with his voice getting higher and higher as hysteria set in. I had no idea that you have to fade the bottom shaved part into the long part. He basically had a bowl haircut. When we got back to the States, he told his coworkers that he got his haircut in Costa Rica, so no one ever knew what a dumbass he was for letting me cut his hair (I don’t even have brothers–how was I to know?!!!).
the hair: no big deal. In two weeks, it will look normal.
At least you didn’t give her a frizzy permanent wave…I look at some of my pictures of myself in grade school and wonder what my mom was thinking. My sister was always cutting her own hair…inch long bangs right before our scheduled family portraits! Maddy is too cute for hair disasters to matter much. Keep up the good work, Matt.
Every little girl cuts their own hair at some point in their life, and inevitably it turns out looking worse than what you did to Maddy’s hair. I did it when I was 4 and again when I was 10, right before school pictures. Too bad my bangs were not long enough to clip back.
What did you make for dinner? I’m curious to know what your culinary repertoire includes.. =)
ps- I just bought Alexa a Kidz Bop sings the Beatles CD. She loves it!
Love the bangs, how hip!
I LOL’ed at this whole post. Maddie’s hair is a disaster, but it is just hair and you’d actually be surprised at how quickly it seems that bangs grow out. In two weeks, this will be a non-issue.
I knew this was going to be a great post when it started with “I saw Maddie sitting with a boy.”
Hope the writing is going well! Can’t wait to read it. Take care!
When I was just a bit older than Maddy, my mom trimmed my bangs…and then my grandma said, “I’ll just even those up a bit…” And then my mom thought, “I can just straighten those out…” and so it goes. Trust me, this does not mark a failure but a right of passage for a parent of a little girl with bangs. She’s so damn cute it really doesn’t matter anyhow!
When my youngest brother was born my Dad *attempted* to do my hair (I was 5), when we arrived at the hospital my mom took one look at me and started crying. So kudos for doing her hair & bangs are tricky… I’ve given myself that same haircut before and I was much older!!!!
Okay, I have to say, I totally busted up laughing when I saw Maddy’s bangs! Poor girl, but honestly, it doesn’t look bad with them clipped back. That is so funny! Thanks for the laugh! Sounds like you had a good weekend otherwise! I can’t wait for your book to be out! Much love from the MO.
Jessa
AHAHAHAHHAHAHA Ok, i don’t know if i’ve ever laughed out loud alone at my computer like i did this morning when i saw the pictures of maddy’s new hair do. i’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty bad but all the positives you pointed out are true so really, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Glad to see you had a good weekend! Take care!
fucking hilarious. love it.
Oh Matt, you make me laugh so. The bangs really do look fine! xo
“and madeline kept
touching her head
to make sure i
hadn’t cut any more hair.”
LOL. Don’t worry, my dad did the same thing when I was 4 (tried to cut my hair). We never let him live it down, nor did we ever let him come near my head with scissors again.
I turned out just fine.
I have shed so many tears this morning after reading your post … tears from laughing so hard!
Bad bangs happens to the best of us, though. Just remember: the only difference between a good and a bad haircut is … two weeks! 
so you are telling us that a cosemetology career will not be in the works????? great post and great job with a beautiful little girl
I liked Karen’s #6- I’m adding #7:
7. Next time, Flo-bee.
I just wanted to say thank you for the laugh this morning! That haircut is priceless!!! Many years from now she will look back at those pictures and say “Dad what were you thinking?!” or something worse. LOL.
lmfao…poor baby….
The stunned, confused look on her face in the post-haircut photos is priceless. But even with Dumb and Dumber bangs she’s still a doll
Now that’s some funny shit! Don’t feel too bad though. My best friend once got a haircut, and the PROFESSIONALS cut her bangs just like that!(Imagine having to pay for a haircut like that) Worst part? We were in middle school. Enough said:)
And I know you didn’t ask for opinions, but may I just say, that if it were ME, I would just let those suckers grow out completely. I have nannied for and babysat far too many little girls trying to grow out their bangs. Trust me when I say that it’s much easier when they’re 2 than when they’re in the awkward stage of say…9. And by growing them out, you never have to deal with these sorts of mishaps:) As hilarious as they may be for the rest of us….
Had to comment because my pre-K teacher told my mom the exact same thing about me. I was otherwise a very social kid, but apparently, I couldn’t be bothered with what I called “silly” time. Standing in a circle and dancing along to silly music just wasn’t for me. When my mom told me that, I vaguely remembered this feeling that that time was for the other kids, to appease them in some way, but I didn’t have to be a part of it. So I would just walk away, grab a book, and sit down somewhere else.
Anyway! Not sure if it’s music snobbery in Maddy’s case, but if so, I think that’s awesome.
Oh those poor bangs. I think most parents make that mistake once or the kid does it themselves! At least she’ll keep clips in!
Totally laughed out loud at the picture of her bangs. I have done that on numerous occasions to my son. Finally decided it was time to have a pro fix the mess!
I have a 3 year-old, and I butcher her bangs on a regular basis. They *never* turn out even, and they always end up way too short in my efforts to “tidy it up.” But she has epic freak-outs at the kids’ hair salon, so I keep doing it. I figure either I’ll eventually get more adept at cutting her hair, or she’ll finally realize what a horrible job I’m doing and insist on going to a professional.
The good news is, it’s just hair, and it grows (relatively) quickly. And Maddie is still gorgeous, so no worries.
as everybody else has said, it will grow out. I would just tell people that she cut it herself!!
thanks for hte morning laugh. Everbody at work now thinks I’m crazy for cracking up at my computer.
I hear that every child has a hair cutting story. Maddie’s will just be from her daddy! She’s still a beautiful girl. If it makes you feel any better, my brother was about 5 when he cut an inverted mohawk into his head. It took him months to grow it out.
1. She looks freakin’ ADORABLE with her bangs like that! Like a little norwegian or something. Get her some of those norwegian curling pants.
2. Evan has been to the Aquarium on several field trips. But the last time we went, he wouldn’t go into the Lorikeet forest. Now, I know why.
3. In re: music, may I recommend the Phineas & Ferb soundtrack? It’s fun for kids & grownups alike.
Have you tried introducing Maddy to the Barenaked Ladies “Snacktime?” It is a very tolerable children’s album. I did daycare for 21 years. Trust me.
As for the haircut, it’s too bad that you take so many pictures. You’ll NEVER live this one down with Maddy! Our daughter is 22 and she gives us no ens of grief for the clothing choices and hairstyles…good luck!
Another preschool teacher here who gets a little tired of the typical children’s fare. In my class we listen to CDS for kids by Justin Roberts, Dan Zanes, the Bunny Clogs (former members of the Honeydogs), They Might Be Giants. Can’t knock some of the greats in children’s musical history though – Ella Jenkins has great rhythm!
Bang cutting tip – gather all of the bangs together at the front of the forehead and hold them in a clump between your thumb and index/middle fingers and cut the hair that lies beneath your fingers. Then when you release them, the bangs don’t have that cut underneath a piece of tape look (my mother totally did that to me, ugh) and it’s fast.
Matt, keep the scissors away from Maddy, because trust me she will cut her own one day, right down to her scalp, which will be much much worse then anything you could do. Which by the way she is just still too cute for words.
Aw her bangs aren’t that bad, and seriously it’s just hair. If that’s the worst you do to her I think she’s going to be just fine
Yet another music suggestion: “mother goose rocks” -traditional nursery rhymes put to modern melodies. Probably more “pop” than you would like-but much easier than listening to the actual nursery rhymes….My kids love them!!
http://www.mothergooserocks.com/
My dad did something similar to my older sister when she was about 7 or 8. He thought spending money on a professional to trim her bangs was crazy. In order to keep the hair in one place, he took tape and taped her hair down. Then he took his electric trimmers that he used to buzz his own head and he cut her bangs. Now, instead of cutting below the tape, which would have been perfect, he cut above the tape. Her hair was wet at the time, so of course as it dried it shrunk. By the time her hair was dry, she had bangs that were maybe an inch long, if not shorter. She was old enough to know and she was NOT a happy camper.
Maddy looks cute no matter what, you’ve done an amazing job raising her so far and you’ll do great in the years to come. Good job!!
Oh, but I did have to totally laugh out loud when I saw the picture. =-)
Awesome kid music:
http://www.rocknoceros.com (our local DC fave)
http://www.recessmonkeytown.com (super hip guys from Seattle)
awesome weekend, cool post! “Birdemic”! His ear is still healing, but what timing, eh! I have a new appreciation for your suggestion that I “buy some nectar” now that I know that you knew those birds were aggressive, jerk. The girls had great fun…
can’t wait til our next adventure! we’re going shopping next time!
“madeline kept touching her head to make sure i hadn’t cut any more hair.”
Best line in the blog. I just laughed so hard.
Don’t feel bad about the hair cut. I did something similar to my 4 yr old and had to take her to the salon. She now has a super cute (and short) bob cut.
I just had to LOL! But it is just hair and it will grow out…thank goodness! She may not remember it, but if you keep these pictures, there will always be proof…and always a good laugh!
Have you taken her to the salon yet? I’d love to know their reaction, since their “plan” for her hair has been changed.
And this is why Bella still has a mullet even though I am SO tempted to help her out. She’d be bald lol Like you said, it’s only hair, she’s young and I think you learned a valuable lesson: you suck at hair cutting
We wish we could’ve come down and hung out with you guys, looks like you all had fun (minus the bird attack), next time fo sho!
xoxoxoxo,
Tricia
I just remembered that my 19-month-old nephew used to “sit outside” the circle at his music class. But in the next couple of months, he totally changed and became very involved. The teacher made it very clear to me (I was the acting nanny at the time) that I was not to prompt him or move his arms to the music or anything that pushed him to participate.
Sure enough, he got involved when he was damn ready.
And not one second before then.
No, of course you are not a failure as a father….but I wouldn’t call you a natural-born hairdresser either! For heaven’s sake, don’t give up your day job!!!
omg. those bangs crack. me. up!!!
her look in that picture is so tragic, like “what the eff did daddy do? this is bad. very bad.”
ha!
Holy shit….those bangs….I’m sitting here at work laughing my ass off with tears streaming down my face. LOL.
The bangs slay me…she is so damn cute, she can rock the haircut!
My oldest is the same way about music at school…and does the same damn thing, won’t move a bit and just stares.
Hey at least we know they will grow up liking cool music becuase of their cool parents!
Lol! The hair clips totally hide her emo bangs.
Here’s some tips if you decide to try again in the future. Brush her bangs straight up from her forehead so they are standing up instead of laying flat on her forehead. (this will eliminate the fear of cutting her with the scissors!) Hold them between your index and middle fingers. Clip at them with just the points of the scissors (not straight across). And take a little at a time!
When my daughter was about Maddie’s age she had a TON of hair. I had it all up in two pig tails, and my 4YO son cut one of the pig tails in half! He just cut off the baby curly ends! She was left with one perfect little pony, and one stub. You should have seen the pile of hair in her hands. Even though I’m embarrassed to admit it, I bawled and bawled
Maddie looks beautiful. I think the haircut just adds to her beauty as now we can see her eyes! And so can she
Oh my! I cut my daughter’s hair yesterday (just in the back ’cause it was really dry, she has very fine hair)but stayed away from the bangs (messed them up before)NEVER cut her bangs yourself again, NEVER!
I laughed out loud at this post (at work!) and one of the people that commented about “dream husbands”, she is right, they are sneaky little bastards, ha-ha. Be prepared for the BAD music she will like later, ‘member how Liz liked shitty music? she has some of that bad taste in her too! Just saying…
What did the grandmas say when they saw your handy work on the bangs?
http://www.erichermanmusic.com/video.html
Check out Eric Herman, my kids love his “elephant song” and others.
To be honest, he sort of reminds me of you…. Must be the facial hair
When we were little my brother gave me a haircut. I didn’t like it either. Hopefully it’ll grow out really soon!
Matt, she is so adorable no matter what, maybe even more so with those amusing bangs. But I will say that those cheap walk-in hair cut places cut kids bangs for about $5 and will usually supply a balloon. My daughter is so baffled by a stranger playing with her hair that she does not move. Or, since you live someplace cool, there is probably one of those hair cut places for kids where they sit in little cars or spaceships. Eugene is not cool enough for one, but I know Seattle has one, so I am sure LA must. And the fact that you have created a music snob is hilarious!
TWO WORDS>>>
DAN ZANES
My kids LOVE him and the music is alot of traditional music. Lets just say I listen to him in the car without the children….
Great post, made me laugh out loud from “sad indie shit” to the first pic of Maddie’s hair cut. Thank you from the mom of 2 small kids who really really needed a good laugh!!! You are a great Dad!!
@melissa kelly
let’s just say they were a little disappointed with my inability to cut hair.
then they laughed at me.
She still is adorable!
A trick that someone taught me and I used on my daughter is to grab all the bangs together, twist them together and hold them straight up from the head (think Martin Short’s character on SNL with the pants up to his chest) and then cut a piece off of the clump. One cut and you are done. It lays better and it is harder to cut a huge amount off of that vs. cutting a few strands at a time and then having to even it out.
(Not that I think you are going to trim these again anytime soon)
Can you believe I PAID someone to do that to my daughter’s hair last fall? By the way, kids’ first memories are around two. I bet she will remember this. It’s what she’s talking to her friend about in that picture where they’re sitting next to each other. On a different note entirely, I’m glad she’s a music snob. What a smart girl!
Classic post! Made my day.
When I was 4, my dad started working from home. He would listen to Paul McCartney and the Beatles, and I remember sitting on his lap and him letting me take a sip of his coffee.
15 years later, I stand by the belief that the Beatles were the best band in history, that Paul McCartney is a musical genius, and I can’t go more than a few days without a good cup of coffee.
You better be careful, Matt. Those sort of things stick forever!
My mom loves to tell the story of sending my brother and I outside to play. He was 6, I was 3. She overheard one of us say the word “barbershop”. She rushed to the door, but got there just in time to see my older brother scissor off one of my pigtails.
He was then sent to his room, and threw a screwdriver at the window, breaking it.
Hi Matt,
I have a rule in my house. Only professionals are allowed to cut our hair. I would do just like you did, or worse. Amazing how it seems like a good idea at the time, then…uh oh.
However, you are working with such a cutie that it will be forgotten in no time – - just don’t try it again!! :0
Matt, she looks better!! honest, there is nothing worse than a poor kid that cannot see because of their bangs! I think EVERY parent has to try the cutting once….
she is adorable! and she can see!!!!!
Matt – so you’re not a hair stylist, but you are a GREAT dad!
You recognized your daughter was having trouble seeing through her bangs and took action.
Don’t beat yourself up over a bad hair cut.
What you did was make a memory.
Next time Maddy needs a cut, find your local hair stylist and take the worry off of your shoulders.
God Bless
HA! those bangs rock.
when i was 3ish, i decided to cute my LONG (butt length) gorgeous healthy beautiful hair myself. i had one side that was beautiful and long, and the other side was a boy cut short, coppy, UGLY hair cute, then i got caught. I am 23 now and still hear about it
One more parenting, “Oh crap!” for your book. We’ve all done it. I did it to myself when I was 12, shorter than Maddy’s. It happens. Lesson learned. And she’s still beautiful!
I’m glad you were able to spend some time with your friends. Looks like you all had a great time!
I laughed so hard at her bangs. Seriously, people were looking at me. You are a good sport to joke about it. They look pretty cute off to the side. No worries.
Matt, seriously. It really is just hair, like you said, and it will grow back. Your daughter, like my own, has white-blonde hair and even if her bangs are short and crooked, it’ll be fine.
We have a music snob, too. Demands the Beatles at least twice a day.
HI-larious. Oh well, you live and learn…and she looks awesome with the hairclips anyway. @sarah s – Dumb and dumber bangs…brahhahahahah
Cheers!
That reminds me of a time when my mom, grandmother and I went on a trip down to PA from NY. I was in the back seat with my grandmother, and she said that my bangs were getting too long, she then took out her scissors and cut my hair in the moving car. My mom was driving, and she looked back and was screaming for my grandmother to stop. She did finish cutting my hair, only after my mom pulled over.
Hi Matt! I just wanted to tell you that on the first day of preschool I cut my own bangs off. It was moments before the bus was to arrive and I found a pair of scissors and cut them completely off. All the way to my scalp..lol So what I am saying is it could have been worse! Miss M is getting so big! Just wait till she can talk in sentences…oh the things that will come out!
Precious!!!!
Pixie bangs are totally in style- she’s way ahead of her age bracket in the style dept anyhow!!
My mom is a former hairdresser and I had different (and not always what I considered good) styles monthly for the better part of 18 yrs – no scarring here so one time surely won’t damage her!
Wait until she cuts her hair by herself.
Not that my daughter did that recently or anything.
I get my daughter’s bangs cut when I take her brothers, because I fear that if I try, she’ll end up looking like Maddy. If it makes you feel any better, we have to take her for a trim because they are becoming unbearably long every other appointment… so Maddy’s should be grown out nicely in approximately 8-12 weeks.
LOL! she’s gorgeous either way… bangs or no bangs… it’s hair…it’ll grow back and you learned your lesson
My daughter did that to her own hair when she was oh about 3 or 4 yrs old. 
Two of my fav kiddy albums (suitable for adult consumption, in my opinion) are You Are My Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell and Catch The Moon by Mitchell and Lisa Loeb. Good stuff.
For the record, I think her bangs look sweet.
Matt, don’t worry about the bangs. I mistakenly did the same thing to my daughter when she was 11 months old. It was right before Christmas, too… my mom was horrified by what I’d done; her first thought was that I’d “ruined” all the Christmas photos. And yet — the bangs grew out in just a few months, and the photos from that Christmas are adorable. I felt terrible remorse for months, and I never needed to; the little crooked-banged, mischievous pixie face smiling sweetly out of the photos is cuter than the most perfectly coiffed child could’ve been.
Also, thank goodness for hair clips.
i laughed at this post, along with everyone else. we’ve all done it to our kids and had it done to us by our moms or dads. i think i laughed the hardest at the little caption on the side where you were making her breakfast and she was on video chat with brooke…..”brooke, daddy cut hair!!!!” she’s already figured out that she can rat you out to brooke…..good luck on that one!!!!
my daughter had /has super curly hair. i tried cutting her bangs with and without tape, neither worked as the ends would curl up and i missed a lot of them. she always ended up with “grandma bangs” so i gave up and let it grow out. we still laugh about it and she’s in her 30′s.
Oh, my GOD. I laughed so hard that I actually snorted. Matt, I have followed you for a long time. I think you are an incredible person and and even better daddy. BUT, an intervention needs to be pulled here. For the love of CHRIST, don’t ever touch that baby’s hair with scissors again. Please. Please, pleasepleaseplease! Maddy will thank you. Trust me.
One word: HILARIOUS! But what a good sport Maddy was! Growing up as a child with bangs, I had many a bang trim that was too short. It seems like every picture of me between the ages of 3 and 11 (which was probably when I finally realized how awful I looked) is a grinning me, with crooked, too short, lop-sided bangs. Sadly, I progressed from those awful bangs to an even worse fate–A PERM! Can I just tell you how wrong that looks on an asian? And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was during the time when high, ratted bangs were “in.” I vow to never, ever wear again have permed hair or bangs. (Oh, and also never to again wear orange and black (I was a graduate of SLP high–go O-R-I-O-L-E-S!)
Oh my I can relate on the music snob/circle time aspect. I enrolled my 2 1/2 year old in dance because she loves to dance at home (to her music snob daddy’s music of choice). All they played at dance was baby music and she just couldn’t associate that with dancing. So after trying for 5 months we quit dance and she’s back to begging us to turn up the music so she can shake it at home.
hey! check out dan zanes. his kids music is tolerable, folky (unless you hate hippy folk music!), also barenaked ladies and they might be giants have kids cds…. also all bearable. granted my kids favorite song right now is Rollin’ on the River which I’m sure they aren’t singing in preschool either! LOL!
This post was amazingly funny
No worries, she will ruins things by herself haha.
You know she will try to cut her hair, she might try bikini wax by herself, more all the meals that she will ruins while your away haha. She mights ruins clothes that weren’t suppose to go on the washer or will burn them with the iron.
Why I say all of this.
I did it hahaha
So no worries,
in 10 years, she will laugh of the pictures
She actually looks kinda hip…like a tiny Swedish toddler model…or something….
Felix has particular taste in music too….sometimes awesome…sometimes cringe-worthy…but always particular. Case in point: he loves Red Hot Chili Peppers a little too much for my liking (paternal genes) and he ALWAYS turns up the speakers on the Mac when he hears Phoenix’s Lisztomania. Kids are freaks!
I cut my daughter’s bangs once when she was 5. Once being the operative word. That shit is harder than it looks! Anyway, I took her to a salon to get them fixed, and was too mortified to even mention what I had done, just let her climb on up in the chair. The stylist looked her hair over a bit and then said to her “Sweetie, has someone been chewing on your bangs?” Proud moment, let me tell ya!
Aww…she’s still adorable though (of course you knew that)! Here is my best bit of advice, let her bangs grow all the way out. I’m not saying bangs are bad but you’ve seen the little girl with bangs that start WAY on top of her head and also go WAY too far down on each side?? That is a really hard cycle to break it seems. I would do what you’ve been doing, clips. Let it grow out.
You’re no failure, just extremely brave! Thanks for sharing once again.
Just wanted to chime in that I’ve done that. Twice. Didn’t learn the first time I made my daughter look horrid. There is a trick to getting it right, but it might be a better idea to just take her to the salon!!!
It’s adorable with the clips so keep using them ’til it grows out. Then, stay away from the scissors, you hear?!? Take her to the gals who used to do Liz’s hair and she can learn to love beauty days.
.
I probably should’ve mentioned that I cut 1/4 inch long Dumb and Dumber bangs on MY OWN HEAD the night before 5th grade pictures were taken.
I just couldn’t (snip, snip)…
get those suckers (snip, snip, snip)…
even!
But don’t worry Matt. I’ve only spent SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS in therapy attempting to get over the humiliation I suffered so many years ago…lol
I swear I did the same thing to my 2 year old daughter and my husband about crapped himself!
While it does look uh, ridiculous – can you imagine how much better it must feel for her not to be constantly pushing those bangs out of her eyes?!
My daughter’s hair has recently recovered and she’s back to the bang brushing and I’m resisting again picking up a pair of scissors!
Maddie is so adorable and full of life!!!
laughed out loud when I read this one….
“4. she now looks like many of the hipster women in our part of town.”
b/c along with the pic that is exactly what it looked like….add her preference for Indie music vs. kiddie tunes.
too funny and too cute
BTW, I got a call last week from a friend and fellow blog follower telling me about Brooke.
First thing that I did was smile and say “Good for him and Maddie!”
Life is an evolution, a path traveled thru peaks and valleys. Sometimes we are blessed with a view, sometimes deep in a valley not knowing what beauty is around us,due to loss or sadness, until we are higher up on the hill.
Cheers! and here’s to you finding that beauty of happiness.
Sweet girl! Hey don’t worry about the hair, wait till she chops all of her fuckin bangs off to the scalp. NOW that is a look! My 3 year old(now 14) did that and it took 6 months to grow out. So, hey she will most likely do a number on herself in the future far worse than you did!
hilarious that you have created a music snob at her age. nice work!
her hair will totally grow. A for effort.
Hey Matt,
I LOL’d at the look on Maddy’s face with her cut bangs. You are right ..it’s only hair and thank goodness you didnt’ attempt to do this if she was in grade school or junior high. So lesson learned.
When my son was about five..he was in the shower..and he was taking a long time. So I knocked on the door to see if he was okay but he locked before I could open it. This alarmed me. So I knocked and told him that if he didin’t let me in I was going to knock the door down. So finally he opened it and half of his head was shaved off. Man..I was thisclose to pulling a Homer Simpson on him but I didn’t needless to say.I put a basseball hat and dragged him to the barbershop and got the rest of his head shaved. Sigh…..those were the days.
Oh my jaw dropped when I saw her bangs by daddy! But you’re right, alot of women sport that look, and you can’t tell with the clip.
Before my daughter was born I was a preschool teacher, and I remember seeing some pretty interesting ‘do’s by mom or dad!! Hey, I’ve even cut my own bangs too short!
Have you and Maddie listened to Laurie Berkner? She sings lots of kids songs they are pretty fun. My 2 year old loves the song “Boots”
Matt – a bad bang cut is a father’s right of passage. My dad had plenty and I could probably dig out the pictures to prove it
Okay, this post made me laugh so hard I was crying…mainly because I’ve SO been there/done that! Not only once, but twice. I did the same exact thing to my first daughter. It was not good. But, somehow I didn’t learn my lesson, because when my son (my youngest child…I should have known better by then) needed a haircut, I decided to do it myself with the clippers. It was so bad. The poor boy looked like he had some sort of horrible illness by the time I was done hacking away. It’s okay, Matt…I think that at some point, most kids walk around with a jacked-up look that shows that their parents were just trying their best. We’re human and luckily, the kids come out just fine on the other side of our adventures.
you do realize if you hadn’t confessed, you could have blamed it all on madeline herself, right? *sigh* you are too good a parent to do that, hmmm? and there is something especially sweet about her forlorn look after the cut. kind of like a dog when it has been shaved and they put the cone of shame on him. and yes, she is beautiful to us NO MATTER WHAT!
She actually looks cute even with that haircut. It looks almost artfully shaggy. (The clip helps)
Regarding the music thing: I don’t think she stands and watches because she’s become a music snob (and what’s wrong with that anyway!?!?) She’s probably just taking it all in. My kid would do the same thing – dance and sing at home, and just stand and stare in music class. The teacher said it was very common. She’s observing how other kids move to the music and trying to map it to herself, I think…
laughed out loud when i saw the pic of the bangs! don’t worry – every young girl has had that look at some point…she’s still lovely, micro-bangs and all
I had to laugh at creating “a music snob”. Is that really such a horrible thing? It just means she has good taste ;o) My son is 11 months old and he loves to nap to Sigur Ros, The Helio Sequence or The Cure and prefers our dance parties be to YACHT, VHS or Beta or The Pixies. I love that he enjoys what his Dad and I listen to. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Oh and the bangs – made me laugh out loud! My mom did that to me too when I was her age.
you didn’t do so bad. i’ve been going to the same hair stylist since i was in high school (over 20 years now). i remember her saying that when she first started about, she was horrified of cutting hair. coloring she could always fix, but cutting–there’s no fixing that for a few months. this, she’s telling me as she’s cutting my hair. so don’t fret, you’re not the only one. and maddy still looks great!
I totally don’t have anything to say….can’t stop laughing-at-the-bangs. Good one!
I have to say that it just might be worse when you do something this disastrous to yourself. Eighth grade was not a good year for about a month.
First of all – you are NOT a failure as a dad because you f’d up her hair. Second of all – don’t ever cut her bangs again! Let them grow out so she has long blonde hair with no bangs. It’s just easier.
Third of all – take her and get a professional haircut next time!
So funny Matt!!!! Luckily for you she is still adorable.
Ah, I little bang mishap will never come close to ALL the good you are doing! My GF’s hubby was baking a bday cake for their 3yo, with her help (her hair had NEVER been cut). She leaned over the mixing bowl and got her hair caught in the beaters. That was her 1st hair cut.
Laughed so hard I nearly cried!!! Just scrolling down to see the pic…that was enough for me! She’s adorable no matter what, Matt. And like everyone else says, its hair…and for whatever reason when us parents fuck it up, it seems to grow double as fast.
Too funny though…
BareNaked Ladies Snacktime IS great
and Dan Zanes, the one about the train is cool, too…
if she watches a lot of Noggin…you can’t beat The Laurie Berkner Band, either!
thank GOD for hair clips
i kid i kid – she looks cute.
I am impressed you attempted to cut her hair at all. You did better than I would!
The hair clips work great. Another idea is a soft headband.
She is so cute it really doesnt matter if her bangs are a tad crooked
A bang tip – bring them all together and twist to a point. Cut a little off the bottom of the twisted hair. This should make them sorta arch around the face and make them even.
I haven’t laughed that hard in a really long time…thanks for that!!!! Maddy is adorable no matter what!
Just remember one day soon she may try and cut her own hair (like I did) and butcher it herself (like I did). After that happens (hopefully it doesn’t) you’ll totally forget this one.
It really isn’t THAT bad!
What’s the difference between a good hair cut and a bad hair cut? Two weeks!
The music snob, omg dude hilarious. And the bangs…well it will make for a great story (long after they’ve grown out) hehe.
Step away from the scissors, Matt……
Not many things make me laugh out loud hysterically when I’m all by myself – but Maddy’s poor haircut has me rolling.
Possibly becuase I have an 18 month old son and we’ve tryed the home hair cut.
Pay teh $20 and go to the salon
Just a tip for cutting toddler bangs. Pull all the bangs forward into a bunch as though you are going to put a pigtail on her forhead, twist the hair and then cut a little off. This way the bangs will be shorter and have a natural arch! Too cute.
Sorry, guess someone already told you that tip!
The one (and only) time I tried to cut my child’s bangs I took a chunk out of his eyelid. Needless to say, at age 21, he still reminds me of that sad day.
Can’t stop laughing!! The bangs and the look on her face are priceless. It is truly a rite of passage for any parent. She is still as adorable as can be.
I’m not going to lie, I laughed.
And I admire you, I have never even attempted cutting my kids hair and know plenty of Moms that do. Sometimes I have doubted this decision since their hair cuts are relatively straight forward. I believe now more than ever I should never attempt this. Matt, you continue to make an impact. Now at least one child owes you a debt of gratitude for saving them a hair massacre.
No worries! Her hair still looks cute. You do such a great job with her hair anyway – my own mom couldn’t do my hair. Just be sure to hide the scissors – my 4 yr old niece keeps trimming her own bangs which are WAY shorter than Maddy’s.
Thank God for hair clips! LMAO!
She is still cute as can be!
shit – this post amazes me on so many levels -
the number of people who have rec’d bad haircuts from parents or others…
that I ACTUALLY know the band you are talking about, and have them in my iTunes thanks to my stepson getting me up to speed musically…
that kid music has not worn on you yet… I swear I thought I’d NEVER do Raffi, etc., but it does grow on you, esp. when you see your kids find music they love (cheap plug here, we love http://www.okeedokee.org and Wonderland Radio (mpr.org) from MN)…
Avett Bros Friday at First Ave… I am excited!
Great attempt on the hair cut, it happens to the best of us … even the moms. I’m still a failure for at home hair cuts and my daughter is 5
Oh you really made me laugh today! Whooh! Thanks for including pictures of your wonderful hair cutting skills. I’m guessing there will be a day when she gives herself a haircut that will look very similar to that.
I think the haircut disaster was a way for the universe to tell you that she does in fact look great with hair decorations like bows. Start using them even if there isn’t a hair faux pas!
I finally caught up! YAY! I, too tried to trim bangs on my little one! Wow, what an ordeal! Uffda! Thank God! It did grow back!
Try Dr. Jean, she’s a musician little ones love – drives me batty, but her tunes are catchy. My first graders love her music, especially one named Baby Fish
Matt I fucked up my daughter’s bangs a few weeks ago…she moved right when I was cutting, but like you said it is just hair and it has already grown out some. My daughter is in speech therapy and always sits in a “W” like Maddy is playing with her train. They tell me it is bad for their little hips, so I have to correct her all the time. Haven’t researched it yet, but just thought I would pass it along.
Take care,
Debbie
Once again I am happy to see you mention Yo Gabba Gabba, especially since my son writes songs and music for the show (and is Muno’s voice!). With beautiful Maddy in mind I asked him how old the youngest “my name is ____ and I love to dance” child is, and he said 3 years old. So when season 4 (hopefully) starts, she will definitely have to be on it. [He spends a day recording the kids saying that, and it's crazy.]
I really screwed up my son’s hair last week. The back is at least an inch longer on one side and uneven all over. So, it happens to all of us don’t feel so bad.
Hey, our kiddos were born 1 day apart.
Madeline is talking way more clearly than my kiddo is.
When I was in preschool, my mother asked my father (while she headed out to some sort of meeting/gathering) if he could give me a bath and trim my bangs the night before my first preschool school photo.
Nevertheless, my bangs ended up even shorter (and therefore all stuck out funny) than Madeline’s. My mother cried. I’ve never seen the photos. But I’m not scarred in the least. I’m now a twenty-year-old who still gets the urge to trim her own bangs…and it still looks like crap.
The Huntington rocks. It’s one of the many things I miss about living in LA and growing up near Pasadena. Pinky and Blue Boy…the Japanese Garden…love it.
This is one of my favorite posts! HA!
Like I said before, no girl can escape childhood with the experience of bad bangs from parent error. Even I did it. At least it wasn’t permanently recorded in school pictures that every one of her classmates will have.
LOVE the Gay Roses!!
Oh my goodness…I’m so sorry, but I literally laughed loudly when I read your story/saw the damage. Thankfully, she’s beautiful anyway, it does grow, and hairclips look adorable in her hair! I cut my oldest daughter’s bangs crooked once, but took her to get them fixed before things got out of hand. The baby of the family gave herself a one-sided mullet AND cut her bangs clear up to the hairline when she was 2 years old, so I feel ya’ there. She’s 5 now, and has hair to her waist with no visible signs of the previous damage that was done!!!!
OHHH, I forgot to mention. Bangs trimming tip: catch her while she’s sleeping if she’s a sound sleeper. OR…take her somewhere and pay the $10 to get her bangs trimmed, haha!
I don’t know what’s funnier, your post or the comments people have left, LOL.. I especially loved Heather’s, the one who’s grandmother cut her hair in the moving car (forget the name), and the one who said something to the effect of an Asian+perm=not good…. good laughs!
btw, my mom tried to cut my hair too and I ended up not only with pixie bangs, but with a total boy haircut.. People thought I was the boy (and not my brother who was just a year younger).. For this reason, I have never attempted and never will, to cut my own kids hair!
“…and i know how nasty those little bastards can be.” Huh. I don’t recall hearing anyone mentioning that to me leading up to the unprovoked attack that is birdemic. Lorikeets, Matt. . . up in them guts.
Oh, Matt! The bangs gave her an european look, they’re very popular here in boys and girls…
Nothing to worry about, she’s still a beauty!
The first picture of maddy’s new bangs made me smile, never thought you meant all the synonyms you gave. She still looks pretty and yes, the clip hides it so the cut doesn’t matter really.
Matt – Don’t feel too bad about the hair cut. Yup, it’s short but you know that. The plus is she looks gorgeous anyway and the hair clips are very cute.
My husband did the same thing to our oldest daughter when she was a little younger than Maddy. Only she was left completely bang-less. It was not cute and there was nothing I could do about it. There wasn’t even enough left for hair clips. If I can find a pic I send you one, but I’m pretty sure I banned picture taking until her hair grw back!
I was shooting a wedding a year and a half ago and came home on a quick break to change. I only had a few minutes, but decided my then 3.5 year old needed her bangs trimmed…and they ended up looking a lot like Maddy’s. I’ve never cut her bangs in a hurry again…in fact, I just grew them out instead.
i’m obviously laughing at you right now! we went through the same thing—the night rae had dance pics taken. so my terrible trimming of the bangs is now forever captured in professional photos the entire family can share! at least it’s not all over the internet….HAHAHA!!
The bangs are adorable! And I think next time you might enlist a professional to help you out with the hair cutting.
Her bangs don’t look that bad…. I think the super short ones are in right now!!! All’s good daddy!
OMG, how funny! I laughed so hard. I did the same thing to my 16 year old when she was 2 years old. You just don’t realize you’re getting them that short. They will grow back and she won’t suffer any lasting damage. Keep up the good parenting job!
Minor pothole in the journey of parenting. We’ve all done something like that. Those pics will make fantastic ammo when she’s 18.
She is still beautiful… and her hair will be grown before you know it. My daughter did the exact same thing to herself when she was in kindergarten. She took her scissors in the bathroom and did it at school. She and her teacher were both in tears when I picked her up from school. I have some great pictures which I treasure of that haircut. She is now 15. Time flies… enjoy every moment.
Well Matt, sure hope this writing thing takes off for you. If not, I hope you can get back to the Internet business. I just don’t see a future for you in cutting hair professionally.
Thanks for the best laugh I have had all week with that lead in to that shot of her hair.
Christmas idea for Matt: A Flowbee…they may still sell them on eBay! The vacuum/haircutting thingy. You attach to your vacuum and it sucks the hair and cuts it at the same time!
You made me laugh sooo hard over the bangs thing ….. thanks
what a fun weekend with friends!! love the pictures, i swear, Madeline gets cuter and cuter every time you show her off
sorry to hear about the bangs fiasco!! But, it will grow back quickly, and now you learned your lesson- do not cut her hair! 
Ok, first of all, that bangs job is nothing. The first time I cut my older daughter’s hair I used a pair of scissors that turned out to be dull and have some sort of gluey stuff on them. In the end it looked like a caveman had chewed her hair off. It was so short and her hair grew so slowly it was a good 6 months before we could do anything reasonable with it.
Maddy is still completely adorable.
Second, there are some better kids’ CD’s out there. They Might be Giants newest “Here comes Science” is a favorite in my car (with the 6 year old and the 2 year old). They also love the regular TMBG stuff.
The older girl is on the cover of a Wye Oak (if you haven’t heard them you should) CD and it was her bedtime music for months. She too turns her nose up at most kids’ music. There are worse things than being a teeny little indie rocker.
Oh the bangs! I did that to myself when I was in 1st grade, the day before picture day. ya. my mom was pissed. forever caught on film.
she’s beautiful and you’re still doing a wonderful job with her!
How quickly they grow. Love looking at Maddy over the last two years! My Mazie is a week older than your doll. Congrats to both of us for being great parents! Glad yall’s lives are moving foward well. okay I’ve approved now I’ll disapprove…BANGS!!! what the F were you thinking? Bangs, on most, are awful. Bangs are hard to pull off. Liz didnt have bangs…Maddy shouldnt either. we all make mistakes. as far as maddy’s hair goes i hope this is your last. SHE IS AWESOME btw. thanks for sharing her with us. My Mazie loves watching her vids. take care. Houston, TX
I did the same thing to my hair when I was young..I took my child safe scissors and was cutting my dolls hair and i got the bright idea to cut mine too..needless to say I had a bowl cut for the rest of the summer because that is the only way the hair stylist could fix my hair was by cutting it all off
And as for music snob, there is nothing wrong with a young one liking music, my cousin who is Maddys age loves White Stripes, Pearl Jam and the Beatles and only listens to a few Disney songs that she calls her favorites.
Love the pictures as always!! <3
Yep, umm, don’t cut hair again, ok?! LOL. The first picture of the bangs is priceless … not even so much because of the bangs themselves but because Maddy has a look on her face like, “What the hell just happened?!” Totally priceless.
The pics of Maddy’s bangs had me laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe, tears streaming down my face. But, I laugh only because I understand. Last week I gave my own daughter what I refer to as “the Melvin P. Thorpe” haircut.
one of many harmless little parent fuck ups… we all do something we regret, especially with the first. I tell my oldest she was my experiment
you are right its just hair. haha, loved your story today. you continue to be awesome.
Loved the bangs story. I was really laughing out loud! Keep those scissors up high from this point on otherwise she’ll be cutting her own hair – and it would probably be worse then what you did.
Hi Matt, I have been keeping up with your blog for a while now but never posted anything until now. I laughed out loud when I saw the pic of Maddy with her bangs!!! Thanks for sharing it! Can you imagine if Liz was here to see that??? I know she probably wouldn’t have let you do it in the first place but that would be something she would never let you forget!!! Good story for years to come! Can’t wait for your book to come out too, I told my hubby I was going to buy it as soon as it comes out:0)
Matt,
I never leave comments, but I had to recommend a fellow HHS Royal class of ’96 the Okee Dokee Brothers. They are a local kids bad who found it more enjoyable to play their blue grass sounds for kids. So they quit the bluegrass thing and are now playing around the cities. They have several clips on youtube and a web page if you interested in buying the CD or their CD “Kids with Beard” is on itunes. My 3 year old loves them and the music doesn’t drive me nuts.
http://www.okeedokee.org/
Jenny
All I can say about the bangs is…. be SO happy that you can cover it up with the clips. With them in her hair, you don’t notice a thing. A couple weeks ago, I slept in a little one morning, and my 7 year old decided to cut my 2 year old’s hair. WHY in god’s name she sat there and let him do it, I’ll never know, but cut her hair he did! There are huge patches of hair missing from all over the back of her head, and big chunk of her curls at the ends are missing, right in the middle of the back of her head. And in some places, he cut her hair to the scalp. Talk about a butcher job!!! I was HORRIFIED!!!! And ther’s no covering it up, and no fixing it, no nothing!! And I know, it’s only hair, and yes it will grow… BUT her hair grows very slowly, so I fully expect that it’s going to take over a year before I can even remotly try to even her hair out!!!! I litterally cried, everytime I looked at her for an entire week after the event!!! So be glad, be very very glad….it could have been SO much worse!!!
dude her bangs weren’t that bad!! super sweet!!
“and madeline kept
touching her head
to make sure i
hadn’t cut any more hair.”
- hysterical!!!
Hey Matt, totally been there at daycare. There’s so much great kindie (kid’s + indie) music being made right now (that’s what I write about all day). I often send some of the best stuff into my girl’s schools.
At least you didn’t make her bleed—-true story. I have 2 boys. I thought I could save on hair cuts by giving them a buzz at home right???? NO! I nicked my oldest (3 years old at the time) on the ear….never….ever…again…Electric trimmer…used once sitting under the bathroom sink.
I saw Liz’s photo on ABC news this evening in a story about maternal deaths in California.
I laughed out loud when I scrolled down and saw the pic of her and her bangs but I have to say that she is one of the most beautiful effing kids I have ever seen, and I have three of my own that I think are fab, even with those hideous bangs!
Matt-
On some level, you were secretly proud that Maddy snubbed the shitty music
I laughed so hard when I read that…
LMFAO omg two things…..Kudos for teaching Maddy good taste in music (kid songs are lame, i dont blame her) and just keep in mind that you did a much better job on her bangs then she could have herself!
I read your post yesterday and I laughed! Thank you for sharing your stories with us. I’m grateful that Maddy isn’t growing up listening to top 40 radio because it’s crap. I also loved the picture of Maddy’s bangs… reminded me of the times my mom would cut/ruin my hair when I was growing up.
You’re doing a great job Matt! Thanks for making my day by sharing your stories.
I truly believe fucking up your kids bangs is a rite of passage we must all face.
My first and last bang fuck up (and yes say my daughters’, truly the LAST as they will not let me near them with scissors..) involved me doing exactly what you did. Going nasty and then short to correct it.
What was precious was while the daughter cried her twin told me to cut her bangs. JUST LIKE HER SISTERS. Yeah, completely felt the love that night, too bad it wasn’t directed at ME!
It grew out. I learned a lesson. Do Not Attempt To Cut Your Child’s Hair. (But man when I think of the do’s I had as a kid thanks to my parents I cannot help but feel mine have come out darn fortunate!)
If this was only the last time she’ll have hair issues ;D
She is still adorable and your storytelling ability is awesome. I needed this laugh today.
Let me tell you… cutting your child’s hair badly is a parent’s rite of passage. I used to think doing it would save me ten dollars at a time and that’s why I did it. And every time I gave my son a crooked haircut, it made me smile but made all my family cringe. They made me promise a few times not to cut it again, but I still always would.
So now… they steal him away every few weeks and when they bring him back to me, his hair is magically… and evenly cut.
Mission accomplished.
my son was a non participater in preschool during singing/dancing/gym time – couldn’t figure it out because he loves music too – all kinds, kid, adult everything. then he started kindergarten & not only dances, claps, & sings along w/ all the other kids in the class but sang a solo for his kindergarten school program AND danced his little bottom off during the show.
we alternated between disbelief and uncontrollable laughter and tears.
and i’ve never cut his hair but grandpa did – it looked worse than madeline’s and then what do you do? gee, thanks for the free babysitting AND the free haircut!!!
She’ll love hearing you tell this story about the haircut. all kids love to hear stories of what happened when they were “little”
“…and madeline kept
touching her head
to make sure i
hadn’t cut any more hair.” SOOOOO funny! Her hair isn’t nearly as bad as you make it out to be! She’s adorable, regardless!
yeah, I laughed too. first at the attempt to do a haircut & second at the fact you gave her a near mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. lol
Seriously, though… I don’t think you advance childhood without at least one bad haircut. I know I’ve had my fair share. I didn’t, however, have it displayed for everyone to see.
Love the posts, Matt!
I once gave a guy a similar haircut after doing jello shots my freshman year of college.
You can’t call yourself a failure over the haircut. Your daughter picks up her toys AND PUTS THEM BACK IN THE BOX. That makes her more advanced than the adults who live in my house. And which is more important, really, in the long run? Hair is transient, but neat-freakiness is forever!
Her hair will grow back eventually, but oh my, you did some damage. LOL But the clips do the work, they fit fine.
It’s so great to see her having fun through the images, she’s clearly having the best time ever there with her little friend. Great!
It sounds like you had a really nice weekend! I’ve messed my kids hair up several times. She still looks adorable, and you’re right, I can’t even tell when you have the clips in!
Speaking from personal experience, the bangs are no biggie just do not, under any circumstances, place pink, sponge rollers in Maddy’s hair the night before her 5th grade school photo day and then send her to have her picture taken looking like she is wearing someone’s elderly grandmother’s wig. Not that my mom did that to me and caused permanent emotional damage, no, never.
Seriously, we all recover from the bad hair styles inflicted upon us by our very loving parents. And truthfully, Maddy’s new hair style doesn’t take away from her cuteness one tiny bit!
Don’t worry about the music snobbery. Some kids like to hang back in social situations and take it all in. My son does that. He’s a music maniac prefers any loud rock (sabbath, Down, ac/dc etc) Recently on a Ramones and Beastie Boys (???) kick. He’s 2. We go to Music Together classes and he won’t dance, won’t sing, only plays the instruments but when we’re home and I put the CD on from class he’s a dancing, singing crazy man. He’s just taking it all in. Also, my daughter had some pretty good taste in music for awhile, loved Billie Holiday, Low, Massive Attack as well as the Ramones (the perfect kids music)! Now she’s six, my 15 yr old niece made her a mix-cd. She’s in love w/Miley Cyrus and High School Musical. God help me!!! We don’t watch those shows but she gets it through osmosis. It’s pure torture. Hopefully she’ll come around one day.I have forbidden my niece from giving her any more music, she’s now trying to push Taylor Swift. My ears are bleeding.
Umm….this is totally off topic, and I really hope that you see this but…uhh..isn’t that a picture of Liz from this here website about 58 seconds into this news story on maternal death in the US?
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/moms-risk-10014105?tab=9482931§ion=1206825
And….uhh…well…yeah….just came across this on a parenting forum….and was concerned that maybe you wouldn’t know that this was being used?
Matt,
my dad also used to do my hair, long brown, slightly wavy hair. In the Northeast it is cold, so doing my hair meant blow drying. My dad is a PE teacher/carpenter (yeah i know) This man with his bear like paws used to pull my hair out straight and shake the water out of it, the blow drier was on, but the shaking i’m sure is what got the water out. During the summer i would have to sit in front of a fan while my bed time story was read to try my hair. Dads and their daughters hair will be a topic that is relevant for all time! I’m sure Maddy will not know the difference, and she is so cute that it doesn’t matter anyway
oh man, I about peed my pants with the laughter! Everyone has a hair cut/bangs story. A neighborlady cut my hair before my being in a wedding as flower girl when I was 4 yrs old! Good times.
I loved the comments about the music also.
Write on Matt.
I have one to ‘up’ you in the home haircut dept.
When my son was in Kindergarten, I gave him a home cut. When parent teacher conferences came, his teacher, not the fuzzy warm type to begin with, looked at me sternly and told me in no uncertain terms to take him in to a professional for a haircut! OUCH!
Guess mama got an “F” in haircuts!
Hey, Matt — here’s one more option for kid’s music that parents can be good with — John McCutcheon is a very activist folk artist who also writes kid’s music. We’ve seen several of his concerts in MN and the kids have loved him. As they’ve gotten older we’ve gone to the adult concerts with the kids, where John’s politcal wit shines through!
Take care! Patty
hi matt…
although everyone else has shared stories so now i don’t feel as original… but i’m telling it anyway…
It was the summer before junior kindergarden (so i was freshly 4 and loving life) and my mom had taken me and my brother to the east coast to visit family. One of my little friends and I got this great idea to play hairdresser. So we stole a pair of “real” scissors because her play salon scissors just weren’t cutting it. (haha so funny.) Anyway. we ended up also stealing my mom’s camera on top of that. Long story short..(omg the puns just won’t stop.) we made the decision that… and i kid you not “Okay since we have long hair… let’s not cut our long hair because then our moms will know. This hairs up top (our bangs) are short already so they wont notice.” So here we were behind my grandma’s house with bangs (VERY similar to Maddy’s)that bareley covered half of our foreheads. and then we decided it’d be a great idea to have a photoshoot. (My mother still won’t let me live that one down. First boyfriend to come over you KNOW she brought out the self-haircut of 94′photos) I went to school in september with a very interesting haircut and made it to university. So far no psychological damage has been evident but i do have a phobia of scissors going anywhere near my head(which is pretty legit for anyone)
Let me tell you, your kid can rock the short bangs! Maddy could be bald and she’d still be the cutest little girl on the interwebs! Don’t sweat it! Bangs are the worst… maybe you should grow hers out and give her some layers do you don’t have to worry about bang maintenance but then again…i probably shouldnt be giving out advice.
jackson got a hair cut yesterday… i looked the other way FOR ONE SECOND and the chick cut off a sideburn.
ONE FUCKING SECOND.
i protested.
the other sideburn is still in tact.
Just wanted to offer another opinion about “not” participating in music circle time. What if she’s just thinking and ? Likely more is getting in than the teacher thinks. She may be trying things at home that you don’t realize are from observing the circle time. My daughter is just 3 months younger than yours, and we’ve been going to a music class since she was 4 months old. Sometimes she does just watch in the toddler class, but once home…she does all the activities there. I have the advantage of seeing the class, too, so I know that the source of some things she does at home is the class. The teacher says that is the case with many kids. Several of the slightly older toddlers in our class are the same; for a time they just sat there, then suddenly one day to everyone’s surprise they sang whole songs, jumped, skipped, whatever on command. The teacher says its because home is safer and that’s the place to try new things out, not in front of an audience of other kids.
I’ll bet that’s the case with your Maddy, especially if she does hear a lot of music at home. The wheels are turning in her mind, not to worry.
I’m a professional musician, for what that’s worth, so I totally understand the music snobbery. It’s justified, I think. I play my girl all kinds of things others would call obscure (I’m classical). What is “children’s” music? Who says they can only handle Disney, and over-commercialized poor singing? How sad to limit a child’s mind when there is so much beauty to behold. Hold your ground about the non-commerical stuff. She will learn whatever you love.
Your blog has been a real joy to me. Just wanted to offer that, and to say that your pain has been transformed into something good for a lot of folks. Hugs.
My daughter MJ was Maddie’s age when I made a blunder with her hair. I tried to fix it and it didn’t work. About a week later she walked in the room and said, “Look mommy, I fixed my hair!”
She had found the scissors and cut her bangs right about at the scalp. She was so damn proud. All I could do was cry/laugh both at the same time.
Icing on the cake, Pre-School pictures were the next day. In her picture she has 15 tiny butterfly clips holding back a tiny piece of what was left.
Turns out I learned two things that day.
Number one obviously…hide the sissors.
Number two…My cut job was bad, but it could always be worse!
Laughing my ass off about this hair cut. Geez. And once again, think my girl looks so much like yours. AND she wants her hand-me-downs!
one morning 5 years ago, i woke up and went downstairs
it was early enough that is was still dark
i never used babygates at night, my daughters (then 18 months and 3) were terrified of the dark and so i didn’t have to worry about my oldest (henceforth known as ‘the ninja’) heading downstairs and hurting herself
i walked into the livingroom and found the ninja asleep on the sofa – surprise! then to my horror i saw piles and piles of red hair (the bright red hair of the younger sibling) and the safety scissors we use for crafts
i raced up stairs to find sibling, asleep in her crib with 3 mm long bangs and one of her pony tails lopped off (just one, not both)
i felt like i failed as a parent in that moment, newly dubbed a single parent, dealing with raising them completely alone… i had left scissors in their reach (those stupid things are only supposed to cut paper)
point is, the bangs grown back, you didn’t poke out her eye
but here’s the bad new, you’ll screw them up again (trust me, you’ll think you’ve learned your lesson and try it again)… and they’ll grow back once more
also, if it makes you feel any better, my kids hate that music too – except the They Might Be Giants science cd… they dig Wilco, Tom Waits, the Beatles, Rise Against, Nora Jones… raised 3 years now by my a music critic fiancee and i, they’ve never really been exposed to ‘kid music’ (like how i blamed him there? truth be told, i never played yo gabba gabba or sharon, lois and bram here)
You are both super cute anyway Matt!
She is still a cutie despite the haircut!!! Thank goodness for those hair clips
No, really, it’s not so bad.
This blog is a real treasure.
When your daughter is old enough, buy her a copy of Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman. That book saved my life.
Ask some girl moms where they take their daughters. My husband cut my daughter’s hair for a while, until he did it kinda like you did. I took her to the woman that does my hair. My mom was aghast that I would pay $20 (with tip) to have a 3 y/o’s hair cut. Then I took her to supercuts one time. My mom took one look at her and said — You’re right. There’s a difference between a $10 and a $20 haircut.
It will grow out! I think she looks gorgeous no matter what!
EVERY girl has a time in her life when her bangs are cut too short. Madeline should be thankful it happened at such an early age. No biggie, it’s just what parents do!
Hey Matt,
I used to pray for you both often; I shall continue to do so whenever I think of you. Keep up the wonderful work, Daddy.
I started reading your blog when Madeline was a teensy, tiny premie. I followed along faithfully for a very long time, but life got more & more hectic (as it does), and it’s now been probably close to a year since I’ve visited (maybe once or twice in the interim?). I just thought of you tonight, and figured I’d check in.
I love that you’re still writing and taking photos. Seeing Madeline so grown up brought the vapers to my eyes and brought so many of your heart- and gut-wrenching stories to mind.
I just wanted to let you know: she is beautiful. You are doing a *great* job. Crooked, spiky, too-short bangs are simply a rite of passage.
~Sarah~ (from the canada)
I’ve never cut my twins’ hair, they have done it to themselves enough times (and every time they do it I have to take at least one in to get it fixed) the last time was the worst (I wasn’t even home when it happened) and Lexi chopped a huge section of Abbey’s hair that now Lexi has her long layered hair cut and Abbey has a short bob, Abbey keeps wanting her hair to be long again I keep telling her that it will take time. Either my sister or I cut my son’s hair unless it is something rather big coming up (Christmas or my sister’s upcoming wedding) then I take him in to get it looking super cute otherwise he doesn’t care what his hair looks like so it gets buzzed (the last time my sister did it, it turned out super cute!!). I’ve cut the bangs before, but I got so used to doing it to myself when I was a teenager that as long as the girls sit still (which they can do now that they are 4.5) they turn out just fine, but when they were younger it was harder because they wanted to watch what was being done and then when I would cut then they had to see where the hair went and it was just not any fun!!!
Maddy’s hair looks super cute the way that it is, clips are doing a fabulous job!!
Thanks for making me laugh out loud. At least you were brave enough to take pictures for evidence later!
Matt – I just read an article on yahoo about childbirth mortality and thought of you
You are doing such a great job with Maddy and honoring Liz. I admire your strength and courage and ability to really be yourself with us and with your gorgeous daughter! I can’t wait to read your book! I have been a fan since Jennifer Wilson took your pictures when Maddy was a baby. I saw the story on her blog and have been hooked ever since!
btw, my sister (who is now a hairdresser) cut my hair and shaved my legs when I was 4. Yeah, talk about a disaster. But it is a funny family memory now.
with love and compassion,
Kristine
Matt, you just had me laughing out loud! Being that I am exactly your age and a single mom with sole custody of a boy 3 weeks younger than Madeline, you & I actually go through so many of the same experiences at the same time and I always enjoy comparing…well after having taken my son to the barber in the past, something (God knows what) possessed me to cut his hair MYSELF last weekend against my better judgment. I remember saying out loud to him “this is a bad idea.” lol I love that Madeline kept touching her head afterwards…my son did the same thing! hahaha (she looks adorable by the way)
Oh my. I laughed so hard that I nearly had Diet Coke spew out my nose when I (1) saw the picture of Maddy’s bangs and (2) read the top 5 list of “good news” re: the haircut. Hilarious! And she looks adorable…
hey Matt! I just went through your flickr account because i was bored. WHEN DID MADDY GROW UP??? seriously. she was SO small… even the pictures uploaded a few months ago- what a change. she is gorgeous
I love reading your blog Matt! You have an awesome sense of humor! You cheer me up on days like today. I am sooo mad at the world. And if anybody would have tried to contact me or ask me how I’m doing, I would be mean anyway. Where did my neighbors and friends go? Hum… I guess I’m suppose to be better by now.
Wanted to share this article with you…
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/changing-life-preventing-maternal-mortality/story?id=9914009
Your a great dad Matt…you just have to remember to leave some things to the professionals…like hair cuts.
P.S. still getting a lot of joy and inspiration from you through your blog.
Uncle Terry
funny stuff. don’t worry about it – hair grows, life goes on…
Your writing is so beautiful it makes my heart smile and hurt at the same time.
Tell everyone she did it herself – I did that to myself about that age- it may work.
The hair grows back, as it will later, when she cuts it herself. The Huntington is a great place to have as a favorite place. It was a few blocks over from my grandparents’ house, and I never realized as a kid how special it was to have it so close by.
Hair grows back at a PHENOMENAL RATE. Have no fear.
Because you have a girl, you have the good fortune to be able to camouflage mistakes in hair cuttery with clips.
I have two boys.
Oh, the hair mistakes.
OH.
She is still adorable! The hair will grow back. Loved these pictures, so cute!
Hi Matt,
Great to get to meet you today. Fun our Madeline’s could meet. So kind of you to stop and talk with us. We’ve been followers since the beginning.
wow! she is beautifull!!!
love her hair n eyes!!!!
kiss her for me ya!
molie,malaysia
OMG OMG OMG. Those bangs made me laugh SO HARD!!!!!
Your daughter is adorable – and hopefully, you learned your lesson (obviously the hard way like most of the rest of us). Unless you are a stylist, never, ever, EVER try to cut their hair yourself.
Now, if only I could convince myself that trimming up my OWN bangs is a bad idea…
I hope you all have a wonderful time in Paris! And happy birthday to sweet little Madeline!
I cannot stop laughing. That hair “incident” could not be funnier.
Hahahaaa that hair cut photo cracked me up!!! My dad did the same thing to me when I was about 6 years old!