A few years ago I gave up on giving Wes haircuts myself. It was a two-person job where one parent had to hold him and the other cut. And we both had to endure his weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth the whole time.

So then a friend told me about Cookie Cutters, which specializes in kids’ haircuts. It’s not nearby but totally worth the drive. The waiting area has a slide and touch-screen computer game. Wes sits buckled into a chair shaped like a car or airplane and he can watch TV. I’ve learned that Dora the Explorer is on at 11:30 am. Perfect.

He’s not always happy to sit in the chair, but at least I’m not the one who has to hold him down or cut the hair. This time he put up a fight about getting in the chair, but once he was there and Dora was on he calmed down and watched the show. Stephanie cuts his hair, and she does a great job with him.

Of course Carissa has no qualms about coming, too, because she gets a sucker and a balloon like Wesley does, and she doesn’t even have to get her hair cut. Not yet.

Afterward I take them for ice cream. Last time we did a frozen yogurt bar, where they can pick their flavor and toppings, but this time I opted for drive-through ice cream cones. We ended the trip with errands at Costco across the street, and the kids fell fast asleep on the way home.