We get a lot of attention because of Isaac's red hair. Attention I usually like, sometimes feel awkward about, and never know how to respond to. But I'm generally terrible at quick, witty comebacks anyway, so not knowing how to respond is just part of the territory.
These are some of the reactions we've had so far:
1. Most people that have something to say just nudge each other and say "look at that baby's hair". We probably get that once every other day.
2. I get a lot of: "My sister's husband's cousin's kid has red hair too!" I feel like part of a club and the hair-commenter and I high-five about our membership.
3. One woman incorrectly guessed "that hair must glow in the dark!"
4. Another (otherwise normal looking) woman merely pointed and laughed.
5. And my favorite reaction thus far was the old man that stopped walking and stared at Isaac as we walked by with a look of horror on his face. It was just such an odd response. And maybe it had nothing to do with Isaac or his hair, but, I like to think it did. ;)
When I see other red haired boys I wonder if that's what Isaac will look like when he's older. When I talk to parents of red heads, I ask if there really is a temper that comes with red hair (doesn't seem to be, from the anecdotal work I've done....though Isaac himself can be quite feisty). And other parents and I like tracing the hair back to which grandmother, uncle, or in our case Great Aunt passed along the gene.
It is really strange how much his hair comes up. Way more than my hair, or Dave's hair or Andrew's hair. ;) Or any other of our features for that matter. And honestly, that's okay by me. I completely and totally love it.
I got up early this morning to make some blackberry muffins for breakfast. This is turning out to the week of intense baking after all! Yum!
oh...and here's that hair I was talking about...
11 comments:
I love red hair! My best friend growing up had red hair, but, a las, none of her three children ended up with it.
In general, when I get an odd comment, my typical response is to smile broadly and say "thank you," as if it were a compliment (no matter what it is). Or, even if it's a total nonsequiter, to say "Yes, we think he's adorable." It's amazing how often these work.
He has the most beautiful hair, and whenever I see him on your blog, I want to reach out through cyber space to stroke it. He is totally cute!
I'm with Ruth! Something about that red makes one gravitate towards it! That poor kid's head gets stroked every time I see him.
#5 reminds me of the time that we lived in Guatemala and my husband would get stared at as if he were an alien (and well, he was -- definitely the only pasty-white red-head for miles and miles where he lives, sometimes the first one anybody had seen in their lifetime). On the chicken bus he would make kids cry just by looking at them. A few times he would feel something on his arm and turned around to realize that a neighbor had been investigating (by feeling/pulling) his white and gold hairs.
Isaac, may your gorgeous red hair never make others cry and only bring more joy and delightful surprise to the people around you! ;)
Oh yes -- That beautiful red hair is definitely adorable and comment-worthy! I spent a great deal of time in the early 90's with dyed red hair and the comments I got then out-numbered the comments I got when I dyed my hair platinum blond by about 3:1.
I agree with Maria -- I big smile and a "Thank you! We think both our boys are adorable!" is a perfect response.
I love Isaac's hair. It is funny because with twins I get stopped at least 2-3 times a day. "Are they twins" - Yes. "My uncle's sister's cousin has twins" - Great. My husband just keeps walking without ever responding to anyone.
You should come up with a list of witty responses. I always wish I did :)
-Steph
So funny! Enzo's hair gets a lot of attention because he's so blond, and his hair sticks up. I could write a similar post to this one w/ all the comments, but the two most common are: 1. does his hair just stick up like that or do you do it like that? (I don't even do my own hair, let alone my 2-year-old's hair!), and 2. Where did that blond hair come from? (which then, to Chris' dismay, turns into a conversation about when Chris had hair, before he started balding, it was very blond).
Isaac really is so cute! And those muffins look delicious.
When I was born, back in 1958, it was the practice for babies not to be sleeping by the side of the mother's bed in hospital, but taken away to a nursery unit and brought back for feeding or when visitors arrived. My big sister (aged 8 at the time) went to visit mum and me for the first time and dad took her to the nursery at the same time as another dad visiting his baby. The dads gave their names and the nurse came out with two babies, one under each arm. My sister took one look at the ginger haired baby and said 'I hope that's not ours'. Unfortunately for her, it was! However I went from ginger to red to auburn and then SHE was the one buying hair dye to get hers the same colour. Embrace the ginger!!!
He's adorable! My oldest had red hair at birth but by the time he was 2 he was blond
Those muffins look scrumptious!
That boy is wicked cute!
The last picture makes me think you're super duper tall!
Erin, EVERYONE is super tall to Isaac. ;)
I love Isaac's red hair! He's so cute!
Julia (now one!) has an hemangioma on her head. You can image the kind of looks, comments and questions I have been getting...A little girl once asked if it was her brain sticking out! We might be getting a little less attention now that her hair covers some of it! I'm almost happy we have such a long and cold winter!
Post a Comment