The first stop on our road trip to Maryland was Dinosaur State Park, which is south of Hartford, Connecticut. In 1966, builders who were excavating for a building discovered thousands of dinosaur tracks. Instead of building the building, they smartly enclosed the tracks under a geodesic dome, and the State Park is underneath.
Dinosaur State Park was the perfect stop for about twelve reasons. It’s about three minutes off of the highway, and it’s pretty small, so it’s not like you’re going to get lost there all day, exploring. There’s a 15-minute claymation movie, and then the dino displays are small and low-key. It’s really all about seeing all those dinosaur tracks right there in front of you, walking across the floor. Very cool. Eli got majorly freaked out by all the dinosaur roaring in the background, but Dino State Park scores big points for having a quiet, sunny little craft room off of the main exhibit hall. Eli, Zuzu and I escaped into there while Dave and Henry explored the tracks some more. The craft room had all kinds of random things: hissing cockroaches, lizards, puzzles, toys, fossils, and make-your-own-bookmark crafts (and more!). One hour, two $3 pteradactyls, and we were back on our way.
Henry and Eli do a puzzle in the craft room. (I've said it before, but will Henry's hair ever be tame-able?)
Is that part of the Peabody museum? many childhood memories from that musuem. big ole T-rex in the main entry. I love the craft room idea.
But what i’m really commenting here is your henry hair lament. If you’re serious about taming, it it REALLY bothers you, what you need is a little WAX. it’ll just give some weight to that cowlick, and make it, as Tiffany-the-tatooed-hairdresser says, “piece-y”. ie, it glues hair together. she attacks me with it after blowing in farrah-fawcett feathers, to make them more “edgy” and less fluffy. If I’d had it in 4th grade, when I was trying to make my straight, slippery, thick “8 is enough” bowlcut into farrah feathers, I suspect I might have had a major boost in my sexual self-image. however, now that I think about it, maybe 4th grade is a little early for such a boost.
Anyway wax. Tiffany uses wella “frozen wax” – which mysteriously sprays from a can- but don’t do that, it smells like a salon. I think scott’s dude-specific brand is crew, although i’ve seen him stealing from my sparkly pot of sheer blonde wax. maybe he wants to look like farrah too!
I suppose wax would be a lot more effective than the daily water-and-comb method, which actually just makes it worse. Also, on this road trip we learned that this particular cowlick is perhaps a family trait. I don’t know how serious I am about taming it, unless it’s a situation where he needs to look presentable (that is, not often). I do, though, have some Bumble + Bumble Sumo Wax for my own hair (I think the adjective applied to me was “piecey”), so I’ll just try that!
Nope, not part of the Peabody, and no giant T-rex. In fact, not even really a main entry, hardly. It’s pretty wee.
Oh no, don’t tame the cowlick — it is part of Henry’s persona!
I myself am all mixed up about styling products for little people. on the one hand, there is just what clog says: you are YOU with your freckles or cowlicks or crooked teeth or brown hair. and don’t we hate those horrible little catalogue kids with the gel and the grins and the fake-seeming everything? on the other hand, self-expression in clothes is ok, so why not hairdo? those litle faux-hawks on some kids is cute. and I saw a little girl, about 8 the other day in hair place, and her mom was letting her get a streak of some color in her hair. she was deciding between midnight blue and purple when I left. and while I hated the mom on sight (would have hated her in general, not for daughter-treatment), i did think, gee, when I was a kid, i might have dug someone letting me, encouraging me, to do that.
and clog, you remind me to tell about a book that we love: “will gets a haircut” by lena and olaf langstrom. just wait till you see what will (who himself always has a cowlick in just henry’s spot, like a those little puffs of eagledown the sioux put on the crowns of their heads) does to his hair for the end of the year school party!
I will definitely check out “Will Gets a Haircut.” Sounds great.
Faux-hawks on kids drive me nuts. I think they’re ridiculous. To me they say, “Hey, we’re parents but we’re sooooo hip, see?” But maybe because I usually see them on 2-year-olds who obviously aren’t asking for them, but are having them forced upon them.