David Goes Bald; In Honor of His Princess

The Daddy-Daughter bond is a special one. I love this picture of the two of them taken last spring, you can clearly see how much they adore each other.

Without even asking, I was 99% sure that David never even had so much as a buzz cut growing up. Grandma B. always made sure each hair on her son's head was perfectly in place. Anyone who knows David, knows that going bald is a HUGE departure for him.

David would have never shaved his head if NATALIE hadn't told him she thought it was a good idea for him to do it to raise money for other kids with cancer. When he asked her about it, she was a bit nervous about the idea of HER DADDY being bald, even though she wanted him to help other kids. Then when David said she could do the shaving, her face lit up and her little chin nodded in excited agreement. That's when I saw David's eyes light up too and they were in this together.




I don't think these two pictures need words!









Shaving day is finally here. While we were waiting for our team's turn, Natalie got nervous watching other people get shaved. She told us later she was a little scared to see Daddy bald.
I didn't think I would be emotional because St. Baldrick's seemed like it was just going to be fun, and it was. But for just a minute when they called Natalie up and introduced her as a survivor and then a few seconds later Big Z started getting shaved; the tears came.


As you can see in this video, Natalie's fear of Daddy being bald quickly disappeared and she really got into it.





This look makes me laugh. He could be from Pocahontis, Natalie would love that.


This is the awesome team David shaved with, Team Cancer Sucks! We were so happy to be a part of that team and the team name has special meaning to us too.
Look at all that hair, can you believe that the 60+ shavees yesterday raised $100,000 to fund very needed research for kids with cancer!!!! It's not too late to donate.
Big Z and Little Z. Pretty good look.
Natalie has been talking about Alexa all day today, maybe she felt her near yesterday.

Even one of the famous clowns from Children's got in on the shaving action. This was one amazing event; very cool.


The after shot with his proud girl!

Thanks for letting us be part of your team Z. I think you'll both be needing some sunscreen. Today David's head is the whitest part of his body!



The first thing Stephen said after Daddy got shaved was "Pampa!" That's his special name for my Dad; his namesake. He is SO in love with Pampa and LOVES to rub Grandpa's bald head.

After getting home, David thought he would try using a razor to get a smooth head, just to see what it was like. It changed how he looked even more.




Last night I was rubbing David's smooth head and realized how glad I am that it was only bald because he shaved it. As much as we loved our beautiful baldy girl, having cancer really does suck. When Natalie's hair fell out, I didn't shave it off. She was so little and there wasn't all that much anyway that I don't think it bothered her falling out; I can't explain why, but I just couldn't shave it. As traumitizing as it was for David and I to see her lose her hair, we quickly fell in love with that cute, little bald head. Our hearts will forever be in love with little bald heads because we know the strength, courage, and heart that lies within those special kids and the challenges a little bald head represents.

When Natalie's hair fell out, we told her she was twinners with Grandpa to make it seem like it was a fun thing. I've always had a very special soft spot in my heart for bald because of my Dad. He wore a wig until I was about twelve years old and I will never forget the day a neighbor kid teased me and made fun of my beloved Dad because he was bald and wore a wig. Even though he looks great bald, he would love not to be. I have seen his eyes full of envy for men with long ponytails. And now I understand why he always wanted my sister and I to have long hair, David and I feel the same about Natalie now. Which is funny because I adored her short hair when it was growing back and we adored her little bald head.

I just wanted to say a special thanks to my Dad for being Natalie's baldy twinner and always being so great. Natalie always says now that Grandpa is jealous of her because his hair won't grow back! One of the most special men in my life has always been a baldy and now for the next few months, the other most special man in my life is too.


Natalie and I are both so proud of David. We are still getting used to his new look and trying hard not to do double takes everytime we look at him. Natalie was worried when David told her it would be "a long time" for his hair to grow back, but then she realized he was just teasing. She is all thumbs up whenever we ask her what she thinks about it. I can tell that she thinks it is pretty cool.

As for The Colonel; I'm not sure he is proud, but he sure likes rubbing Daddy's head and he has been talking a lot about Pampa. Which is kind of funny since his Grandpa Mike (David's Dad) came into town today.