Torture

Both of my kids strongly resist any attempts to cut their fingernails. I don't really blame Claire, I snipped off part of her finger the day she was born, so that didn't set a good precedent. I'm not sure how Nathan got so worked up about it, but each time just got worse and worse. And of course the more I had to hold him down and wrestle him, the worse the next attempt became. At least in the good weather I can let them fall asleep in the car, then snip the nails while they are sleeping. The rest of the time, I let them grow out, then we end up with multiple self-inflicted wounds like the one Nathan is sporting on his nose today.

A few weeks ago Dan and I lied through our teeth and told Nathan he would turn into a girl if he didn't let us cut the nails. I'm embarrassed to say that worked. Today I was able to do it by promising to sing a song for every nail he let me cut. The Skywalker theme for the pinkie, Peter and the Wolf for the Thumbs. Can I give him anesthetic next time?