overboard vs. kenny's nails: the battle rages on

My son's hands are quite small. Which is fine, since he's pretty small himself for now. That being said, his fingernails are even tinier. And sharp. Did I mention that baby fingernails are sharp? Well they are. And how. We're talking, "What a cute boy! Look at how he's trying to grasp onto my neck! Look at how cute this...OWMOTHEROFGODWHATISHEDOINGTOME?" kind of sharp.

Since he's got no teeth with which to chew his nails (and his mother would generally discourage such behavior), it's up to us to trim them for him. This, like many precarious things, is best done when Kenny is asleep. Now, when he's asleep, he's often in a dark room, thus making a difficult job damn near impossible. Never one to back down from a challenge, Overboard got creative the other week and simply acquired the proper set of tools.

Looking like a safecracker, Overboard held a tiny flashlight between her teeth, while using one hand to hold Kenny's fingers, and the other to snip away with the fingernail clippers. Me? I was in charge of holding the spud and making sure he remained comatose during the whole endeavor.

Like all baby care activities, we're learning on the fly and trying our best not to damage the child. Overboard's pretty good at the clipping, but unfortunately, Kenny is better at the growing. It's an ongoing battle, and one my slightly scarred neck and shoulders (and Kenny's occasionally self-scraped face) hope we can win...