crossrhodes

Move over, Jennifer Aniston!  My baby’s bed-head can beat your salon-do any day!

She got her first haircut a couple of weeks ago.  I only cut the mullet, nearly 2 inches off the back, because no child of mine will be sporting a mullet!  Now, if only the hair on her crown, what I call duck feathers, would catch up and hang down.

Meanwhile, my hair has been shedding.  I mean SHEDDING!!! I’m like a freakin’ cat!  It’s everywhere!  My parenting newsletter tells me it’s normal postpartum.  Change in hormones, blah, blah, blah.  I’m constantly cleaning the drain of hair after I shower.  I’d take a picture for show and tell but I thought that might be gross for some of you.  I just hope it grows back soon or I might have to buy a wig before Christmas.

On a very different note: Shanah Tovah!  It’s Rosh Hashanah! Happy New Year to my half-Jewish family and Jewish friends!

My mom thought I was out of town again because I haven’t blogged in a few days.  The truth is, I’ve lost 2 extra hands since James left for college… just in time for Layla to show signs of separation anxiety.  Only mommy can calm her down.  She’ll scream and scream even after daddy’s tried every soothing method.  And like a switch, she stops as soon as I pick her up.  In other words, I need 2 extra hands while the other 2 are holding the baby or nothing will ever get done.

But there’s always time for pictures!  In lieu of a blog-worthy story, enjoy my angel’s face:

Imagine what she could do with GREEN peas!

She’s almost teething now. EVERYTHING she touches goes in her mouth!

And she gets so frustrated when it won’t fit.

This could go either way: “(sigh) I give up!” or, “Lord Jesus, thank you for this food. Amen!”

And off with the toy’s head again!

We lost our mailbox key. James has the spare but he doesn’t live here anymore. Being the resourceful person that I am, I immediately mailed him a self-addressed, stamped envelope to mail his spare key to me. AFTER I dropped off the envelope at the post office, it dawned on me that I can’t get his key in the mail anyway because I can’t open the mailbox to begin with! DUH! DUH! DUH!!!!!!

Anyway, we visited James last night for the first time since he moved in.  We brought a few more things for his room.  Layla was sooo happy to see her Kuya again!  “I need to borrow her for a few minutes,” he said before he disappeared down the hall to show her off to some girl. *hehe*  (I miss seeing them together.)

I was a little concerned when he told me he didn’t sleep well on his first night.  By the end of the weekend, he said he still hasn’t slept but it was because he’s been hanging out till the wee hours of the night.  He hasn ‘t even finished unpacking.  He’s been busy meeting new people and making new friends.  The first time I called him on campus, he was on his way to play basketball with friends.  Another time I called, he was walking downtown with friends to grab a bite to eat.  When we arrived at his dorm last night, he was hanging out in other people’s rooms.  In other words, he’s adjusting well socially.  Classes officially began today.  I guess we’ll find out how well he’s adjusting academically.

Aside from his desk and mattress, James’ bedroom is now empty and the walls are bare.  Kuya is gone.  Yes, his university is only half an hour away and he’ll be back home during breaks, but it won’t be the same.  We’ve reached a milestone, crossed a threshold.  Things will never be the same.

I don’t know who’s having a harder time with the separation, me or James.  I’ve been crying since he started packing the van this morning.  I’m so excited for him to start this new chapter in his life, but I’m also trying not to worry.  We can’t be there everyday anymore to keep him from falling or catch him when he falls.  I know, I know… it’s part of growing up, the circle of life, blah, blah, blah… but I’m still his mother.  And to think, in 18 years, I get to do this all over again with Layla!

*sigh*

I do believe in the power of intercessory prayer.  I believe I wouldn’t be alive today if not for my parents’ prayers.  There’s a parents’ prayer I want to share with you from Dr. Dobson’s book, Parenting Isn’t For Cowards.  He said:

“Shirley and I prayed this prayer for our son and daughter throughout their developmental years: ‘Be there, Father, in the moment of decision when two paths present themselves to our children.  Especially during that time when they are beyond our direct influence, send others who will help them do what is righteous and just.’”

And everyone said, Amen.

We’re so proud of you, James! Take care of yourself.

Remind me to look away when she’s getting injections.  It breaks my heart to see her face when the needle goes in.  Actually, it’s pretty funny how her eyes grow wide when the needle penetrates the skin.  It’s the face she makes — from slow motion pouting to full-blown screaming — when the vaccine burns through her tissue that makes my heart ache. Afterwards, she’s cranky and clingy.  Understandable.

She weighed in today at 17 lbs.  I could swear she feels heavier than that.  I thought she was in the 20’s already.  She also measures 28 in. long.  Still in the 97th percentile in height and weight of babies her age.

She’s also beginning to show an attachment to me.  She not only sees and hears me enter or exit a room, she starts to whimper when I leave and smiles big when I return.  Next to feeling her kick in my belly, this is my most favorite part of my job: the feeling that no one else but mommy’s touch will do.