Pinchable

My friend once observed that most babies have a particular feature that people are drawn to. Her daughter, for example, had big beautiful eyes.

With Riley, it was (and still is) the hair.

And Wilco? It's these delicious cheeks.

The Haircut

Riley has been longing for long hair. ("Like the mermaid," she says.) But given my inability to comb/style hair, I was not keen on the idea.

So after some serious negotiations/bribery, Riley got a haircut. And a popsicle. And three new Berenstain Bear books. That girl has serious negotiation skills.

The haircutter convinced me to give Riley bangs. Which means we can actually see her face now.

And after all that whining about not being able to take decent pictures, I did manage to take one of her new haircut that wasn't blurry, had good lighting, and was free of hair in the face.

The problem?

The kid.

Stay tuned for better pictures. Hopefully.

Shear Amazement (lame pun intended)

Riley got a desperately needed haircut this afternoon. Much to my amazement, it involved no tears, wailing, or drama whatsoever.

Nope, Riley spent the entire haircut admiring herself in the mirror. But with a cut that cute, can you blame her?

Not the Shears, Mom!

Here's something I recently read in a parenting magazine:

• Hair clips are a choking hazard for children under 3.
  
• Headbands are a strangulation hazard for young children.
  
• Ponytail holders cause headaches and hair loss.
  
• Hair covering eyes cause weak eye development and poor vision.
  

They offered no suggestions for moms of shaggy-haired children like mine.

Bowl cuts? Boy cuts? Buzz cuts? Are these my only options?

Guess Who's Baby Hungry?

No, it's not me.

Lately, whenever Riley sees a baby, stroller, carseat, or bjorn, she points and yells out, "bay-beeee!"

Then yesterday at church, she approached a baby-faced bald man, patted his cheeks, smiled, and said affectionately, "bay-beeee."

Riley, you of all people should know that babies and baldness are not synonymous.

Riley as a five-week-old bay-bee

Lucky Number 7

That's how many haircuts Riley's had. In less than a year. (Does cottage cheese spur hair growth or something?)

A Confession

When I was pregnant, I sort of hoped for a boy, only because I'm not so good at girly stuff like braiding hair. I mean, I didn't want to cheat a daughter out of a lifetime of french braids!

So of course, my girly girl was born with tons of hair. I still haven't tried anything fancy with it—I'm just happy if it's free of cottage cheese and apple butter.

But lucky for me and Riley, the daycare girl at my gym loves doing hair! (And she's good at working through apple butter snarls!)

Just don't ask me how she got Riley to sit still that long...

This HAS to be a Record

Riley's new haircut.

In case you've lost count, that's FOUR since February.

I better learn to cut hair before we go broke on barbers. (But at least we're saving on Matt, whose grand total is ZERO since February.)

Peek-a-boo, Riley Style

Is commentary really necessary?

A Few Firsts

During our trek from Houston to Portland, Riley experienced a few firsts:

• First real crawling, knees and all. Right before we strapped her into her car seat for five days straight.


• First time in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Idaho.


• First taste of McDonald's. Sorry, no burgers or fries. Just beans, corn, and cheese from my salad. (A milestone nonetheless, right?)


• First words: "hey/hi/ha" and "mamamama," the meaning of which is up for debate—"Mama" or "Matt"?

And one second, the day before we left:

• Another haircut. Already!

Uncanny Resemblance

They say that dogs resemble their owners, which leads me to believe that when Riley says:

"Mamamaaaablahblahblahbrrptbrrrpt"

it means:

"Mommy, could I please have an Old English Sheepdog?"

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

It was haircut day at the Richards household! We ventured to our favorite salon at nearby Rice Village where Matt got his shortest cut in at least three years, Riley got her FIRST cut ever, and, well, I just got the usual.

We were all pleased with our results. Riley's cut was particularly remarkable: in a few quick snips, my hairgirl transformed Riley's 'do from redneck mullet to chic a-line bob. Hippest hair ever? For 6-month old, maybe.

Before

After

Matt's super-short cut

...and Riley having fun with Aunt Alison in Portland