Canaan's First Birthday!!

We begin June 26, 2009, Canaan's FIRST birthday, with a birthday breakfast and some presents!

Canaan's favorite present--her very own cell phone. Now, she can not only call Andre whenever she wants, but she can also text and take pictures.

Just to make sure we haven't given her a knock-off rocket launcher for the pool, Canaan has to taste it to ensure it's authenticity.

Yes, it's a genuine rocket launcher.

Actually, her favorite present may be a tie between the cell phone and the turtles. Simon and Myrtle, thanks to Uncle Michael and Aunt Amy. Canaan was thinking about feeding them the tiny apple she has in her hand.

Next on the birthday agenda, a little picnic at her friend Sierra Pott's pool. (Thanks Pott's!) Here's Canaan digging into her peach. If it seems like she eats a lot, let me assure you that she does. We're priming her for the hot-dog-eating-contest when she grows up. After all, what parent wouldn't want to exploit their child's talents in order to make a pretty penny and buy an RV so we can retire at age 43?

After waiting 20 minutes for the food to digest (just kidding...that's an old wives tale. We jumped right in when Canaan was finished with her peach), Tim took Canaan down the waterslide! Canaan wanted to go down head first, but we were concerned that her light-weight body would launch right off the slide, so in the end, Tim kept sliding down with her in his lap.

That afternoon, we started a new birthday tradition! One which will bring tears to my eyes every year. Tim and Canaan danced to Carrie Underwood's song, "All-American Girl." Every year, they'll dance to the same song and when she gets married (hopefully...), we'll edit it all together into one video. And maybe she'll "choose" to dance to that song for the Father/Daughter dance! "Choose" is in quotation marks because when you give birth to a kid after 17 1/2 hours of labor and no pain medication, you earn the right to influence your kid's decisions. Including what song she will dance to with her dad at her wedding. No song, no wedding. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice freedom for a cute photo op.

Finally, on the June 26th agenda, the RODEO! Yes, we brought Canaan to a real rodeo for her birthday!!

And how could she attend a rodeo without Cowgirl Attire?

Her Grandpa is helping her fit the cowboy hat nicely over her bow.

It was a for real rodeo. Cowboys riding bucking broncos...

...and little girls riding mechanical bulls.

Finally, the actual birthday-day was complete. But when Sunday rolled around, Canaan realized that the birthday celebrations were far from over!

First stop: Andre's birthday! Andre, who is two days older, bigger, and bluer than Canaan, had a BLAST at his pool party! Thanks for being our favorite neighbor and friend, Andre! And maybe boyfriend one day, too...if you can wait till Canaan's 37.

First, Canaan had to change into her party outfit.

Then, we had to do a video documentary of the kid, cake, people, and backyard beach!

Next, a quick change into the birthday bathing suit (not to be confused with her actual birthday suit), a little song to celebrate Canaan's first birthday, then the cake!Due to the fondant icing (which I hand made! And I made the fish and the rest of the cake...finished it up at midnight the night before. What mother wouldn't make the fanciest cake imaginable for the most memorable birthday a kid has? Everyone remembers his/her first birthday, right?!?!)

Due to the hard icing, Canaan chose simply to eat the fish and not dive into the cake. So I helped her.

You can see she loved every bite of it! Including that squishy bite in her mouth.

This is also a good shot of her two front teeth. After months and months of endless "teething", four pop in. Then, we're waiting for the rest of them to appear--incisors, molars, etc. Apparently, they don't get those until they're two? Another year of rabbit-chewing with four front teeth??

It worked for the cake, though.

And the video documenting the cake experience. Note her confusion with the fondant icing, then her decision to just go with the pink fish.

The party was a blast--good friends and family were there. Uncle Michael Williams and Mackenzie Thornton (who are best friends, according to Mackenzie) were just a few!

The whole crew took a quick dip in the pool after cake and ice cream.

Finally, the end of the party draws near, and Canaan thanks her Mama with a big smooch. She felt like her first birthday was not only memorable, but filled with educational experiences (she sure taught that mechanical bull a lesson), fabulous cake (and fondant fish), wonderful friends (we missed Gracie and Joy Bardin!), unbelievable family (thanks for helping!!), and a very blessed life (Thank the LORD!)