The Rally!

On April 15, the Goodwin family participated in a REAL political rally—the Atlanta Tea Party! Tim and I felt like it was important to do something about what we’ve been listening to on the radio, seeing on TV, and discussing with our friends and family. We protested! Secretly, we were hoping to get sprayed by hoses or arrested or something daring and exciting. Instead, we painted signs, loaded Canaan up, and took her to experience her first political rally!

There were 15 to 20,000 people there. Definitely the most people Canaan has ever seen in one setting. She was thrilled! She was especially thrilled when we had to walk miles to get there and pass by fourteen free parking spots (after we parked in the $5 lot) because her mother thought the Capital Building was "just around the corner."

And when we sang the National Anthem, Canaan proudly waved her flag!

Canaan learned an important lesson that day--we can speak the truth in love (we didn't want to pass out any mean pamphlets or write anything crazy on our sign or shout obscenities to the government). It's also important to follow your words with actions (Canaan's heard her mom and dad talk about it enough...it's time to do something!)

The night ended on a great note: during the long trek back to the car, a group of "enthusiastic" women (after a quick stop at the bar) asked us if they could use our signs for the rally. Of course, we were happy to let our signs live on at the protest. So here's the final picture documenting Canaan's first rally: the 60something year old ladies off to proudly wave the sign, "When I grow up, I want to be debt free!"

Easter!

Easter is a glorious day to celebrate Jesus, the infamous Easter Bunny, brightly colored eggs, new clothes, and of course, the Easter Basket. Brought to you by the good-looking, slightly hairy especially on the chest-region, surprised-that-we-caught-him, THE EASTER TIM.

Canaan is just as surprised to find the Easter Tim is a little far-sighted and that his fur wasn't nice and white and fluffy.

First Easter Basket contents: an educational toy (magnetic ABC's), a bucket for the beach, a watering can for the garden, and a Reese's peanut butter cup egg for her mother. Of which she decided to taste it first...just to make sure it was alright for her mother to eat.

Already Canaan was delighted with this wonderful day: fuzzy ears, getting to eat plastic wrapping, and letters to practice spelling simple words with the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern! Next stop, getting into the Easter dress that Tim's mom, Nana, made for her!

She wasn't too thrilled about this picture. Either a.) the ears were too tight. b.) an ant bit her. c.) Andre was telling her about his Easter Basket and she was bummed that she didn't get a fuzzy chick that bounced around when you touched it.

She was a lot happier when her Daddy helped her up off the ground.

And she took the ears off.

Finally, it was time to go to Pop and Nana's for Easter lunch and the long awaited EASTER EGG HUNT! Really, there were only ten eggs to find. Most of them easily spotted. Like the one in the wide-open grass--Canaan's first Easter Egg, caught on camera. As you will see in the following clip, she was a little apprehensive at first, not sure what to do with the egg. "Should I touch it or not? Should I try the ole' taste tester? Once I have the actual egg in my hand, then what??"

Finally, we were on a roll with the "finding" part of the Easter Egg Hunt. Canaan's thrilled that she actually "found" one!

In this video, Canaan discovers that eating leaves is just as fun as finding eggs!

First Easter: Successful! Canaan learned about Jesus (the most important thing...really), she experienced the joys of waking up to find the Easter Bunny visited her house, and she found all ten eggs!

Some Special Days!

Almost every day is a special day in the life of a nine month old! For example, during one of Canaan's recent baths, she discovered that the water fall coming from the wall is NOT easily attainable. Despite her best efforts, Canaan simply could not grab onto the tube of water and put it into her mouth for the "taste-test." It was a special day for her to realize that while we may try try again to preform the impossible (such as holding onto the mysterious tube of water), at the end of the bath (and the end of the day), her toy fish are still floating around, her mom and dad are still laughing at her, the water is still warm, and life is still good. THAT'S worth a nice, loud squeal.

Another special day Canaan recently discovered was St. Patrick's Day. The day that she had to wear two large and in charge green bows. While her outfit didn't match her bow (which is a day that deserves special recognition itself), it was still a magical day--looking for that sneaky leprechaun who left her a "Lil' Bit O' Irish" t-shirt from the dollar spot at Target on the front porch.

I thought I saw something out there.

Another special day happened a few weeks ago at Berry College with Uncle Michael and Aunt Amy Williams. The day that Canaan kicked the sippy cup to the bucket and began relaying on a styrofoam cup for all her hydration needs.

An extremely special day was when we dedicated Canaan to the Lord. We wanted to follow the example set by Hannah in the book of the Bible, 1 Samuel 1, where she dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord's service. We felt like God has blessed us with Canaan so she can be a blessing to others. In so doing, we wanted to publicly dedicate her life to God so He can bless others through her. On February 22, before our friends and family, we "took her and presented her before the Lord." (1 Samuel 1:22).

The gown actually belonged to Canaan's great-great grandmother! It was worn by each generation, including me--so it was a doubly special day!!

And the final special day that will be included in this blog, is the day that Canaan got WAY cuter! Today!!

Canaan's Attempt to Crawl

Canaan is beginning to crawl so I thought I'd chronicle it for you all.

She begins by pushing up on her arms and stiff-legging her back legs.

Then she really begins to move.

Because of the lack of actually bending her legs, she only moves backward. Very fast, I might add.

She's impressed with herself and her backward momentum.

At times, she stops to strengthen her upper body by doing a few push-ups. She thinks, "Andre, see how I can do a push-up on my toes? AND with a full diaper...that's at least another pound."

And if there's anything she has to reach for that's in front of her, like a toy, but she realizes she's already passed it while moving backward, she will roll over to reach for it.

Then she's on her way again.

Until she hits something (like a wall) and is unable to move backward any more. It's then that she carefully calculates her next move--backwards then left? Or backwards then right?

Sometimes, the decision is just too much and Canaan has to rest for a while.

It's during this time of reflection that she thinks of all her "mobile" friends--Gracie and Marin can move forward on hands and knees. Mackenzie and Sierra walk around--even run sometimes. Joy can not only run, but also can run with something in her hand--like her stethoscope from her doctor kit.

But after a moment of reflection and further strategizing, Canaan is ready to move on again. If not forwards, at least she will move backwards with all her little heart!