Summer Activities: Part Two

More summer activities for Canaan included the realization that mobility equals freedom.

For example, "If you can get to the tomato fast enough while mother isn't looking, you have the freedom to eat the tomato," was Canaan's mantra during the many summer afternoons we spent outside.

While on a family picnic at Piedmont Park, Canaan realized that the freedom experienced while being launched into the air by her dad was an exhilarating type of mobility. Despite her mother's constant gasps and her attempts to "spot" these dangerous tosses into the air, Canaan loved it.

Another type of mobility Canaan experienced: the ever-faithful, "Tube the Hooch" with Uncle John, Grandpa, Dad, and Mom. While we enjoyed learning how to ram other tubers who were stuck in five inches of water, this was, by far, the most inefficient way to quickly move down the river. And Canaan enjoys both speed and efficiency.

In an effort to teach Canaan other ways to mobilize yourself, we brought her to the North Carolina Country to see her Aunt Beth (my sister) and Uncle Luke (her husband). This is actually her Uncle John (my brother)--note the "Uncle John" t-shirt.

One type of transportation experienced in the country: riding cattle. Just kidding...they don't actually do that. Canaan did enjoy feeding the cows, though. The freedom of moving had to be carefully monitored, though, so as to prevent Canaan from eating the cow's food or being trampled. There's much responsibility involved in parenting.

A real type of mobility we DID experience: the tractor pull.

Yes, we did get to watch a real tractor pull.

Here, Canaan practices on her own tractor. Ahhh, the freedom to drive wherever I want going only 6 miles per hour.

And the following video documents what actually happens during a tractor pull. Note every one's "drop-jaw" look. It was stunning...the strength of the tractors and the masculinity displayed when some one's tractor could make it all of 50 feet down the dirt track.

One type of transportation Canaan discovered this summer: the box. Here, Canaan realizes that not only are you rendered immobile if the box does not have wheels, but it's also a little tight around the leg-area. So, this was NOT Canaan's favorite mode of mobility.

Conducting a train, on the other hand, was.

At her "One-Year Old" photo shoot (thanks to Chris and Anna Walters, fellow small group friends) at the Marietta Square, Canaan realizes that driving a train is not only a blast, but also a quick form of transportation.

Here, in the "Classic Canaan Point", she is trying to tell us, "After I check out these flowers behind me, I'm going to take my doll and run over there to the other side of the Square. So see if you can keep up."

And here, Canaan is pointing to the stairs, telling us that yes, she can also climb stairs. Dangerous brick stairs, no less.

When people tell you to enjoy the days when you can put your baby in one place and she stays there, they aren't lying. Now, our days exist of lots of coffee, anticipating dangerous corners, and exploring everything two tiny hands and feet could possibly find.

And the ultimate in mobility: walking! Canaan has officially graduated into the class of "Toddlers." In this video which was filmed weeks ago, we catch Canaan practicing this new-found mode of transportation. Now, she's nearly running. With her doll, Hayden, of course.

She finds it funny that she can go wherever she wants, climb anything, make her parents run really fast, and especially have the freedom to explore the world!

And 117 pictures later, Canaan is "all done" with kissing, photo shoots, and sitting.

She's out of here.

These Mary-Janes are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do, sister.

Summer Activities: Part One

The summer activities of a one year old are numerous. On top of the list of fun-filled activities are: hanging out with friends.

Andre, Canaan's favorite neighbor she's ever had, enjoys swimming with her, discussing tactical maneuvers for shoveling sand--

--and driving her three-wheeler in only his skivvies. It's a difficult task seeing as how Canaan always fluffs his hair whenever she's sitting behind him. Andre tries to tell her to just simply hold on while he attempts to show her how he can drive with no hands.

Lunch with friends. Canaan enjoys talking with her mother's college buddy, Amy Morrill Younkins, and her little guy, Grant. She's mostly interested in the foundation Amy uses--wow, her complexion is fabulous!

Best girl friend: Gracie Bardin, youngest girl of Greg and Esther Bardin, also college friends. Gracie and Canaan enjoy sharing hair products--Canaan obviously did not use any hair spray that morning, while Gracie straightened her hair quite nicely. They also enjoy pretending the Lion Push Along Toy is a shopping cart at Super Target. All girls love that place.

One of Canaan's favorite girlfriend activities: getting the ladies together to play a little Bridge. Actually, that won't come for another few years. They do like to sit around and talk about how it would be fun to play Bridge, though.

Girlfriends: Joy Bardin (in the chair), Marin Jones (in the blue shorts), Hope Jones (laying on the floor), Gracie Bardin (Tim's lap), and Canaan (Baby Power.)

Finally, one of the youngest of Canaan's circle of friends, Isaac Robertson, son of Nicole and John Michael Robertson from our church's small group. Canaan enjoys giving Isaac the "Stink Face" until she realizes, it's her own diaper that stinks. How embarrassing.

Canaan also enjoyed the occasional risk this summer. Sliding down a twenty-foot Bounce House Slide (thanks to Sierra Potts' kind invitation), on her belly. We like to mix things up during the summer.

Besides playing with friends and taking risks, Canaan also spent the summer playing with her toys. Particularly those toys that provided props for her and her mother's favorite pretend game, "Desperate Housewives." So after her Grammy from Minnesota sent her every pretend food item you could possibly imagine (including but not limited to: leeks, tangerines, donuts, whole chickens, croissants, hot dogs, celery, etc) and the All-Clad-mini-pots-and-pans set, Canaan was ready to play.

Of course, she had to taste everything. (And here I am thinking the "tasting everything stage" ends at a year. No, not really.)

And what Desperate Housewife would be complete without her baby in it's very own, life-size, American Girl Doll stroller? (Thanks again, to her Grammy, my Aunt Beth, the "Original Desperate Housewife.") In the following video, Canaan's patience wears thin after a full day of cleaning, preparing food, running errands, taking the kids to soccer practice, and finally, the icing on the fondant cake occurs when her stroller crashes into the baby gate. Who, in their right mind, would put a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs?

After that kind of day, we both like to end our summer night with a good "Lucky Stripe" cigarette. Also thanks to the family in Minnesota. (Particularly my cousins, Peter and John, who introduced me to the "Candy Cigarette" when I was only three. I would like to thank them for the positive influence they've had on my daughter and me. Thank you, Sweet Peter and John for teaching us how to relax after living another summer day of being a Desperate Housewife.)

And before you call DFCS on the Goodwin Gang, know that we quickly ate up the rest of the cigarettes so as not to teach her any bad habits.

The Fourth of July!

Canaan's (second) Fourth of July consisted mostly of this face: pure astonishment.

We begin our Fourth of July celebrations on the Third of July...why not have TWO days of fireworks, danger, and the commemoration of our country's Independence? So we head to Rope Mill Park with our fireworks in tow (obtained illegally across the border...I mean, we bought them at Kroger). First up, a seemingly harmless display of sparkly sparkler things. Or so we thought.

With the camera rolling, Canaan only four feet away (what harm can a sparkler firework do), and Tim lighting the fuse, we soon encounter the kind of trouble that is so rampant on Fourth of July Celebrations--not reading the directions.



As frightening and "Blair Witch Project" as this video seemed, there were no eyes shot out during the firing of these mortars. Canaan's look of astonishment told us, "Just how can you mistake a harmless show of sparklers with mortars that shoot twelve feet in the air, complete with booms that have the reverberation of Civil War cannons??"

So we lit the actual sparklers instead. Canaan, her parents, and the Cherokee County Fire Department were much happier.

Next on the Fourth of July Agenda, an authentic Fourth of July Parade! Complete with friends to watch the parade with (Casey and Angela Smith, Kaitlin and Ethan), real high school marching bands, two fire engines, thousands of plastic American flags courtesy of the local "Lion's Club", and a fantastic show of every "Miss something or other" riding in her convertible that you could possibly imagine.

Canaan's look of astonishment at the ninth Mustang convertible with some girl aged four months to eighteen years old wearing a crown, waving to her assembly of on-lookers, also astonished at just how many "Miss Teen Marietta" and "Tiny Miss Cobb County" and "Little Junior Miss Georgia" and "Teeny Tiny Miss Little Preschool Down the Street" there are.

Here, Canaan is proudly "waving" her American Flag while the veterans walk down the street.

She's thankful her Uncle John, who was stationed in Iraq for many years, is back home safely and for good!

She's secretly hoping her Uncle John will let her ride in his Mustang next year and that she will be chosen as the 2010 "Little Miss Peanut of 408 Redwood Trail."

We love the Fourth of July!

Finally, it's time for a cook-out with Kate, Andy, and Sierra Potts and a real fireworks display!

After a pig roast and many cookies, everyone hurries to find their place in the back of the truck. Canaan's hoping these fireworks are less scary than the mortars, yet more remarkable than the sparklers.

And they are!

(Just a side note...do you see that curly hair?? On both husband and kid?? I'm astonished at how cute they are.)

And finally, Canaan's second Fourth of July comes to an end...fireworks were wonderful, cookout was yummy, friends are awesome, parade was amazing, and Sierra's look of astonishment told Canaan that you can have a fun-filled day, with no naps, eat lots of chocolate (as evident by Sierra's chin), and hang out in the back of someones truck watching fireworks until ten o'clock, and STILL ensure that your cute bow or hat stays on all day.

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!)