She's Getting Ready to Be a Big Sister

For months we've been preparing Canaan for the arrival of her baby sister (who should be here, Lord Willing, in the next one or two weeks!!! PLEASE Lord!) Canaan, who is absolutely infatuated with dolls and doll accessories, has been thrilled out of her mind. In fact, the motto around our house is, "No doll left behind." Poor Tim...the oldest of three boys. Sometimes he's so lost in the world of dolls that all he can do is change Annie's outfit for the 17th time and then say, "Oh, this one looks great."

Canaan's been busy preparing for the arrival of a new baby at our house. First, she intends to have a conversation with everyone who's attention may shift slightly when a new baby arrives, "G-pop, just to let you know, I've always loved you the best. In fact, I want you to have this small soccer ball as a token of my affection."

Tim and I constantly assure her of our undying love for her. For Father's Day we went to the lake for a little BBQ and swimming. Canaan is thinking, "Next year, I can bury my sister in the sand! This will be GREAT!"

At Andre's birthday party, Canaan has a heart-to-heart, "Andre, love of my life, soon there will be changes. It may involve a younger woman, but I want you to know that I will always be here for you. Here to wipe the icing off your face when you get an icing-mustache."

She's confident that Andre couldn't resist a face like this. Or icing this flavor.

We realize there may be sibling rivalry, but we hope to foster an environment of unconditional love for each other. Canaan practices her "unconditional love" game face with good friend, Ava Harrison. "While my sister may be screaming her eyeballs out, I will still love that little squirt-ball and smile for the camera. No matter what."

We've been telling her that she'll have to teach her little sister many things. Like swimming--here Canaan is at her first day of swim lessons. "Baby sister, you'll first learn that while our parents may look like they won't drop you in the deep end (128 foot, I might add), they won't hesitate to throw you off the diving board, in the hopes that you re-surface after 15 minutes of being under water and clap for you as you desperately try to swim to the side, gasping for breath all along."

Lesson number two: we paint a lot around here. Paper, hands, faces, noses. We'll paint you in a heart-beat--as soon as you get out of that belly.

Canaan looks forward to teaching her sister about wildlife. "Don't get too close to the ducks at Piedmont Park. You just can't trust a duck that lives in bright green water."

Another lesson about wildlife, let Barbie touch the turtle first, just to see if it's really as safe as Daddy claims it is.

Canaan is excited about teaching baby sister a dance move or two. "The important thing to remember is to give everyone a chance to show their stuff--Annie, Hayden, George, Pokey, the whole crew. Then, we'll work on choreographing a dance to Josh Turner's new song."

And since we're working on potty-training, (day 11 and only one accident today--on the floor of the "Funky Monkey", will that be the last accident? Not sure...never did this before) why not being teaching all her dolls? It's good practice for when Canaan will be potty-training her sister because after this, her mother has thrown in the towel with potty-training. Tired of lugging the green potty in the back of the Highlander and pulling over whenever Canaan yells, "I HAVE TO POOP!" I'm hoping Canaan will teach our other children how to go on the potty: sit down, read a book, etc. etc. etc.

Canaan will also be quick to teach her little sister about kissing: "Affection: Occasionally I enjoy being hugged and kissed. I stress occasionally. I will not be pelted with wet-mouthed assaults on a n hourly basis. Should you feel the need to hug or kiss, you must provide me with a written request. And then wait for me to offer my pudgy cheeks." (Taken from Parent's magazine, July 09.) A perfect interpretation of Canaan's face at our "Sunflower Photo Shoot."

Canaan is really excited about the arrival of our new baby. We've read book after book, she talks to "baby sister" all the time, she hugs my belly, she kisses it, she offers her sippy cup to my belly button, I think she'll really love having her sister in her life. I love mine.

"Sisters: she is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink," (Barbara Alpert), sisters are special. I'm thankful God gave Canaan one!

Canaan Turns Two!

Canaan turned two on June 26! As family tradition goes, Canaan awakes to find the living room loaded with presents! Like Santa only it's hot outside! She comes running towards the booty--or towards the cat (she's excited and running towards something).









Next, cake for breakfast! You may notice Canaan has an absurd amount of chocolate on her face--in the span of a year, her eating habits haven't gotten any cleaner. At what point does a mother worry that she doesn't use her fork or napkin? When's she's going on her first date at 16??












After a hearty breakfast of cake and blueberries, we head to Tanglewood Farms--a miniature farm that Canaan's been talking ever since. "A farm! Let's go to the farm, Mama," "Not today..." "A farm! Go to the farm, yeah?" "Maybe later..." It was at this farm that Canaan fed tiny goats and sheep and pet tiny pigs and mules. She loved it!

Amongst her experiences, riding a pony for the first time! Helmet donned, camera rolling, Canaan rides around the "rink" like a champ. Waving to her spectators, talking to the horse, thinking to herself, "Being two is a big responsibility. I've really got this thing covered now."











As Canaan looks back on that day (and asks us all the time to go back), I've said to her before, "Canaan, what was your favorite part about the farm?" She seriously thought for a second and told me (word for word), "NOT the llamas." You can see why the llamas wouldn't be any one's favorite. Or maybe we just caught them on a "bad shearing day."





Next on the Birthday Agenda: Chuck E. Cheese. Never having experienced it, we thought she should have a little pizza and "games" for her birthday. "Games" is in quotations because a two year old doesn't actually know that she's not controlling the car racing game, but is simply just sitting there while the demo is playing. She's still having a blast and we don't have to spend $38 on tokens! We're hoping she never catches on...








Finally, a week later, we have her birthday party, "Fourth of July Style" complete with sparklers (of which she received her first sparkler burn that day...an initiation of sorts into the Goodwin family, since fireworks are an integral part of every great Goodwin Party.) In case the sparklers got out of control, we did have the fire truck show up. Canaan is absolutely in love with firetrucks. A firetruck being one of the two "manly" toys in a house full of dolls and accessories. And she will race that thing around, stopping only to change Barbie's outfit.




Present at her birthday party, one of Canaan's favorite people in this world: Grandma. Grandma who is on speed-dial on Mama's phone so we can call her almost every day, "Hi Grandma. Sing the Moon Song!!" She'll say--a song that Grandma taught her during the week we were at the beach, a song that I apparently botch every time I sing it, and she quickly lets me know by shouting out, "NO--different song. Call Grandma," whenever I attempt to sing it for her. My feelings would be hurt, but I'm not ashamed to say I tend to be a little flat. Plus she's two. Plus it occupies her for about 7-8 minutes while we're dialing Grandma, waiting for Grandpa to answer, ask to speak to Grandma, ask how she's doing and then listen to Grandma's rendition of the "Moon Song" while on speaker phone. So, we're glad Grandma came to the party to sing "The Moon Song" live.


Also in attendance, Pop-pop, who never fails to give Canaan all the sugar she could possibly want. When we're at Nana and Pop-pop's house for dinner, she no longer asks me for juice (knowing that the only juice she has at our house is organic fresh-squeezed with no added sugar or preservatives, and that we're quick to say, "How about yummy water instead??") She'll ask Nana. And when we finish our three bites of dessert, she'll strategically go sit next to Pop-pop to ask him for "More cake/ice cream/blueberries/dessert, Pop-pop! Please!!" And Pop-pop can't resist.



That's why kids have grandparents--because life wouldn't be as much fun with a limited sugar-intake diet and no "Moon Song" sung properly.



Best friends, Gracie (left) and Joy (center) Bardin were there, too. With the arrival of the new baby sister, there will be four cutie little girls to take prom-dress shopping, and get manis together, and go to the American Girl Boutique, and pick out wedding flowers with. I save pictures like this in a folder on my computer titled, "Senior Picture Slide Show" for when they graduate.

At least I hope so.






Cousin Courtney also made her appearance. We're thankful for Courtney's "energetic nature" because now Canaan has someone who can really keep up with her and not have to have a stiff drink and watch a mindless TV show at the end of the day in the hopes that there will be enough energy tomorrow to start all over again. And by stiff drink, I mean Pregnancy Tea.



But that is the life of the parents of a "Spirited" two-year old. We love her to pieces, as much as we continue to pray that baby #2 will be the type of kid who enjoys sitting quietly in the car, while looking out the window and enjoying the talk-radio station her mother likes to listen to, or will just say, "Mom and Dad, you go ahead and have an adult conversation. I'll just read my book back here."



In this video, you can see what a typical car-ride with Canaan looks like: a song-request, a little negotiation as to which song that would be, and then a small amount of trickery to get Canaan to sing my favorite song, "Jesus Loves Me," of which she hits perfectly. Even with a cashew in her mouth.

She's Expressive

June 1, 2010

As Canaan grows (she'll be two on June 26th!!), so does her expressive nature. Which makes itself known in all forms--her loud voice, her funny faces, her "boneless" tantrums, and the force of which she throws her toys across the room.

Our first example was when we took Canaan (and her cousin, Courtney) sailing for the first time. As picture here, Canaan's expression tells us, "Not only is this hat strangling me, but this boat does not look like a blast."

But after cruising around on the lake, taking a swim in the water, and helping her dad "steer", she decided that sailing was a blast after all. And that she should have worn that hat because the sun is pretty bright.

While preparing our garden this year, Canaan dons her "bug hat", gets her Elmo shovel, and helps till the garden. Specifically this squash plant. Expression: pure cuteness.

And after finding what seems to be a poopy-substance in the garden, Canaan's expression turns from "pure cuteness" to "I may be eating this shortly."

What would Spring Evenings be without a BBQ with friends? While sharing a meal with Gracie, Joy, and Marin, Canaan's expression reads: "No time for pictures, mother. We've got business to attend to. Got to spread more ketchup on my face while Gracie is makes more room in her mouth for corn."

With the warmth of Spring and Summer, the baby pool comes out. Complete with water slide. Canaan's expression in this picture, "Who would have imagined a two-and-a-half-foot-perilous-drop into 48 degree water would have been so much FUN?!?!"

We also took Canaan to her first Braves Game!! She had a cute shirt and a red bow to match. Here, Canaan is amazed at the size of the stadium, the amount of bratwursts being grilled, and the fact that the family made it through Atlanta traffic with an hour to spare!

Since Braves-Stadium-Rules-and-Regulations-Safeguarding-Against-Terrorist-Attacks-And/Or-Misuse-Of-A-Drink prevented us from bringing in our commemorative Coke bottle (saved for just such an occasion), we had to quick drink it right outside the gates. Canaan is busy concentrating on getting the very last sip since this is one of the few times she gets a soft drink. Expression: "And why wouldn't my parents let me drink more Coke? I'd be willing to give up the milk and water if that's what it takes. What health-sticklers."

"Now if my parents would let me drink water from a gushing water spigot every time, I'd be willing to reconsider the Coke issue."

In this picture, her turned back tells it all, "I'm far too busy pushing this baby around while in the tu-tu my mother made me to stop and take a picture. There are so many places to go with a stroller when you're naked." Sometimes, she listens to her parents, sometimes she doesn't.

In this video, we were lucky to catch the "sometime she listens" on video...singing the ABC's!

On Mother's Day, we played kick-ball with the Big Goodwin side of the family and then our little family went to Piedmont park for a picnic and kite-flying extravaganza. Here, before we headed off to play kick-ball (I might add that a 6-month-pregnant-woman can and will kick some butt at kick-ball), Canaan is expressively telling me that she is sick and tired of the dog trying to eat her rock.

The following video documents how Canaan's "sick and tired" expression will soon snowball into "the Boneless Effect" whereas she apparently looses all control of the bones in her body, rendering her "boneless" and on the floor. After which she will cry or yell or throw a toy until someone can talk her down--much like "The Negotiator", some of the day is spent talking her out of this "The World is Coming to an End" phase of the tantrum. I've documented it here.

Good thing we diverted the dog and Canaan's attention and Mother's Day was saved from any tantrums.

After kick-ball and resolving the dog and rock issue, we headed to Piedmont Park. There are many things to explore at a place like that: a tree...

...why our 8-inch by 8-inch kite won't actually fly...

..and finally, to answer the age-old question posed by every two-year old, "How loud can you actually yell while holding a small stick?" Answer: Very Loud.

Mother's Day 2010: fabulous.

And finally, to conclude the documentary on Canaan's expressive nature, we have a picture of Canaan and Andre in the pool, their faces conveying a message of pure confusion: "So, what you're trying to say is that we need to spread out a little more before we can start a game of Ultimate Frisbee Baby Pool Style?"

How I love Canaan's friends that both understand and share her expressive nature. Canaan's friends: we love you and pray for you!

She's a Very Determined Little Girl...

Monday, April 5, 2010

Canaan is a very determined little girl. We are discovering that she always has a plan-of-action and if, for some reason, that plan doesn't play out like she had envisioned, she becomes quite frustrated. In which case we resort to a variety of parenting methods to calm the erupting storm.

For example, on Tim's birthday, our little family went bowling. Here, Canaan is pictured with a ball that is 3/4 her weight and three times as big as her head. That doesn't deter Canaan--she was determined to push that ball down the alley. So we let her discover that when we say, "Don't cross the foul line--it's really slippery," we mean it. And that's it worth it to listen to your parents who have had 29 years of bowling experience on her 1 year.



Canaan celebrated her second Valentine's Day at Mackenzie Thornton's party. Gracie and Joy Bardin were there and Canaan was determined to not only be in charge of the doll's hair straightener the entire party (seen in her left hand), but also eat Gracie's cookie even though I specifically gave her one cookie and said that was enough sugar (Gracie's cookie seen in her right hand, and Gracie still smiling like a champ behind her.)

And here we are smiling because we both know that we're secretly the boss when it comes to devising great plans and executing them.

Canaan celebrated Actual Valentine's Day at the Mountain house with Grandma and Bampa and Unka (Uncle John). She's in awe that her dad finally gave her a dog. She's thinking, "That's what I've been asking for this whole time and now I actually have one! A red one at that!!"

Plan to Get Dog: check.

Later, Grammy (from Minnesota) and Aunt Beth (my sister from North Carolina) came to visit with us! Here, Canaan is sporting the chef's outfit that her Aunt Beth gave her.

While helping me cook, Canaan becomes quickly determined/frustrated if she can't crack the real eggs into a bowl. So we've been working on the egg-cracking-and-not-just-crushing technique. The apron and hat and oven mitt are perfect for splatter control. Thanks, Aunt Beth!

And the snow in late winter. We played outside and much as I tried to deter her, Canaan was determined to sabotage our snowman. That's why we only had a snow-abdomen this year. Sometimes, when dealing with a determined 1 1/2 year old, it's easiest to let your best laid plans go to pot for the sake of the joy of smashing a snow man to pieces.

The leprechaun came to visit the Goodwin house on March 17th. While Canaan's plan was to find a pot of gold teeming with candy, cupcakes, and ice cream, she found instead an apple, raisins, and some piece of candy that her mother only let her eat a bite of before she threw it away. Canaan learned an important lesson here: sometimes the pot at the end of the rainbow is only filled with nutritious items and so just get used to that cause we don't eat a lot of sugar around here whether you throw yourself to the floor kicking and screaming or not.



But we do have to let her enjoy a cup cake every now and then. This is a look of pure bliss. Canaan thinking, "Yes. Hard work and determination can get you a cupcake every time." Mother thinking, "Enjoy this cupcake, sister, cause this is enough sugar for the next nine days."

This is a picture of Canaan's first day of "school"! Tim and I had to work for the day, so Canaan went to Nana's school (Messiah Christian Academy). Here she is with her lunchbox! Canaan already had her day planned out: "First, I'll eat my lunch. Then I'll eat a snack. Then I'll eat my friend's snack. Then I'll play with his toy. Then I'll eat more of his snack. Then I'll go home."

Canaan always has a plan.

And here she is executing that plan. Eating snack with her friend Sawyer Young! She was actually on her best behavior because instead of eating everyone else's snack, she tried to share her own snack! I was proud of that kid!!

My plan to teach her to share and unconditionally love others: check.

She was inspired by the arts-n-crafts at school, so we got out the paints later to create a masterpiece. Lesson learned: my plans of having her create a cute picture with perfectly laid hand prints all in coordinating colors just doesn't compare to the masterpiece she made with scribbly paint and fingers and a taste-test at the end. So, like God, my "plans" just don't compare to the bigger plans that often surprise us.

Speaking of surprises, Canaan has been the best one we've ever gotten!!

Back to the lessons learned by a our very determine little girl: while she may think she can pedal faster than our nine year old neighbor, she'll still need her Daddy's help for another year or two. Especially since her feet don't really touch the pedals yet.

At the Alpharetta Children's Festival, Canaan was determined to feed this llama not only all the food in her hand, but all the food in the container as well as handfuls of dirt she scooped from the ground. Canaan learned that day that you just can't boss a llama. Especially if you try to feed it dirt.

Speaking of bossing, I learned that I can't boss this blogger website because this is the ninth time I've tried to upload this picture of my pregnant belly at twenty weeks. And each time it loaded it sideways. Really weird. By the way, we're having a GIRL!!!!

Canaan will be happy to have a sister. Here, she's pictured with her friend Ava Harrison at the playground. She looks forward to having a sister that she can "teach lessons to." Much like her mother continually tries to teach her lessons--like "Look at the camera and smile!! PLEASE just look over here and smile! See how Ava smiles at me??? Can you do that? Look at me!!! HEY!!"

This is the picture of determination--"I'll either look at you and not smile, or I'll look at the swings and smile. Your choice, mama."

And another picture of determination: nearly every night after she gets out of the bath tub, Canaan is determined to put her boots on and pour herself a little tea from her tea set. 90% of the time, I have to divert her attention to other activities like, "Look! Here's the lotion I have to put on you!" or "Hey!! Let's put your diaper on!!" or "Canaan! I've got these cutie PJs for you!!" or "Whoo hoo!! It's time to brush your hair!!!" Sometimes they work, other times I brush her hair with her boots on.

And another picture of pure determination: "I will find out, by jove, what is inside of this flower. Whether my mother is calling for me to smile and look at her or not."

And if after twenty minutes I have still not uncovered the mystery underneath these petals, I will continue to discover where the pistil is and how the pollen travels down that tube.

Easter! These are the fascinating eggs I've been talking about. Canaan is enamoured with eggs--eggs in a nest, checking eggs for cracks in the grocery store, cracking eggs into a bowl, sorting pretend eggs, and here she is getting the hard boiled eggs ready for coloring! Not only is she a determined little girl, but she is also very curious. A great attribute for a teacher's kid! "You like eggs? GREAT! I've got nineteen books on eggs and a diagram of an egg and a phonics game we can play with eggs and a great arts-n-craft project where we paint with eggs and..."

Here we are at Nana and Pop Pop's house with her cousin Courtney getting ready for the Easter Egg hunt! Not sure if Canaan thinks it's raining and has convinced Courtney to keep an eye out for rain clouds or what.

And here she is: "EGGS MAMA!! TONS of eggs!! And you would not believe this, but they are the SAME eggs I decorated last night!!!! Look everyone! Daddy--look! That egg I colored!!!!"

And of course, we did have a fantastic discussion on the resurrection of Jesus and how we wouldn't have Easter without Him. Tim and I are determined that she will know all about Jesus!!

Finally, a video capturing Canaan's determined spirit. Not only will she happily collect eggs, but she's going to inspect each one before she moves on to find the next 147 eggs in the backyard.

While Canaan's determination wears us out sometimes, we believe she'll grow into a successful young woman, breaking glass ceilings, wearing lipstick like a pit-bull, and bringing love, life, and the joy of the Lord into every relationship she has!!