Seven Months

The day we left for St Louis, I took Canaan to JC Penney to get her 7 month pictures done. JC Penney and Target basically have the same studio and coupons, but since I have been less than pleased with the Target studio the last couple of times I decided to try JC Penney this time around. The studio was actually much larger, and while I was there, they were be strict about the appointment times. I am not sure if it is always this way or if it was because they were so busy with Christmas pictures. Whatever the reason, I was very pleased with my experience there. Plus they got some really good pictures of Canaan. Below are my favorites.

Six Months (November 2009)

I am going back in time a bit because I don't think I shared Canaan's 6 month pictures. We had these taken the day after Matthew had his knee surgery so things were a bit crazy around that time. These are my favorites!

Christmas Day 2009

Our stay in St Louis was really nice. We mostly hung out around the house which was fine by me. I enjoyed being inside where it was warm. We got to the house late Saturday night. I didn't step outside until Tuesday to run an errand.

**Tuesday night we drove into Illinois to drive through a light display. I always enjoy viewing Christmas lights so I enjoyed myself.
**Wednesday we went to the mall to visit Santa. We also got to see Pops on Wednesday as he drove in from Illinois.
**Thursday we stayed up late with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law watching them put together some Christmas gifts.
**And, of course, Friday was gift-opening. I have to say I was glad that everything was low-key with Canaan this year. We opened her stocking gifts before breakfast. And by the time we started opening the gifts under the tree, Canaan was napping. I think that was good timing because I expect that she would have been overwhelmed with all the activity.

We had wonderful hosts in St Louis who fed us amazing food! Next year we may have to ask for the brother-in-law's recipe book for Christmas. He is an excellent cook.

Canaan thoroughly enjoyed the many toys they had to play with, the dog and 4 cats, the cousins, the food...pretty much everything but the sleeping. The first few nights were rough, but then Canaan settled in and slept at night and took a nap during the day.

The reindeer outfit has been worn by all three kiddos on this side of the family. Canaan's aunt said we had to get an embarrassing picture like her kids had, but I think she looks really happy to be wearing something so fun!

I have to say that this year is the first time that I never really felt like it was Christmas. I definitely did not get my fill of Christmas music, Christmas movies, Christmas goodies (as I still cannot eat anything with eggs or dairy), or Christmas decorations. When we got home Saturday evening, we opened presents that we had not even wrapped. This was the first time in 7 years that I've gotten to take off the week of Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed not working and did enjoy the holiday. But something was different this year. I was so thankful to share the time with Matthew, my precious Canaan who I was only dreaming of this time last year, and the rest of the family.

When we got home Saturday night, we went to pick up Max. He stayed with some folks from church. They said he was the best behaved dog they have ever kept. They have a son in college who apparently wanted to ask if they could "rent" Max for another week. It appears that Max had a good time there as well.

Merry Christmas!

31 Weeks

• Canaan met her uncle, aunt, and two cousins (a 4 year old boy and a 2 year old girl) on Matthew's side. She was very entertained by her 4 year old cousin. He would run around and make fun noises. He checked on her when she was sleeping or playing. One day I was in the basement with Canaan and her boy cousin. As he went upstairs to do something, he asked me if I would "look after" Canaan. I thought that was so cute!
• She has started making a face where she scrunches her nose.
• Canaan started eating really well while we were in St Louis. Twice each day she ate some rice cereal, carrots, and apples.
• She also started a new formula while we were out of town. I didn't pack enough so we had to buy some while we were there. Other than that, I have to say I did a great job packing. Thankfully, we didn't have to take the car seat, pack 'n play, high chair, baby monitor (which we didn't use anyway), sheets, towels, or wash cloths. As it was, we had 3 large bags for the week. We are thankful that "bags fly free" at Southwest. (Southwest, however, does not let families with small children pre-board. This was news to me. They do let you board between the A and B groups though.)
• Canaan is continuing to talk more and more. We don't know what she's saying yet, but it is a beautiful noise.
• When she's standing up in your lap, she has started bouncing/jumping. The girl has got some strong legs.
• Canaan is almost sitting up by herself.
• It seems that Canaan had some kind of reaction because her eyes got puffy while we were there. She woke up several mornings with puffy eyes, but by the end of the day, they would be back to normal. She actually has woken up at home at least one morning since we've been back with puffy eyes as well.
• While in St Louis, we joined the cousins to visit Santa. Even though we had already done that at home, we went to see the big guy again. Canaan was in the car seat in the stroller while we waited in line for over an hour. She did GREAT! By the time we were finished, she was finished with that car seat though. AND she didn't cry when she saw Santa this time.

30 Weeks

Sunday evening, the Burns came over. Stefanie and I baked some Christmas goodies while the men folk watched a movie and the kiddos played on the floor and in the exersaucer.

Canaan went on her first plane ride this week. December 19th we flew to St Louis to visit Matthew's family for Christmas. She did okay on the flight. It was supposed to leave at 7 pm but was delayed almost an hour. I finally got her to sleep the last 20 or 30 minutes of the flight. She was very interested in the lady sitting next to me.

Canaan has been opening and closing her fingers and moving her wrist around. She's been doing this for a while now.

She is mostly sleeping on her tummy now. We still put her down on her back. Many times she will immediately roll over to her tummy.

Occasionally, Canaan will reach out to whoever is about to pick her up.

29 Weeks

Canaan got to try oatmeal cereal this week. We are still working on eating solid foods. She's got to have interest at some point, right?

This was possibly the coldest week we've had since moving to Colorado.

Canaan has figured out getting dressed and undressed. When you put her hand into a sleeve, she will extend her arm to help. When you pull a sleeve to get it off, she will pull her arm back. It is just amazing to me how her little mind works.

One night when I got her out of the bath tub, she was chattering her gums. I've never seen her show being cold like this before.

Thursday night I finally saw Canaan roll from her tummy to her back. She did it twice that night, but I haven't seen her do it much since then. It still takes her a while to figure out what she's doing. I know she can do it now.

Sometimes Canaan sings. She generally sings very softly. It is one of the cutest things I've ever heard.

Matthew put up all our Christmas decorations by himself. He did a great job! They look terrific, but I have not been able to get a good picture of them yet. I did join him for the tree purchase last week. We found a beautiful tree for a little over $30.

Friday night we went to dinner with the Burns. You can see that Canaan and Samuel were more interested in looking at each other than at the camera.


Saturday night was our Sunday school Christmas party. We had a good time visiting with everyone. We left when Canaan started to have a meltdown. She didn't take much of a nap on Saturday, silly girl!

Dear Santa,

My mom has been telling me about you and that I was going to meet you soon. She said you would be dressed in red, would have a beard, and were a jolly fellow. I didn't know what a beard was as I don't know anyone else who has one.

I'm sorry that I got upset when you looked at me. I don't know what came over me. I guess it was a lot of pressure to meet you with all those cameras on me.

I hope this won't ruin our friendship...and my chances of getting some good presents this year. I promise that I've been a good girl.

I'll try to be happier next time I see you and maybe even smile for a picture with you.

Canaan







Our rec center had a "Cookies with Santa" party on Saturday. We had no idea what to expect but thought it would be a great time to get Canaan's picture with Santa. I was glad to avoid the lines at the mall if possible.

It was awesome! We walked in where there was a table full of cookies and hot drinks as well. There was absolutely no line to see Santa. Santa and Mrs. Claus were so kind and looked great! And on top of everything else, our visit with Santa was free. Canaan looks a little suspicious of what's going on. She did great (other than not wanting to smile) until Santa turned her toward himself. She started crying at that point. Matthew didn't get a picture of it, but it was pretty funny.

28 Weeks

Again, I am behind. If you have been waiting for updated pictures, my apologies to you.

• So far Canaan is not interested in rice cereal, sweet potatoes, or formula. We've got to get this girl to eat!
• She has figured out what we're doing when we try to get her to open her mouth wide. As soon as the spoon is close to her mouth, she closes her lips so tight that nothing is getting in there. She has great timing!
• Since putting Canaan in size 2 diapers, she's having a lot more blowouts. Fortunate for me, Matthew gets most of them during the day while I'm at work. Poor guy! I'm sure it's building character, right?
• Matthew has been the most successful of anyone trying to feed Canaan the solid foods and formula.
• We took Canaan to see Santa this week (see more recent post).
• She has quite a grasp and can pinch you like no one's business. It hurts especially when she pinches your face.
• We also tried giving Canaan apple baby food...also not a favorite yet.

Grandma left town at the end of this week. It was great to have her here. She was so helpful while Matthew was recovering from his knee surgery. She told Matthew and I to go out the last night she was here. So we had a nice dinner baby-free and did a little bit of Christmas shopping together. It was a nice evening out!

27 Weeks

This week Grandma and Grandpa bought Canaan an exersaucer for Christmas. Since they won't get to see her for Christmas, they wanted to give it to her and be able to watch her play with it while they were here. It has been a big hit. In with the exersaucer and out with the bouncy seat.

Canaan had her 6 month appointment with the pediatrician. He gave the ok to eat solids and drink juice/water. After trying rice cereal last week, we tried sweet potatoes this week. She had a slightly better reaction to them than the rice cereal, but just barely.

Canaan's first Thanksgiving was this week. I didn't even get any good pictures of her on her first Thanksgiving. We were home all day. How did I miss this?

Canaan started putting her foot in her mouth this week. She just started grabbing her feet recently as well.

26 Weeks

This was a busy week.

• Canaan had an appointment with her gastroenterologist. He gave her the ok to start rice cereal. I, however, cannot add anything to my diet until her next appointment which will be when she is 8 months old.
• So we gave her rice cereal this week. She did not know what to think of that.
• We put up her high chair this week.
• Canaan has started waking up a couple of times each night. I hope eating solids will change this. I got spoiled with her sleeping through the night so early.
• When you suction Canaan's nose with the aspirator, she will generally smile at you.
• When she is on her tummy, she is getting her knees under her belly.
• She has started sticking her tongue out all the way.
• Canaan has one hair at the crown of her head that is 2 to 3 times longer than all her other hair.

Matthew had his ACL repaired on Friday of this week so Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with us and take care of Canaan. You can see in one of these pictures that they had Matthew working on his knee the day after his surgery. I couldn't believe how quickly they started that.