This girl at 2

> loves bubbles of all kinds – wants to blow bubbles, wants to have bubbles in her bath, wants to wash her hands with bubbles

> likes to sing and sometimes surprises me with the words she knows to different songs

> wants to talk on and play with our cell phones (we don’t have a home phone)

> has been doing well on her gluten-free diet – there have been a few instances of her eating something she shouldn’t, but she’s been a trooper and her tummy and bottom are better for it

> wants to play and be outside all the time

> loves to eat fruit

> likes to feed Max, give him treats, and try to throw his ball – and has covered him up with her blanket when she thinks he’s taking a nap

> likes to go (as in leave the house)

> likes to have pigtails in her hair (her daycare teacher puts them in her hair almost daily), Matthew calls them pig knobs because they’re so short

> points out any airplane or helicopter she sees and hears by yelling “airpane!”

> really enjoyed singing “Happy Birthday” the couple of weeks around her birthday and still sings it to herself and us

> likes to give kisses to both people, animals, and inanimate objects alike

> will now say “cheese” for pictures and sometimes smiles at just the right time

> likes animals and always wants to pet them at the zoo, a squirrel, a bird, etc

> has a lot of personality and good facial expressions

> is happy to begin the day – a good sleeper and a good napper

> enjoys about a dozen nursery rhyme readers I bought several months ago – can recite a few of the stores, says “oh no!” when Humpty Dumpty falls or Little Miss Muffet gets frightened, says “ouchie!” when Jack and Jill fall down the hill

> can count to 10 but often leaves out 6 and 7

> knows most of her letter and words that start with some letters – H to O are often left out

> will watch us to see if we notice she’s doing something wrong – if we’re watching, she’ll sweetly say “hi” or give us a big smile

> “no poop” – has started excitedly saying this when she gets her diaper changed, I think it started during a nasty diaper rash

> “my turn now” – we hear this a lot! She doesn’t understand giving other people a turn quite yet.

> is wearing size 6 Huggies Little Movers (I don’t think there are any bigger sizes)

> remembers old "owies" and still talks about how she got them and wants to put ice on them

> she will be a BIG SISTER in December!

1st Picnic of the Summer

We had beautiful weather last weekend. It was sunny and in the 70s. So we drove out to Mount Si Park and had a picnic. We got there around 1 pm, and we were the only people in the park. We picked a spot in some shade. The only thing I forgot were the blankets I had put on the couch. We had a couple of towels in the back of the car that were big enough for sitting on. We lounged around, Canaan blew bubbles, and Max played fetch. It was a lovely Saturday afternoon.

Another birthday celebration

A few days after we got home from our trip to St Louis, my parents came out to celebrate Canaan's 2nd birthday. They stayed with Canaan a couple of days while we worked.



Then on Saturday, we got up early to ride a ferry to one of the San Juan Islands. We intended to go to Friday Harbor, but we missed the ferry. So we went to Orcas Island. We drove to the highest point on the island and had a beautiful view. It was a long day, but a beautiful day.








On Sunday night we celebrated Canaan's birthday with another flourless cake. I don't think Canaan ate even a bite of her cake. She enjoyed blowing out the candles and singing "Happy Birthday". The cake was so rich, I don't think any of us ate much of it. In fact, we just took it to a party this weekend to get rid of the last of it.




Before leaving Texas, Mom ordered an ice cream maker for us. It arrived days before they left so we made some vanilla ice cream. It is an electric ice cream maker and very easy to use. We enjoyed the ice cream and tonight tried our hand at chocolate ice cream. I have a feeling we'll be enjoying this all summer.

Canaan is two!

I cannot believe Canaan is two today! The past two years have gone by so quickly.

We spent the weekend with family in Saint Louis where Canaan got to see Pops, her aunt and uncle, and two cousins. She loved going on a "trip" and riding on an "airpane". She loved the "doggle" and cats we saw as well. She was excited to say "hi kitty cat" and try to kiss them. We visited the zoo one day where she said "roar" many times.

Canaan was super on the four flights we took. Thanks to advice from some facebook friends, I packed snacks and some new activities. Other than my two experiences with a leaking diaper on my leg, the flights were uneventful. During our layover in Denver yesterday, she enjoyed the moving walkway.



A little over 2 weeks ago, we started Canaan on a gluten-free diet. Her diaper rash has been at bay since that time so it seems to be doing the trick. So for her birthday celebration in Saint Louis we purchased a flourless cake from Whole Foods. It was not gluten-free, but it was the only available cake without flour. She didn't eat much but enjoyed the icing. Today I took gluten-free cupcakes for her daycare class. The teacher said the kids liked the cupcakes, but Canaan only ate 2 bites. We gave her another one tonight after dinner. She blew out the candles but did not take a single bite of the cupcake. Unlike her mother, she is not much for sweets.



This evening as we sang "Happy Birthday" to Canaan, she sang along. This is the first time we have heard her sing an entire song with all the words and even close to the tune.

The past two years have gone by incredibly fast. We are so thankful for Canaan and the joy she has brought to our lives. We love you Canaan and look forward to many more birthday celebrations.

More of these days

While eating dinner out with the Bells, Canaan entertained us with her monkey and elephant (do you see her trunk?) impersonations. She is even better at her monkey impression now as she has added a shriek to the end of the "oohoohooh". We really need to get this stuff on video.




We visited the dog park for some exercise and to get out of the house on President's Day. Matthew and I were both home for the day. Neither of us actually had the day as a holiday, but daycare was closed. I had planned to stay home with Canaan, but after my weekend trip to the ER with a kidney stone Matthew stayed home too to make sure everything was ok.




Canaan is quite the fashionista with this new outfit from Grandma. When I asked her to give me a smile, this was the best I got. Clearly she is not impressed with getting her picture taken. We'll just call these action shots.

These days

Here are a few things that have been going on around our house lately.

1. Canaan's daycare class celebrated Valentine's Day with a little party. This is one of my favorite outfits Canaan wears - this looks just like Max as a puppy with some red hearts around it.



2. Canaan still enjoys playing with Max, sharing her food with him, giving him treats, trying to get Max to chase her, cuddling with Max, hugging, and kissing Max.



3. Canaan always enjoys practicing the many faces she likes to make. (I think she gets that from her dad.)



4. We are also seeing signs of Spring. The temperature is getting a little bit warmer, the rain is actually rain and not mist, and we're seeing flowers and trees start to bloom.

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas season has been especially fun for me. I always love this time of year...the colder weather, using the fireplace, listening to Christmas music exclusively, watching Christmas movies, getting decorations out that make me think of Christmases past, seeing the crowds at the mall, the lights all over the place, baking goodies, thinking of the perfect gift for someone I love...I could go on and on. I love the different music we sing at church and attending a Christmas Eve service.

I was excited to see what Canaan would notice this year, if she would get excited about anything, what she would think of the music and opening gifts.

Canaan loves balls so she was especially excited to see us hang ornaments on our tree. While hanging them, Matthew and I told her she could not touch them, they were to look at, and they were called ornaments, not balls. (Good thinking, right? If they're not balls, they aren't that exciting.) She did so great! I think she touched them only a handful of times. Most of the time she would look at them and say "mo, mo" (translation "no-no"). I think she enjoyed looking at the tree and seeing lights on the houses outside.

Grandma and Grandpa sent her a couple of books with recordings of them reading the books. Those are special. She didn't quite have the attention span for the entire books though. My mom also sewed a nativity scene for her to be able to play with. She mostly would carry the baby Jesus around.

We stayed home for Christmas. I did not miss the stress of air travel, but I definitely missed being with family.

Canaan did enjoy opening her gifts, but she hasn't played with them much yet. I think it may have been a little overwhelming. Thankfully I listened to Matthew and just got her some clothes for Christmas. We let everyone else get her something fun to play with. She got some really fun toys. My favorite gift by far was a quiet book my mom made. I cried once I opened it. It is really special. I look forward to Canaan spending some time with it.

All in all we had a nice couple of days at home. We have much to be thankful for. I think next Christmas is going to be something special to experience with our sweet girl.

And now to get to work on our Christmas cards...oops!