44 weeks (March 27th)

Matthew purchased a backpack so he could take Canaan on hikes. He has a couple of friends that are off work a day or two during the week so they get together every once in a while and go for hikes. They all bring along their daughters, the oldest of which will be 2 in June.

Canaan was taking a couple of steps without holding on to anything.

She generally talks while she's eating.

She wants to pull everything out of any drawer or cabinet she can get into. She doesn't even look at where she is putting something, she just takes one thing after another and throws it behind her.

I am pretty sure she recognizes the word "bath."

She tried some finger foods this week - Cheerios broken in half and banana.

She started wearing size 3 diapers. We have made the switch between Pampers Swaddlers to Huggies Little Movers.

Grandma made this pillow case for Canaan. I saw this idea on a blog quite a while ago and showed my mom. Rather than making a pillow and stuffing it, I asked her to make a pillow sham. I really like the way it turned out. I have the material to make her a quilt out of these same materials. We'll see if that happens anytime soon.

Watch out!

I FINALLY got my camera to computer issues fixed this evening! Watch out for many posts updating on this little beauty who will be ONE in just over a week (how is that even possible??)!

10 Months (March 23)

My parents were here over the weekend so my mom went with me on Saturday to have Canaan's 10 month pictures taken. Even though it was cold here and had snowed on Friday, I had her picture taken in her Easter dress. My mom brought this basket with a liner she had made and embroidered with Canaan's name. It is getting tougher to get Canaan to sit still long enough for the photographers to get good pictures of her. The lady did get some good pictures though.

Is it possible that this girl will be one in just two months? Enjoy!

I am sitting on this stool all by myself.

If you look closely, you can see her name on the basket liner in this photo.

Look at my teeth.

Standing is my favorite.

43 Weeks (March 20)

We had some beautiful weather this week so one day after I got home from work we went for a stroll around the neighborhood. Canaan enjoys riding in her stroller. She will not relax and sit back. She sits up and holds on the whole ride. She will squeal and rock back and forth when you stop moving.

I gave Canaan these tiny pieces of turkey one night after her baby food. It was hilarious to watch her pick up the turkey, put it in her mouth, and then wink and gag as she swallowed it. I have not been good about giving her finger foods yet. Do you have any suggestions for finger foods?

On Saturday, Matthew's aunt and uncle and cousin and her daughter came down for a visit. We hadn't seen them since before Thanksgiving sometime.

Canaan with Uncle Joe


Canaan with Mekay and Mackenna

Canaan with Aunt Lois

Aunt Lois always brings fun gifts. Aren't these bunny ears so cute?

And we aren't above making our sweet Max wear pink bunny ears. He's cute as well, isn't he?

I am missing many pictures from this week as well. I really hope I can rescue them from the card.

• Canaan has also learned to close doors. She has closed herself in a room more than once and been unhappy that she can't get back out.
• She walks around our legs in a circle. Especially if she wants you to pick her up while you are busy in the kitchen, she will start whining/crying and keep walking around your legs in a circle until you pick her up or move. She will also walk around the dining room chairs in a circle.
• She is getting better at drinking out of a sippy cup, although we don't give one to her often.
• Canaan uses her index fingers a lot to touch/explore things. She has stuck it up her nose a few times when touching her face with her finger.
• She also likes to stick her finger in Max's mouth. He doesn't really appreciate that so he will generally turn away from her.
• As you could see from a picture in my last post, she enjoys sitting in the high chair when we eat out. She likes to watch the people all around us. That can be quite the source of entertainment for her.

42 Weeks (as of March 13)

Our friends, the Knapps, came through town on their way skiing so we got to meet them for lunch. We saw them last summer when Canaan was still a tiny baby. She slept through most of their visit so it was fun to watch her interact with Katie. I can assure you Canaan is not trying to choke Katie here...she's just touching her.

Matthew had something going on Friday so I dropped Canaan off at a friend's house before I went to work. She is holding her frog that she loves to sleep with. It is soft and fuzzy on one side and satiny on the other. She loves to hold it up to her face and sometimes chew on part of it like she is doing here. We may need to find a backup for this frog.

Unfortunately, I have many pictures from this week that are stuck on my camera. When I try to download them onto the computer, I get an error message even though I can view the pictures on my camera. I have changed the card on my camera so I can continue to use it. I really hope I can save the pictures!

• Canaan has started saying the "s" sound.
• Her hair is getting thicker.
• She is able to stand for longer periods of time.
• Almost any time she picks up a stuffed animal, she cuddles with it and starts sucking her thumb.
• She enjoys playing with toys in her bedroom (or taking her clothes out of her dirty clothes hamper).
• She has not used her swing for quite a while now.

41 Weeks (as of March 6)

When we're sitting at the table, Canaan likes to crawl under our chairs. A problem then arises as she has not figured out how to get out from under the chairs yet. This results in what you see here, crying.

I recently found some smaller bows that are just perfect (in my opinion) for Canaan. She has been wearing them frequently. I think they are so cute and add that girly touch to her outfits.

Matthew has "lost" Canaan a couple of times in the house. She likes to sit between the toilet and the bathtub so she can play with her rubber duck. When she is sitting here, you cannot see her from the bathroom door. We have since started closing the bathroom door so we don't lose her here.

She likes to crawl around in our bathroom and loves to walk along our bathtub. These doors also stay closed during the day so she doesn't get into Max's food and water bowls.

Our good friends moved this week to Mississippi. We already miss them!

Canaan has figured out how to open cabinets and drawers. She especially enjoys opening everything in the kitchen. We only have a lock for the cabinet under the sink that has all the bad things in it. So she's been playing with Tupperware, her plates, and her bottles. She also enjoys pulling things out of the cabinet so she can climb in there.

She continues to want to pull up on everything and everyone. She has tackled many children doing this which tends to upset almost all of the kids.

So far she doesn't seem to have any stranger anxiety and will go to just about anyone.

Meeting Friends

Matthew got a call on Friday that our great friends the Bells would be delayed in our local airport for several hours. So after church on Sunday we drove to the airport to hang out with them. They had not yet met Canaan in person.

As we waited at the top of the escalator, we saw Nathan but couldn't find Melinda. It turns out that she was really sick and had stayed at the terminal to rest until their next flight.

Canaan did very well. She was in her car seat about 3 1/2 hours. And while at the airport, she wasn't able to crawl around. I was very impressed that she didn't have a meltdown. We got home in time to feed her dinner, give her a bath, and get her in bed just a bit later than normal.

Here are pictures of Canaan meeting Nathan. Who would have thought we've have pictures of Nathan and Canaan before we had pictures of Melinda and Canaan?

We are looking forward to spending time with Nathan and Melinda sometime soon!