Government Mandate

I did it. I got the government mandated mother haircut.

My newest haircut really has nothing to do with motherhood. I was just ready for a change. This happens at least every couple of years and sometimes more. And each time I get it cut short, I end up deciding I want to grow it long almost immediately. We'll see what happens this time around.

You can't really see much from these photos (why is our house always so dark in photos?). Today was my first day to fix it which was really fast. I can't complain about that!

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Not as much as Max. At least, I think Max would give him a run for his money.




Do you remember this wood pile? This has been Max's new pile of adventure. When Max got out of our yard by chewing through the fence, the vet suggested dousing it with a solution of water and cayenne pepper. He said most dogs will stop chewing because they don't like the cayenne. Max is not one of those dogs. It doesn't seem to bother him at all.

Max got a new toy for his birthday. It was 10 minutes before it turned from a fun toy to a pile of stuffing and string. 10 minutes!! Crazy dog.

Max is 2

Max is 2 today!

Here are a couple of pictures from today and a couple of pictures from the day we brought him home (October 2007).

3 Months

Canaan turned 3 months old today. We headed to Target again for portraits. Today was by far the best experience we've had getting her picture made. She did great! The obvious trick is to make sure she has had a nap and is well fed. We had a great time and had a hard time choosing pictures today. This is absolutely my favorite outfit that Canaan can wear. I LOVE yellow and pink. I have been waiting to have her picture made in this dress. I am going to hate it when she outgrows this one. I'm not sure if that will happen before the cold weather gets here. Either way, we'll have to put it away.

Here are some of my favorites. You can see the rest here. You just have to type in my first and last name to view the photos.











The other photos are my first attempt to take a picture of Canaan and me, some of Canaan's cute socks from a family friend, Canaan trying to put her whole hand in her mouth, and her cute stretch.

Allergy Friendly Recipes

I thought I would post this in case anyone else is trying to avoid any particular food in their diet. My friend Angie posted these two sites in a comment a while back. I just got a chance to look at the sites today. They are awesome! This will make cooking much easier while I am on this elimination diet.

http://www.spewdfree.com/recipes/

http://www.cookingallergyfree.com/

I found out today that when Canaan turns 4 months old I can try adding wheat to my diet. If that goes well, I can add tree nuts back when she turns 5 months old.

12 Weeks

I got to introduce another friend to Canaan this week. One of my college roommates was in town part of this week for her sister's wedding. I hadn't seen Kimberly in ten years. I can't believe it's been that long! She has three girls of her own that I had not met before. They were so cute and the sweetest girls. The oldest is seven and the youngest is four. I cannot imagine having three so close together. I, of course, waited until the end of the evening to bring out my camera so I only got a picture with Kimberly. I wish I had gotten one of her whole family. I went to Kimberly's hotel Thursday after work. Canaan did not get her afternoon nap that day so she was pretty fussy that evening. Once I got to the hotel room, Canaan started crying and didn't stop until we left the hotel room. Kimberly's husband told us later that night that when we left the hotel room, their 7 year old said, "I'm glad they left. I thought that baby was going to be sweet!" She apparently did not appreciate the crying. Isn't that cute?


More about Canaan...

• She is starting to suck her thumb more and is getting better at finding it. She still has issues keeping it in her mouth sometimes.
• A couple of friends have noticed two places on her bottom gum where it looks like she'll have some teeth. She is starting to slobber more. Surely she is not teething yet (I hope).
• Matthew likes to call Canaan stretch. She is a champion stretcher.
• When she coughs, she sticks her tongue out which is pretty cute.
• She is still sleeping well and sleeping through the night. This has been wonderful since I've gone back to work.
• She has had a couple of blow outs recently. We have found the Pampers Swaddlers to be really great diapers. We just started using a package of Luvs recently. They just do not work well with Canaan. I think we'll finish the package this week and be able to go back to the Pampers.
• Andy and Amy brought Canaan this really cute camo pillowcase dress when they stopped by a couple of weeks ago. I finally got a picture of her wearing it. It is really cute! Thank you Amy!
• It is pretty difficult to get a picture of Canaan smiling. I can get her to smile, but once the camera is in front of my face she gets a serious or puzzled look on her face. I'm just not quick enough.

Matthew is doing really well staying home with Canaan while I'm at work. He has gotten Canaan on a good schedule during the day with feedings and naps. Being at work hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, but I discovered something this week I wasn't expecting. I don't like that Matthew knows more about Canaan's schedule than I do. It makes sense that he would since he is at home with her, but it is hard nonetheless. On the other hand, it is nice that he is so involved in her day-to-day care. For that, I am thankful.

Neighborhood Kids

This evening I walked over to a neighbor's house to give her some coupons I had received in the mail for the formula she uses. I was crossing the cul-de-sac when a young girl said something like, "Ooh, a baby. Do you live around here?" I told her I did and pointed to my house. She then replied, "Oh, I remember. You have Max." So she didn't remember me, but she remembered that I belonged to Max. If Max is outside when this girl walks by our fence, she will call him over and pet him through the fence.

I also have a quick story about a little boy that lives across the cul-de-sac. His father was deployed to Iraq for about a year. While he was gone, Matthew threw a football for him one day. Ever since then, he will come ring our doorbell every once in a while to ask if Matthew will come out to play with him. It is the cutest thing, but Matthew feels a little weird about it now that his dad is home.