Tales from the Land of Canaan

Canaan singing "Blackbird, Blackbird" with his buddy Mr. Jeff

Initially we weren’t sure whether we were going to trick or treat this year or not, since Canaan is still a little too young to really understand what’s going on.  However, after seeing how enthusiastic Canaan was about his pumpkin, as well as how festive he was feeling at our neighborhood Halloween party the day before, we knew we had to do it, even if it was just for a little while (besides – all of the neighbors we met the night before would be expecting him, so he couldn’t let them down!)

Making sure our pumpkin is ready for the evening festivities!

Canaan’s Halloween morning started out like every other Monday morning – music class with Miss Liz and…Jeff Gordon.  Yep, that’s right, folks.  Nascar legend Jeff Gordon has a son named Leo who is in our class.  He’s pretty darn cute (Leo, that is, although Jeff’s not that bad either) and he and Canaan have lots of fun together in music, while neither of Leo’s parents are afraid to sing, dance, and make goofy faces along with the rest of us “normal” parents.

Since it was Halloween Miss Liz told everyone they could wear their Halloween costumes if they wanted to, so Canaan donned his bony-bean suit.  About 5 minutes before class was out, the alarm went off for unknown reasons and we all had to evacuate the building.  But before C could be disappointed about missing out on the good-bye song, we heard sirens!  And, sure enough, a few seconds later, two bright red fire trucks came screaming through the parking lot, which more than made up for class getting cut short.

"Candy-collecting is serious business."

While all of that was fun, it didn’t come close to what made music class special today – Daddy got to go too!!!  Due to renovations at the Skanska office taking place this week, everybody gets to work from home ALL WEEK…which meant that Daddy’s schedule was flexible enough to pop in for one of C’s favorite parts of the week!  Canaan was really excited to be able to teach Daddy the songs he’s been learning as well as show him all of his new dance moves, and made sure everyone knew which guy was his “dada.”  (by saying it loudly while pointing every few minutes…).

Fast forward to Halloween evening…C had been a bony man all day, and was ready to show off his costume to all of the neighbors (even though most of them had seen it the night before at the block party).  We loaded Canaan up in his wagon, armed with a bag for all of his goodies, some red LED light up glasses for Mommy, and an LED ghost necklace for Daddy.

Silly Mommy helping C sort his candy

Sharing some candy with Daddy

We hit 8 houses, and with each passing house Canaan got more and more animated, as he figured out the drill.  At first he seemed confused as to why we were ringing the doorbell but not going inside the houses.  It took 3 trick-or-treats before he realized that he got more candy if he put what was already in his hand in the bag.  At one point we crossed path with a group of elementary-aged girls with their mothers, and C followed along with them for 2 more houses as if he had always been part of their gang.

Sugar crash...

Canaan’s favorite part was proudly pointing out his “bones” to everyone who offered him candy.  He got many, many compliments – “What strong bones you have!” and “Those bones look very healthy,” just to name a few.  Upon arriving back at our house, Canaan was thrilled to see some trick-or-treaters come to his door.  We dumped our candy in the living room and spent the rest of the evening counting it, stacking it, sorting it, and of course sampling it, although from the looks of Canaan’s haul plus our leftovers, we’ll be sampling candy for quite a while

It’s been forever since we’ve posted here…Canaan has been so busy helping with Mommy’s blog that he hasn’t had much time to work on his own blog.  We are going to try our hardest not to get behind again and to get back on a schedule of posting at least every month or so, but for now, a smorgasboard of pictures and videos from August up until now…hope you enjoy!

Fun in the sandbox!

Enjoying the day outside

Blocks - a new favorite pasttime

Canaan's reading nook...

Mommy's Kitchen Helper

Wet and wild

Canaan helping Grammy check her email

 Canaan loves animals, and although he doesn’t usually talk about animals by name, he really enjoys imitating the sounds they make.  Click here to see a video taken towards the end of August that shows Canaan running through the gamut of animal sounds.

Canaan has also been really into kissing…Mommy, Daddy, other family and friends, his stuffed animals, his crib friends, and most notably – himself!  I guess he figures he needs to brush up on proper kissing technique, but another favorite pasttime is flirting with that handsome baby in the mirror.  Click here to watch Canaan caught in the act a couple of weeks ago…

"Airplane!"

Last week was a whirlwind of airplanes, car rides, and fortunately, a lot of laughs and fun memories!  Uncle Dave was getting married, so the whole Lineberry clan loaded up and met in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so that we could take the scenic route up towards the Upper Peninsula and Marquette, which is where the wedding was taking place.

Canaan and the ladies at the top of the dune

Canaan had been looking forward to his first plane ride for months, and when the big morning finally arrived, he was so excited that he woke up at 4…fortunately for us, however, it wasn’t that big of a deal since we needed to get up at 430 anyway to make it to the airport on time.  After a delay in Cincinnati and a few baggage shenanigans, we and our bags arrived in Grand Rapids just in time for lunch.  The next day we headed to Traverse City, where we all dipped our toes, (and one of us dipped the majority of his body) into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan.

C with his Daddy!

On Monday we drove to the northwestern edge of the Lower Peninsula to the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, famous for its giant sand dunes.  We hiked to the top of the dune for a spectacular view of Glen Lake, and a distant view of Lake Michigan on the horizon.  After surfing our way back down the dune, the little guys enjoyed playing in the sand for a while before we stopped for a quick lunch in Glen Arbor and got back on the road.

C with Papa Joe on the shores of Lake Michigan

Next stop was Mackinac Island (pronounced “Mackinaw”), aka the Land of Horses and Bikes.  Since there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, that mean that C got to experience his first ride on a ferry!  Our accomodations were right beside the docks, which meant that we had a stellar view of the boats coming in and out of the harbor…and thankfully the ship horns and “all aboard” type announcements didn’t keep either of the little guys from sleeping!

After checking the tire pressure on all the bikes on the island, Canaan and Eli hopped in a bike carrier for a leisurely family cycle along the 8 mile perimeter of the island.  We then hit the Magic Wings Butterfly House, where Mommy realized that Canaan uses the same word for butterfly as he does for bird (a high-pitched “eeeeee” while pointing in the air…).

All ashore that's going ashore!

This trip was full of transportation firsts for Canaan – airplanes, ferries…and on our second day in Mackinac, a horse-drawn carriage!  We also snuck a peek inside the famous Grand Hotel and got to check out a rifle and cannon firing demonstration at the Fort before ferrying back to our car in Mackinaw City.

"Hey Eli, I'll trade ya this flower for those sunglasses..."

Next it was onward and upward to Marquette, a funky but less-than-booming metropolis on the Upper Peninsula.  The drive there was beautiful – a definite highlight was seeing a bald eagle perched on a dead tree on the side of the road – he flew away as we pulled off to snap a photo.

A beautiful way to wake up from a nap...

Marquette was a blur of wedding events interspersed with some sightseeing, wading into Lake Superior, and playing Angry Birds in the hotel lobby.  Oh yeah, and also a trip to the ER.  Canaan christened our first morning in Marquette by burning his thumb pretty badly on a spotlight in front of our hotel that wasn’t supposed to be on.

Mommy and Aunt Megan with two handsome guys at the rehearsal dinner

Just when all of the adrenaline had worn off from that, when we got back from the cookout at Aunt Allyssa’s mom’s house, we discovered that Canaan had a fever of almost 103!  We made it to the Urgent Care at the hospital minutes before they closed.  Our main concern was a secondary infection related to the burn…the secondary concern was that C had just infected the entire wedding party with a virus.  Thankfully, neither scenario was the case, and it ended up being a run-of-the-mill ear infection – yet another first for C!

Waiting for the main event!

Even though Canaan was only operating at 80% during the rehearsal dinner, he still managed to make friends with Jillian, Aunt Allyssa’s niece.  By the time Saturday rolled around he was back to his usual cheerful, 90 mile an hour self.  He and Eli took a morning dip in Lake Superior (by far the coldest of the 3 lakes we sampled!) while everyone else was doing last minute wedding prep.

Congrats to Uncle Dave and Aunt Allyssa!

The main event was a happy celebration, and both Canaan and Eli looked quite dapper in their matching outfits.  Canaan was a party animal on the dancefloor - he was still going strong at 1000, after showing off his many moves with many of the ladies.  But his favorite part was gazing at Aunt Allyssa – every time she came near he stared, pointed, and smiled.  Mommy told him that was what a beautiful bride looked like, and that one day (a long, long, time from now) he would find one of those!

Gettin' down on the dancefloor with Miss E'Nan

Weddings are so much fun!

Canaan took his lady friend for a ride on the porch swing

July has been a busy month in our household, and its not even halfway over yet!  Canaan got to celebrate his freedom at BeBe and PaPa Joe’s house for the 2nd year in a row.  He had a great time, but wished his cousin Eli could have come as well.  Mommy was in charge of hopping state lines and picking out fireworks this year, and Canaan was thankfully good-natured enough to help, even though he knew fireworks would happen after long after he went to bed.

Happy 4th of July!

Despite being the first to retire however, Canaan was far from a party-pooper!  He definitely made the most of his time at the party – he leraned how to play ping-pong, assisted in several cornhole matches, tasted PaPa Joe’s homemade ice cream and Grammy’s cookies, fed the fish in BeBe’s pond, as well as giggling his way around the driveway while everyone else made merry.

Stunt man in training...

The next day Canaan enjoyed some male bonding with Daddy and PaPa Joe while BeBe and Mommy went dress shopping for Uncle Dave’s wedding – more on that later… Canaan also enjoyed flirting with BeBe’s neighbor’s granddaughter who came over for a morning visit.

Our usual Friday night family wagon ride to Chick-Fila was even more special than usual last Friday, because it also happened to be “Cow Appreciation Day.”

"What big eyes you have!"

For those of you not familiar with this tradition, it means that patrons who show up dressed like a cow get free chicken!  Of course Canaan wanted to sport his cutest cow diaper, but we were shocked at how serious so many other folks were about their cow appreciation!  The restaurant was a mob scene!  We thankfully were able to snag the only high chair that was left, and enjoyed people (cow?) watching during dinner.  Canaan’s highlight of the evening was getting a chance to meet the Chick-Fila cow!  He wasn’t sure how good cow’s are with anatomy, so Canaan good-naturedly decided to point out the cow’s eyes for him.

"Have you all met the bride and groom yet?"

Last weekend was a blur of activity because Mommy’s cousin Shawn was getting married at McGill Rose Garden in Charlotte.  That meant that Grammy and Paw Paw came up on Saturday afternoon and crashed at our house after the wedding.  Canaan acted like such a big boy at his very first wedding!  While he thought MacKenzie (the bride) looked really pretty, he also loved the wedding kitties that his Great Aunt Linda had made.

"Seriously guys, they're right here - come say hello!"

Prior to the ceremony, C took it upon himself to introduce the kitties to everyone that walked by.  Canaan was also really excited to see the big choo-choo train that zoomed right by the garden area after the ceremony.  This was also his first time seeing a real live choo-choo, and it evidently made quite an impression on him, because he spent the rest of the evening choo-chooing at anyone who would listen (in between sneaking sips of lemonade from his Pop Pop’s glass, that is…)

"Wait a minute, this bride is MUCH prettier than those kitties!"

The next day Canaan got to play host to Mommy and Daddy’s community group from church.  Our monthly meeting was at our house this time, so C got to show the other children his new room and share his toys.  His rocking horsie and bumper car were the crowd favorites by far!

Its a good thing that C enjoyed himself at the wedding, because like I said earlier, we’ve got Uncle Dave and Aunt Allyssa’s wedding coming up in just a couple of weeks!  Not only will C get to explore a new state with his cousin Eli, but he’ll get to go on his first airplane ride!

Mommy, Daddy, Canaan, Grammy, and Paw Paw!

Making friends with the neighbors

This week has been a busy one for Canaan’s brain.  Evidently he must be going through some sort of developmental spurt, because he’s been acquiring new skills by the day (sometimes by the hour, it seems!).  Canaan’s babbling is getting more and more “real” sounding, and we’ve noticed that there are certain sounds that are always used for the same item, even though they may not sound anything like the real word – such as “bwah-bwah” for cat, and “gyoohn” for balloon, ball, and most recently, shoes.  At breakfast one day this week Canaan very enthusiastically realized that Mommy understood what he meant when he said the word “cup” (or a close enough derivative anyway).  Canaan spent the rest of the meal saying “cup” and passing it back and forth with Mommy.  Canaan has also been expanding his signing vocabulary, with phrases like “All done!”

"You want some of my popsicle? Whatchu talkin' bout Willis?!?"

Canaan has also learned how to give sweet kisses, (along with a dramatic “mwah!” sound).  He has also learned how to shower his affection on animals – a reminder to give “soft and gentle touches” brings about very sweet patting and smiling, which has come in handy with our neighbor’s cat, Oscar. 

Following directions has also been very fun for Canaan recently (let’s hope it stays that way!).  He gets really excited when “quizzed” about where different things are, everything from body parts (eyes, nose and mouth) to household items (fans, lights, chairs, books), as well as things outside (Mommy’s car, Daddy’s car, mailbox, flowers). 

Checking out the hive

Speaking of outside, with the heat wave we’ve been having, Mommy decided it was time to break out the inflatable pool.  Canaan thinks splashing around in his outdoor bathtub is hysterical, and is excited to be able to do so many more big boy things in the pool this year than he was able to do last year!  (Click here to see a video of C having fun in the indoor bathtub)

Another fun thing Canaan has learned how to do this week is sort the shapes in his shape-sorter bucket.  The circles are easiest, followed by the squares…but we are still working on the triangles.  You can check out C’s sorting skills by clicking  here .

"BEES!!!"

While Canaan has been working hard on learning so many new things, Mommy has been working hard painting new things!  Grammy came up last week to help paint the bathroom green (we had leftover paint from the dining room…), and Mommy added eight buzzing bees on the wall along with a hive above the potty!  Canaan’s reaction has been priceless – everytime he walks by the room, he has to make a pitstop to point and smile at the bees!