This one does.  He also has a little sister who follows him around.

 

 

 

And he likes to swing a lot.

 

 

 

In the car on the way home from play group tonight.

 

Canaan:  Mom, what is your best, favorite color?

Me:  Maybe green?

Canaan:  My best color is violet.  

Me:  Violet?

Canaan:  Yes, violet.  Purple.  And daddy's best color is brown and Eden's best color is green.

Canaan had a backyard, transportation-themed birthday party.  Last year we were pulling the party inside quickly as the rain started to pour.  This year we were glad for the tent because the sun was crazy bright out.  I was really pleased with how the party turned out.  I was looking for something entertaining but unstructured.  Something where kids and adults could enjoy themselves with feeling herded from activity to activity.  But where the kids had enough to do.  I think we hit the right note this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kept both the food and decor super simple.  Most of the decor was easy to come by with all the trains and trucks we have around the house.  We borrowed this giant truck from a friend though and it was perfect for serving chips and popcorn.  My mini loaf pans and a Percy turned into a great way to serve veggies and dips. 

 

 

 

 

 

I knew I didn't want to be in the kitchen during the party so I planned head and everything was cold.  We set out guac, ranch dip, veggies and chips at the beginning. 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had Stop Light rice crispy treats and Apple Cars.  These were available the whole time for easy munching.  Then following lots of bouncing, games and free play we served Southwest Sandwiches (half with avocado and tomato, half with pickled cucumbers and all with ham, cheese and the delicious dip that makes them Southwest.)  I prepped, cut and plated them all ahead of time and thought this was a great move.  The adults thought the sandwiches were gourmet and I spent no party time prepping them.

 

 

 

 

 

After sandwiches came the birthday cake and cupcake.  The birthday cake came from a Twinkie Cupcake recipe (that was quite lackluster and too much effort in my opinion.)  Decorations came easy with a simple buttercream coating, followed by some oreo and graham crumbs and a CAT truck. 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I took pictures before so that I could again just enjoy the party and not have to take time out for this!

 

 

 

 

 

The cake was mini.  Also Canaan had specifically requested cupcakes instead of a cake so I also put together these Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella frosting.  They were totally delicious and I will be highlighting the recipe on my food blog soon!  Simple toppers I was able to cut and glue one night while I relaxed in front of the tv made for easy assembly the day-of.

 

 

 

 

 

The big splurge of the day was a bouncy house in our yard.  And it was WORTH IT.  The kids jumped and jumped, played the balls, ate a little and came back and jumped some more.  Canaan threw himself down the slide every which way tumbling into a clump at the end!  Eden climbed in right away and I thought it would be good for her to do some bounces before the "big kids" showed up.  Turns out she wasn't about to be intimidated and spent tons of time in there with Canaan's friends.

 

 

 

 

 

She also thought she was boss of the play table.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait, maybe she just thinks she's the boss of everything?  Either way both she and Canaan will be thrilled to see this same bouncy house at their friends' bday party next weekend since my friend liked it so much she hired them on the spot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big fan of the rice crispy treats.  Big. Fan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canaan and Eden's Cuban Abuela Julie came and was game for catching Canaan on the slide, watching Eden climb over everything and talking with people she'd never met.  I was super impressed with her!  I was a little worried that Canaan might not spend much time with her with all his friends around but he wanted her to follow him everywhere and watch him play!

 

 

 

 

 

Pin the Propeller was the only game we did and that was just fine since the kids were entertained with each other.  Canaan didn't love it but he tried once and then loved watching others do it.

 

 

 

 

The best part was watching the parents get into it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids sang for Canaan and then no one was bashful about sticking their hand straight into that cake!  Lots of little finger dips.  Here they have a tradition of shouting "Que muerda el pastel" (bite the cake) and then the Bday person old or small takes a big bite straight out.  Canaan was happy to comply and then a few of his friends wanted to try too.  Later he went to take his nap quietly mumbling "Que muerda el pastel."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most importantly I think this birthday boy really enjoyed his party!  He loves his friends (we love his friends too!) and he loved running and playing barefoot.  We were glad to celebrate his short but oh so important to us life this way!

 

 

 

For your actual birthday we tried to make it special in a few different ways.  You requested cinnamon rolls for your bday breakfast so you ate them in your "birthday chair" wearing a special birthday hat.  Unfortunately your tummy wasn't feeling great so you ate about two bites of your roll. 

 

Throughout the day we opened presents when we felt like it.  You played with your toys and enjoyed them fully one by one.  (Truthfully it took til Saturday for us to open because we opened THAT slowly.) 

 

You wore your batman cape to the grocery store with me and were very proud at how many shopping ladies called you Batman.

 

After naps we went over to P's to celebrate together.  Flor had balloons and bday hats for you guys - and a smiley face cake.  You guys were both so excited and thrilled with the attention.  Dome, Martin, Tomas and moms were there too and later your dad and P's dad came too to help celebrate.  I was so proud of how you and P played together and shared your birthday.  You took turns blowing out candles, posed with lots of hugs for pictures and were inseparable while playing, much to the confusion of Dome who is used to having P with her!  The other kids left early and then you and P played some more.  Eden got really sick with a fever in the middle of your party so dad took her home early.  We followed later and you quickly skyped with Jordan before going to bed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cane-boy,

 

Three years ago you made me a mom and life hasn't been the same since!  It's harder, it's busier, it's more demanding and most days I am confronted with my own selfishness, wishing for more "me" time.  But the last three years have also been fuller in the best sense of the word and I wouldn't trade it in!  You bring us joy, laughter and marvel at what it means to grow and learn and become a person every day!  You've brought your dad and I together in a whole new way because we are the only two people who can be equally delighted by you and love you so intensely. 

 

This past year has brought no surprises in terms of your love of people and a party.  You've been extroverted since about three months old and it just seems to be growing!  You are always up for going to a friend, having a friend over or anywhere - even if it's a roomful of adults.  You love people and you love to make them smile anywhere along the way.  I've noticed how similar you are to me in how much energy people give you.  Mostly this is good but it has its faults.  At your age that means that sometimes you get over-excited and don't know how to release it except to push and shove.  When I was a teenager it meant that I often said some really dumb things about other people without thinking.  But I promise you that I GET exactly how hard it is to think straight when you're having fun!

 

You are learning what it means to follow what mom and dad say.  Recently I've also been really encouraged by how you are treating your friends!  You are less aggressive in the past few months and willing to share with just a little help.  Often before we go somewhere you say, "I'm not going to push ___."  And when we come home you say, "I didn't push ___."  It makes me proud to know that you are thinking about your actions and trying to be a good friend.

 

This year you've taken on a new role of brother and it is just FUN to see you grow into that!  Now that Eden and is walking and playing you love to have her along and it's obvious that both of you are a little lost without each other (even though you are constantly frustrated at her terrorizing your train tracks or towers or lines of cars!).  You are s l o w l y learning how to be gentle but it's fun to see more of your time together now laughing and playing, riding a horse together or sharing your food than fighting!  You are often her voice, her protector and her tattletale!

 

You are an intense boy who wants constant attention and movement and yet you are really varied in what you like to do.  You love cars, trains, trucks and construction best of all.  But you are also thrilled to do any kind of craft or paint project with me and often ask for that in the morning.  You like swimming, you love the park, looking at animals as long as they aren't close, and any adventure. 

 

Canaan, I love you so much and pray you will know that each day, even in the midst of discipline or impatience at times.  You are joy to us.  You are a constant gift and each day of this year and every year of your life our biggest prayer is that you would know, learn, and experience God in new ways and continue to be filled with his joy!

 

Love,

Mom

 

 

Canaan's favorite view from our local park.

 

Spidey-style.

There is NOTHING Canaan loves more than playing "camiones" out in the back yard.  He uses the flower bed that borders the grass as his construction site and spends hours lifting dirt out with a digger, putting it in the back of one of his dump trucks, transferring it to a cement mixer and back and forth again.  He brings as many trucks, cars and trains out there as possible at a time, so we've had to establish indoor and outdoor trucks.  This is prime nap-time activity while Eden sleeps in the room just overlooking this yard.

 

But besides his trucks, he's a big fan of painting and art projects.  While projects that require more fine motor skills (like stringing beads) make him crazy with frustration, he loves the freedom of painting.  Painting that usually starts with a set idea and ends up with him painting himself.  Recent projects have included watercolor, rain splats, painting "wheels" and toilet paper rolls to make cars out of, q-tip painting, helping me paint his activity table and mixing paint with soap bubbles.  Another frequent favor is to "paint" using sink water and the sink while I wash dishes.  And yesterday on the 5 hour trip home from the beach, after asking for his trains about 100x he started pretending he was painting.  And even involved his cousin Lucia (not in the car) in the pretend play, saying "No painting Lucia.  You can't paint."  Apparently he doesn't want to share his painting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the "learning to talk" phase is one of my favorites.  Two recent ones I've heard from this little guy that I'd like to remember:

 

"A, B, C, D, E, F, Cheese"  (He can do all of the abc song, although he always forgets x)

 

At the beach I referred to the "kiddie pool" many times.  Canaan woke up from a nap and said, "Wanna go to the Cat Pool, Momma?"  

 

I love seeing how his little brain works!

 

 

Over a year ago, Nate painstakingly painted three coats of bright TANGERINE paint on Canaan's wall.  And then ... I didn't love it.  It made an already dark room darker.  And the orange on the walls brought out the orange tinge of the varnish on the trim, closets and baseboards and I didn't love that to begin with.

 

So slowly I started thinking about a room redo, though it took me awhile to confess it to Nate.  And I only did after promising to paint it all myself.  (Though in the end I primed and he painted so that I could have more time with the kids, which was very, very nice.)

 

I wanted dark grey walls.  It seemed so fun with the green.  But I had to nix them, knowing that they wouldn't brighten the room any more than orange would.  So I had a pale grey in mind and then I started building around that and the curtains ... the only thing I'd really invested in so far.  Those and the chalkboard wall were the only real keepers.

 

I picked up a new light fixture that gives more light and isn't from -oh- the 70's for $5 at a garage sale with my mom and sister.  Ikea had a duvet cover that perfectly coordinated with the curtains and was a whopping $19.99.  While I was there I couldn't resist picking up a little tent that I thought would add some whimsey and cozy-ness.  I also liked that it added some pops of other colors so that in the words of my mom, "It's not too matchy-matchy."  I kept the owls but grouped them closer together over his crib ... which will be leaving his room soon and heading to Eden's.

 

Here's where we are at.  I still would like to add bookshelves in the blank space by the corkboard where Canaan hangs his masterpieces, but other than that this room is done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We seem to have finally surpassed some big eating hurdles with Canaan.  For a long time (like almost 2.5) he refused most regular solid food other than bread or oatmeal.  If it wasn't pureed, he wasn't having it.  And he definitely didn't eat meat of any kind.  In the past two months he's opened up to all sorts of new, WHOLE foods.  For my records, Canaan now (newly) eats:

 

chicken (in very small amounts)

bacon

spinach or lettuce with balsamic vinegar on it

pork tenderloin

enchiladas with zucchini, chicken and black beans

lentil and ham soup

cucumbers

radishes

pineapple

tangerines

orange slices

apricots

broccoli (cooked)

corn with caramelized onions

greek pita pizzas with hummus, tzatziki and RED ONIONS

sloppy joes with cilantro

pasta with zucchini & tomatoes

... and a lot more I can't remember

 

Meal times are more fun.  You'll try almost anything at least once, which is nice.  Then we know whether you actually like it or not.  You still need a lot of prompting to eat a whole meal because usually you'd rather focus on your train, James.