Oden Adventures

July had the misfortune of being The Month We Were Just Trying To Get Through, anticipating Oliver's arrival in August, having already had our one big trip of the summer in May/June, this Mama not feeling like outings of any kind, experiencing the increasing tidal wave that is Age Two, and dealing with some financial issues and other life hiccups...

That's what felt true, anyway.  These snapshots remind me that we did manage to eke some fun out of July even still...Vianne especially, when she had 120 seconds alone with 12 (thankfully washable) markers...

 We started confining the marker use to the high chair after that.

Our sassy lil' ladybug, headed out to church

Vianne was thrilled that our church picnic at Pastor Joe & Cindy's house included time in the pool...

...and cupcakes!

Lots of sandbox time, building castles and digging for treasure

She was very proud of her "circles".

We were invited to two fun birthday parties on the same day, Ansley's 3rd and cousin Sarah's 40th.  Ansley had a Frozen-themed party, complete with a visit from Queen Elsa, much to the delight of the kids, even Vianne who has no idea who she is :-D.

Vianne with Ansley

Vianne's first face painting!

Vianne raised her hand like the princess :-)

Adorable cupcakes!

The bouncy house never disappoints!

Cousin Sarah's party was at Aunt Pat & Uncle Lynn's house and included a small pool...

...and a big pool (with bouncy house & slide), both of which were a big hit with Vianne.

Praying trains with Lily

Posing with the birthday 'girl' :-D

Other July highlights include a lot of time with the bucket (aka Fireman's Helmet) on her head, saving the day...

Lots of watermelon (I can never seem to get enough!)

Playing with Joel & Jesse when we could

A trip to the park with Daddy (and one of my favorite pictures of Vianne ever taken)

...and lots of playing in her room, especially with Granma.

And then the very long month of July ended with the very sweet gift of Oliver Patrick's arrival on the very last day.  He just couldn't wait 7 hrs and 41 min more to come into the world as our August baby, so he joined the multi-member July birthday club instead.  Our little Harry Potter/Ruby boy, to the delight of Mama (who wants Peridot as a birthstone anyway, right?).