Oden Adventures

We had some gorgeous days, good for walking/biking through the park...

...but then the rain came, and this required new boots for Miss V.

Grampa came for a visit early in the month, and Vianne gave him a tissue paper haircut.

Lots of rides in the Weehoo, which both kids love!

Two peas in a pod

Some dinner silliness, including olive fingers...

...and falling asleep at the table.

Finally some decent rain!

Grampa sent an axe for the Tin Man

...and a Toto for Dorothy

Tried out the salt dough recipe from our craft book...mildly entertaining.

Patrick flew off to a Moltmann conference in Atlanta on his birthday, and this was a very sad boy to see him walk into the airport.

So it was single parenting for two days...Oliver fell asleep on the way to dance class, and continued to sleep on the floor of the bathroom while Vianne got changed.

Killed Spent a lot of time at the park

Vianne (who is much much more into Halloween than her mother) enjoyed making "Ghost Bananas" with chocolate chips (thanks, Creative Galaxy!)

Oliver decided to decorate the recliner :-D

Turns out the boy has the tongue-curling gene!

 

The weekend before Halloween, we had a dress rehearsal of the kids' costumes and had a blast at the local Creekside Community Festival in Natomas.  Free games, food, crafts - wonderful event!

Oliver's first cotton candy...he took one tiny little bite and, even though he liked it, was done!

Cute little ladybug balloon!

As Halloween got closer and closer, Vianne became more and more frustrated with her mother's lack of decorating.  One morning she'd had enough, and she put up some decorations of her own.  I laughed all day.

Toilet paper roll bats, another idea from Arty!

A super huge big deal this month was that I finally followed through on getting the kids' dentist situation sorted out with insurance so I could make them some appointments. Vianne, for months prior to this, had been terrified and never, ever wanting to go to the dentist.  I'm not sure where she got this fear, probably from some kids' show that put the idea in her head, but she'd never been and yet she would often talk about how scared she was and that she wouldn't go in if I took her.  Every time we drive by a dentist's office (there are a lot in Natomas), she would start talking about how she never wanted to go. So I decided that I would take her by the office first to show her what it was like and hopefully decrease the fears. We went on a rainy weekday morning, and the place was nearly empty, and the front desk help said, we can see them right now if you like!  Vianne was so brave and she stayed calm through x-rays and the cleaning with the hygienist and the exam by the dentist!  The hygienist kept saying how she was making his job so much easier, while I was pinching myself because I expected her to be screaming the whole time.

They had a great set-up with the movie overhead! Lots of prizes, too, that I think kept Vianne motivated :-).

Then little brother even opened wide with the best of them for a quick check-over by the dentist!

When we got home, Vianne had a special you-were-so-brave gift waiting (that I'd been saving for this occasion) - Elsa's coronation accessories.  (Oliver got a giraffe for his Little People Zoo but it seems I didn't take a picture.) Now whenever we drive by a dentist, she calls out her love for them.  It's a pretty funny pendulum swing!!

Vianne filled this box with books - much to Oliver's delight!

Another major event of October (I said it was busy!) was Vianne's fall dance recital.  She had two performances, Wednesday & Friday.  Her class of three had been working for a few months on their "Moses Supposes" ballet routine, complete with sparkly hats.  We had tickets for Friday so I only got pics from backstage on Wednesday...

On Thursday, between recital days, Grandma flew in from Oregon to be there for Friday's performance.  A couple silly pics waiting at the airport...

Making a fall apple dessert...

Friday morning we hung out at Barnes & Noble for a bit...

...and then we went next door to Target, where Vianne ended up throwing up all over the floor in a baby toy aisle.  (First time with public puking for this Mama!) So the girl who was supposed to perform in a ballet recital that evening spent the rest of the day sleeping in the recliner.  When it was time to go (and I was very doubtful we would and super stressed out), Vianne refused to not go and got dressed.  Backstage, I could tell she still wasn't herself...

...and a few minutes before showtime, she ended up throwing up in a garbage can backstage.  I was like, "Ok, this is it, we're going home."  I took her to her teacher and told her, and to my surprise, her teacher bent down and talked to her about going out on stage anyway, and Vianne was all for it!  So, learning very early that the show must go on, our brave little ballerina went out & performed .  From the audience, we could tell she was struggling but she didn't let it stop her, and thank goodness, she didn't throw up on stage or anything!!  When she got back home, she got a special prize (ballet Shopkins) for being so tough!

Pumpkin pizza!

The next day we dropped Grandma at the airport and got to join our friend Kaliyan at Chuck E. Cheese for her 5th birthday party!  It was our kids' first time there and they loved it!

Vianne's very long ticket tail

This (below) was Oliver's favorite.  He did this "ride" (looking at a screen that looks like you're driving or flying while the seat moves) probably 20 times.

We're so thankful that Vianne has a sweet friend like Kaliyan!

And the day after that, we packed up & headed to SoCal for a week of Patrick teaching at Fuller in Pasadena.

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