Oden Adventures

This week, Vianne tried out her Star Wars onesie, which was a gift from (of course, for those who know him) her Uncle Jon!

A bit of video of a Happiness Explosion later that day...

Silly cuteness!

Silly cuteness in motion! (Sorry, Jenny - couldn't get captions on this!)

On Saturday, Granma & Grandpa Oden kindly came over to watch Vianne so Patrick & I could go out to a movie & dinner!  She had a grand time playing with them - and I'm not entirely convinced she even noticed we were gone :-).

Our new game: Baby in a Basket!

Can you see her Mama's heartache in these big beautiful ocean eyes??

This week we introduced Vianne to our patriotic privilege: voting!  In California, we do it poolside!  (Next year, we're bringing our swimsuits.)

Back at home, enjoying the beautiful sunshine in our back yard

Then she did a little jig with Daddy...

She really needed to check her facebook...

Enjoying her crinkly Pooh Bear

Much to my delight, we started to get our "craft room" - which has been more like a storage room up 'til now - sorted out this week, which gave me some crafting space.  V happily played in her high chair & served as my crafting muse. :-)

While I crafted, she was just chattering away.  I was trying to covertly get some video of it, but then she not only noticed the camera but noticed for the first time that her piano toy had a rolling feature with balls inside.  So the video was still worth it for the smiles of delight at this discovery!

First off, I took several shots of her like this and the face was the same in every one (hilarious).  Secondly, about half way through the week, I sat her on the floor and realized that, in our excitement about her crawling developments the last couple of weeks, we failed to notice that Vianne can now sit up on her own very well.

I'm not sure there's anything I find cuter than babies in jeans...

...with a particular bias for this one.

We were responsible parents and got an entertainment center this week to keep all the electronics & cords out of reach (slightly visible at the top of the next photo).  It's also adorable (from IKEA) and was on sale, so everyone wins!

 Cute as a cupcake!

I'm not going to lie, folks.  We love our daughter enough to fill infinite oceans to continual overflowing, but parenthood is not all sunshine & skipping through the park, and, I know, you are shocked to hear this.  All this confessed to say that we've been struggling the past many weeks to get Vianne to sleep, whether it be for a nap or during the night, and I confess this now because this was probably our worst week yet.  Vianne is a strong-willed señorita who has thoughts & feelings all her own...and what she thinks & feels about sleeping is that she does not like it, and especially not when it is not her idea to do so. 

And before you ask, "Have you tried...?", the answer is YES.  We've tried it all, every trick in the book(s), every recommendation from friends and family, every idea our sleep-deprived brains can muster, and we still are running on sleep fumes most of the time. 

Even still, the weekend seemed to bring some breakthroughs in techniques (we've had to let her cry it out more than we like to) and a renewed hope.  We don't (yet?) have the Healthy Sleep Habits; however, we do have the Happy Child.  Amazingly, sleep or no sleep, she is always delighted beyond comprehension when morning comes; she greets every day with smiles and squeals of glee - and, 99% of the time, remains a very happy camper throughout the day.

And so, we forge ahead, with cuteness as our saving grace.

Aside from sleep challenges, this week included Halloween, a new food, lots of play time, and many more advances in crawling development.

With her puppy from Granma & Grandpa

 I like to call this next one, with a nod to Lord of the Rings, "Pea Beard".  Vianne loved trying peas this week!

 Saturday morning cartoons with Daddy, namely Schoolhouse Rock!

"Daddy, you're the best!" :::heart melting:::

 Figuring out what these knees do...

The crawling developments, of course, are best demonstrated by video...so, I present, Vianne's Crawling Development, in four parts...

Part Four: Straight Ahead!

Can it be?! Seven months already! Seven months of tireless cuteness!  And, yes, folks, I know, I know, I dressed her in PINK for this photo shoot, but I've long since come to terms with the fact that it's one of her best colors.  The adorable dress was a gift from very kind neighbors at our last residence.

I can't look at this next one without cracking up!  Miss Stink Face!