Oden Adventures

Vianne & I made another trip to Oregon for about 10 days, beginning the last day of September.  It was a lovely fall visit with rain & sun & colored leaves & mostly just hanging out at Mom's house & soaking up the joy of faraway family & friends. Vianne continues to be a great traveler and seems to remember people & houses more and more with each new trip.  

We had to leave very early Monday morning so Vianne enjoyed the flight in her pajamas!  She stayed awake the entire time (with a brief stay-on-the-plane layover) until we landed in Portland; as we were taxiing to the gate, looking out the window, she laid her head on my chest and fell fast asleep.  The kind flight attendant helped me strap on the baby carrier and we walked off the plane, through the airport, met up with Mom, got the bags, and walked out to the car before she woke up being put into the car seat!

 She was delighted to see her beloved Grandma again!

 Miriam, Vianne, Bea & Margot

She spent a great deal of the trip going up & down Grandma's stairs.  I mean, really, like 60% of the waking hours.  When you live in a one story house, stairs are an exciting novelty!

 Grandma introduced her to Playdoh!  Not sure what to do at first, but only took a second...

 ...of course, before it was headed mouthward.

 "Are you sure I'm not supposed to eat it, Grandma?"

 "Well, okay, I guess it's kind of fun to squish and poke with toothpicks..."

 We introduced the Blair girls to Peppa Pig (one of Vianne's favorites) and turned them into fans instantly.  Watching on my laptop...

 Did a little reading

Vianne & Rachael

 We went to Mill City with Aunt Jenny to visit the new Storey vacation house (very cool place!).

 Back at Grandma's, Vianne loved this new funny pink ball

She & David were the cutest little playmates!

 She loved sitting in these chairs (one of her newer words).  Not surprising, she also learned the proper context for the word "rain" on this trip :-).

 She is not one to smile for the camera, but this day I said, "Do you have a smile for Mama?" and sure enough! She did! :-)

 Peek-a-boo with Jaime

 I think she's hitting on Kirstin's fiance...

 Soaking up the fall colors (severely lacking in our neck of California)

 A very flexible Miriam

 Vianne now does name signs for all the cousins & says almost all of their names, too!

 Cooking with Aunt Jenny

 We did a little shopping, too - saving on the sales tax and reveling in Mom's help so I could try things on.  Vianne's a pro at the racks.

 And, of course, more piano duets with Grandma!

The trip home was a bit of an adventure: Vianne threw up in the car on the way to the airport, then when we got to the airport we found out that our flight was cancelled.  We got on a flight leaving two hours later, but with a three hour layover in Sacramento (with a sick baby?!) that wasn't going to get us to Ontario until 8pm.  However, when we landed in Sacramento (Vianne having puked all over both of us half way there from Portland), they announced that this plane was no longer going to Burbank but to Ontario - so I got off and immediately went up to the desk - and the very harried Southwest employee, who was obviously hating her job that day and said little other than that my bags should make it there with us but she had no control over that, handed me a new boarding pass.  The new flight was already boarding so we got right on & got back to Patrick/Daddy (even more vomit-covered than before :/ - though she did sleep through the second flight when she wasn't throwing up) only an hour later than originally planned, very relieved to see him!!

Even though September brought some of the hottest weather of the summer, it also brought us lots of fun - especially when Granma & Grandpa brought Vianne a shopping cart!  She has entertained herself (and her baby) for hours & hours with it so far.

The pool was inflated for the hottest days, and Vianne never minds...

 

...she'd stay in all day, if we let her!

I loved getting to see these friends again - for the first time on American soil, and my first friends from my France days to meet Vianne!

Lunch at the Peacock Cafe - and they weren't kidding about the peacock part! :-)

My little roadie :-)

She was too cute in these boots so I just kept snapping photos...

Made. For. Walking.

Vianne has some new eating techniques, which include rubbing her hands all over her face and head.  This was raspberries...

...and spaghetti sauce.  We've been taking baths almost nightly of late.  Sometimes I'm glad she doesn't have a lot of hair - makes it easier to wash!!