Oden Adventures

Thanksgiving was so late this year that Thanksgiving weekend took us into December.  We went up to Lake Arrowhead to enjoy a day away...

 Enjoying some early Christmas in the Village

 I thought she might need a hat & mittens for the winter (I was largely wrong due to this exceeding warm California winter).  Still cute.

 She came up with this move all on her own (?!)...

 ...and, unfortunately, this one, too.  Hat buddies!

 Watching the (little) rain (we had this winter).

 I fear we need to get out more...

 Ah, here we go.  A trip to the park on a lovely Sunday with Hawaiian food for lunch!

 After Christmas, a lot of time's been spent in her new playhouse.

For the first time in our marriage, we got a real Christmas tree this year.  As an Oregonian accustomed to $10 trees on every corner, I have balked, scoffed, and turned my nose up at the $40+ trees available in California.  But something about California slowly breaking down my defenses or wanting Vianne to experience this joy of Christmastime, or whatever it may have been, we bought one this year.

And, what do you know, it hailed from Mulino, OR, one town over from my hometown.

Despite the nausea plaguing me this season, I made my traditional gingerbread, and some of Mom's Rocky Road...but that was it for "baking".

2013 Christmas Card Photo: The One That Turned Out (I didn't even have to photoshop in heads like last year...)

 On Christmas Eve, we went to the lovely service at our church, and Vianne wore her adorable dress from Rachelle & the boys.

The service is mostly music, to Vianne's delight.  When the first song was over, she said, "More songs!"  She did pretty well sitting through the service, only had to lap the halls a couple of times, but by the end, she was ready to dance.  She's a bit of a Pentecostal Nazarene.

 We had a fun Christmas morning!  Vianne enjoyed opening gifts (loves tearing paper) and was equally delighted with each one.

 Blurry but adorable :-)

For the afternoon, over the river & through the woods, to Vianne's grandparents house we went - up to Lake Arrowhead.  We had a delicious lunch at the Saddleback Inn.  I am still thinking about this Double Crusted Pork Chop with Red Wine & Pear Sauce - oh my gosh, SO GOOD.

 Patrick enjoying the Jenga Ribs (also amazing!)

 There was a little patch left at the house so Patrick introduced Vianne to snow!

 Family shot on the deck (gorgeous day!)

 Time for presents

 Vianne's first time eating one of my gingerbread men :-)

 She made sure everyone else was opening their gifts correctly...

It's true what they say: kids revive Christmas for the adults.  Vianne reveled in every aspect of the season and is still (in late January) asking where the Christmas tree is and wanting to watch "Bob and Yarry Tristmas" DVDs.  She brought so much joy to us all, in addition to the inherent, immense joy of celebrating Jesus' birth.  A little break from present-opening to sing & dance in praise...:-D

For many reasons, I'm way behind on the blog...and alas, I've forgotten much of the cuteness I wanted to report about Vianne Rose at 20 months (on December 8th).  Still stubborn about the photo shoots, still cracking us up with all sorts of new tricks and phrases.  We'll get caught up on the 21 month post...when I get around to that one...:-/

We had a really lovely Thanksgiving Day this year, but since we were hosting, I have a very poor showing of photographs.  But still, plenty of good memories.

I woke up early & couldn't go back to sleep, so why not a little craft project to add to 50 other things needing to be done? 

 Preparing the turkey...we got a 23 lb one this year.  Was supposed to take 4-5 hrs to cook. 

 It only took 3 - which threw us off a bit.  No big deal in the end.

 Meanwhile, Granma & Vianne did some coloring.

 Finally had cause to use my birthday present :-).

Fortunately, Patrick's dad got a group shot for us (except he's taking it, not in it!).  Patrick's family and our friends the Burns family were our guests.

Vianne sampling Thanksgiving dinner

Learning about sharing her toys :-)