Christmas 2010

Our first Christmas celebration was on December 19 with the Kinstetter family in Casco. Santa came and Alena recognized him, but she didn't want to sit on his lap. He did give her a cute little gift and she was eager to open it up. She got het own little princess cell phone and has been chit chatting on it ever since.

It was so nice to get to see all of the family. We only see that side of the family about twice a year. It seems like each time we get together, there is a new member in the family. Sometimes it's a new boyfriend/girlfriend, and sometimes it's a new baby!

.Alena's godparents, Greg and Angie Hudy, sent her a sweet Christmas gift. I let her open it when it arrived. After ripping open the paper, she found a colorful book and immediately started "reading" it. One of her new favorites now!

.On Christmas Eve morning, we had our own little family Christmas. Alena woke up to find a large object near the Christmas tree, covered in blue paper. It took her less than a minute to open it and check out her new trike! She knew what to do with it, and figured out the built-in bell. She was tooling around the kitchen and living rooms all morning. She also opened up her other gift of a new fleece blanket that I (Apryl) made for her. She cozied up in it right away and even brought it along for a ride on her trike. We can't wait for spring and the opportunity for her to cruise around the neighborhood!

.Later in the day on Christmas Eve, we packed up and went over to Eric's parents house. This was our first Christmas with the newest Cerkas, Benjamin who is less than a month old! Such a sweet little boy! We had a wonderful meal of steaks and all kinds of super yummy sides. Everyone (except for Angie and I) had some of my father in law's tasty, home made wine. Of course, we all opened up our gifts, too. Alena got a play kitchen! Daddy finished putting it together just last night and she was instantly wowed! She plays pretend and makes us food to try. We are so thankful for the gifts that other family members gave to us and Alena! We feel so blessed!

.The cute little girls wanted to share a rocking chair :) They play like sisters and love each other so much...

.unless Alena starts to pull Aubrey's hair! The girls got a chance to go "swimming" in the pool of wrapping paper that was left over from all of the gifts. I had trouble loading the video, so this photo will have to do, at least for now! Like I said, they act like sisters in a cool way. Cozy cousins!

.In the evening on Christmas Eve, we drove up to Tomahawk. Alena was SO tired from not getting a good nap that day and was exhausted from all of the excitement and playing with Aubrey, but she didn't fall asleep until we were in Wausau (3/4 of the way there). She even started crying when Grandma Hawkins said hello to her.

It was all worth it, though, because we were able to have a more relaxed Christmas Day! We didn't buy gifts for each other with the exception of a few gifts that Grandma bought for each of us. Grandma helped her to open up a gift of wooden instruments. Music is a big thing in my family, so we all try to encourage any musical talent that is in the genes. She likes to play with anything that makes noise, so it was a pretty cool gift for her!

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Her Grandpa Hawkins loves her so much and is so cute with her! It is still amusing to see such a big guy be melted by such a little girl! Here, he is helping Alena to open a gift that was for her baby brother.

. After going to church on Christmas morning, we prepared food and headed to Rhinelander for the DeNamur family Christmas. This gathering is pretty meaningful for me since it is the one gathering that I've been going to since I was a child. My parents divorced when I was in 6th grade or so, meaning that each Christmas thereafter was split. It was tough with parents fighting over time with my sisters and I, but I always fought to be able to go to the DeNamur Christmas. I hope that we are able to continue this tradition for my children!

Alena had a great time wandering around Uncle Steve & Aunt Mary's home. There was someone in pretty much every room that was open to her, so everyone helped to keep an eye on her. At one point, I found her sitting at the piano with my cousin (and god daughter) Olivia. So cute!!

. We're opening gifts here, and someone captured Alena's goofyness. She looked so adorable in her Christmas dress and pretty hairdo (courtesy of Auntie Avery).

. The day after Christmas, we went to Grandpa Cance's house (my dad). She opened up this gift from Grandpa to find a cute little stuffed puppy that she quickly named "Al." We have no idea how she came up with that name. We don't know how she named her baby doll "Bud," either!

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Auntie Ashley and Auntie Avery took her out into the snow and made their own miniature sledding hill. It was great for Alena, of course, because it was a "ride," and she loves all rides. The outdoor outing ended when Alena's boots came off (as is typical for toddlers).

We drove home on Monday the 27th after our long weekend. We have been doing lots of laundry and organizing in our house since then. Tomorrow we leave for Wausau for Avery's New Year's Day wedding! We love the holidays and are happy for Davey and Avery! We are also truly looking forward to the new year and being able to spend time at home as a family before Micro arrives!

Christmas Eve Dance Party

Aubrey and Alena had their own dance party on Christmas Eve. They were so cute and played together very well all evening :) We're all hoping that Big A and Little A continue to be great buds as they grow up!

It's a...

(Alena translation: brother, brother, BROTHER!!) Yes, we're having a baby boy at the end of January 2011! No name for the baby, yet!

Hunting Season/Thanksgiving

Daddy took Alena for a ride and she LOVED it despite the cold temperatures!

Playing with the walkie talkie was a past time while cooped up in the cabin. Daddy didn't like it so much when he was in the woods with his radio was on and she pressed "call."

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We were surprised to find out that Alena fit into a bucket (used for water), and Grandpa turned it into a fun game for her at the cabin!

She used Great Grandma's walker for her own purposes!

A family photo after Thanksgiving at Great Grandma's house: Grandpa Cance holding Alena, Avery's fiance Davey, Auntie Avery, Great Grandma Cance, Eric and I (with Great Grandpa's photos behind me).

Our attempt at a Thanksgiving photo...

Post-Thanksgiving lunch nap.

Uncle Frank and cousin Breezy entertaining Alena and Kaylee.

The adventures of Alena and Baylee. Baylee is Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins' new golden retriever puppy. She bites a lot and has lots of puppy energy. I put the puppy in this tub to separate them, but I still had to make sure that Lena stayed far enough away so that she didn't get a bite in the face! They were cute together, though!

Getting Ready for Hunting Season

Eric took our boots out to spray them with Campdry. I just thought it was so cute how he lined our boots out. We're all excited to spend a week together in the Northwoods! It is so nice that it worked out that Eric could take off the whole week. We so enjoy this week of the year!! I'm really hoping that Eric shoots a deer this year. Now we have a freezer to put it in, and venison is so much healthier than beef! Our babies will LOVE it!

She's Growing Up!

Eating her spaghetti and getting messy, as usual.

Peek a boo!

Reading together

Fascinated by a sticker after her usual "aggressive" coloring.

Showing off her new Dora underwear.

So tired that she can't keep her eyes open while eating. She doesn't usually do this and it was SO funny!

Pics of Alena's Weekend

Alena went to the Shine program that my home church in Tomahawk put on for Halloween. It was a kid-oriented program that included puppets and a Christian message. She got her face painted, and got to take home a carved pumpkin that said Jesus loves me. My mom was more than happy to take her granddaughter!

Cabin Time!

Eric and I went to his parents cabin last weekend... without Alena! My mom desperately wanted to take her for a weekend and I had NO problem with that, at all! We really loved being able to sleep in and not have to watch what dangerous thing our busy toddler would have been getting into.

We spent most of our Friday and Saturday cutting up trees that were down on the road and the trails. I hauled the brush while Eric used his chainsaw to cut up the trunk and the branches from the tree. We even made a hunting blind since we had such an abundance of pine brush which is perfect for a blind! We treated ourselves to food cooked over the fire for the most part. On Saturday night, we drove to Iron Mountain and ate at a nice restaurant :) Great weekend!!

My mom had a great time with Alena and it seems like the Bean was on her best behavior. She was very tired when we picked her up and even had a "tired hangover" on Monday. This is a funny shot of her on the way home. She had just woken up from a nap and had this grumpy face! Her body looks funny because she's mid "hump"... something she does when in her car seat.

Nob of a Daughter

First she hums the theme song from Elmo's World, then she runs off in her very Bean-ish manner.

Daddy and Daughter Bonding

Not only do they bond over tractors and other heavy equipment, but they bond over video games. Alena knows the difference between a controller that is moving the person on the screen and one that just isn't hooked up. She enjoys making video game characters twirl in circles and act pretty crazy! Last night, after playing on her own for a while, she sat down in Eric's lap to help him with whatever mission he was working on. Lucky for Eric, she has been pretty well behaved, at least so far!

The Little Farmer

Yesterday we went to a pumpkin patch/apple orchard called The Little Farmer with some friends from our church's playgroup. We didn't need pumpkins or apples, but we did get a chance to play around and eat a fresh apple walnut muffin! Alena loved being outside despite the cool and windy weather, and especially loved seeing tractors, goats, and chickens.


Checking out the fields, kinda.


Driving the tractor

Trying to ride a trike that is too big for her. Luckily, she was on a slight incline, and she figured out that if she pushed a pedal backward, she'd move that way. Then she'd push it again. Her feet only reached the pedals when they were closest to her (if that makes sense).

Ode to Uncle Kevin, the firefighter

Whenever we hear sirens, we tell Lena to listen for Uncle Kevin, since he drives ambulances and firetrucks for a living. She randomly started calling him "Cracker" which is what some of Kevin's coworkers have nicknamed him. Then, unprompted, she started to make the noise of a siren and pointing at firetrucks in her books saying "Cracker." We hope that Uncle Kevin gets a kick out of his niece!

More of "Micro" Cerkas

Kinda looks like a smile here. Also kinda looks creepy!

Bubble Bath

The Adventures of Bruce & Alena

Auntie Avery got a little orange kitten and named him Bruce. Alena met him and thought he was a pretty cool new toy. Bruce did not completely agree with this assumption. He found out very quickly that Alena = kitty torture. They were very cute together, though!

Random Shots

Bubble bath time!

Sitting on her potty reading the Northern Tool catalogue, certainly looking for "dadoos" (aka tractors), excavators, garbage trucks, cranes, dump trucks, etc :)

Random shot from our now broken camera. Point Beach State Park in early August. She LOVES the beach and the sea gulls.

Welcoming Auntie Avery back from her trip to Europe. She took the SS Badger car ferry from the camp in Michigan. We were happy to greet her!

After bathtime at Grandma's house, wandering around in her towel and getting in to her rocking chair.

Avery's Shower

Now that we've got a new camera, I'm hoping we can continue to take more pics and keep everyone that reads it updated. I'll have a few random shots and videos that are out of chronological order, but who cares, right? I couldn't figure out how to get the videos off of the video camera we've been borrowing, so I couldn't add those, yet.

Avery is getting married on January 1st, so we had a bridal shower for her with the DeNamur women and a few of Avery's friends. It is always so nice to get together with the family!

Alena loved playing with Auntie Avery's kitten, Bruce. She also tried to strangle him. Several times.

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Avery got some help opening her shower gifts from her flower girl.

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The girls in the family :)

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We went out to the cabin after Avery's shower and Daddy treated Alena to a ride on Grandpa Hawkins' excavator. Both daddy and daughter were in heaven.

Quarry Quest

A few weeks ago, I surprised Eric with a trip to Michels Quarry in Neenah for their annual event "Quarry Quest." They had a lot of machinery that both Alena and Eric love. We used Eric's parent's camera and their video camera to capture a few moments. They had a photo spot by these skid steer loaders. We had a tough time getting a good shot because my daughter wanted to oogle over the machines.

Playing around in one of the huge sand piles called Tot Spots. She loved it. All of the kids got orange vests as they entered, so Alena is wearing hers.

I hate seeing the nuk, or as she calls it, "noona," but she was really not a happy camper at all! We were sooo disappointed in her mood. On a normal day, she would have been extremely happy to help operate an excavator (in a video to come) or see all of the cranes, dump trucks, and loaders. But not that day! :(

Her daddy helped her to ride on an excavator and we all rode around the quarry on a huge dump truck (forgot the exact name). We agreed that it is a cool event and that we would have to return in the future when Alena is a little bigger and in a more compliant mood.