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!