A wonderful holiday weekend

We hope you all had a great Christmas, we know we did, and we had so much fun with everyone we got to see. Here mom, dad and I are all dressed up after Christmas Eve mass. We went with Gram and Bakka and then had dinner at their house before heading out to Wheeling for Christmas with the Gerken side of the family.
We started the festivities in Dixon on Thursday with cookie baking and decorating. Mom almost ruined Christmas by messing up the recipe for cut-out cookies. The one year she doesn't taste test the dough beforehand. Luckily, Uncle Jason was there to save the day! Thank you Uncle Jason for single-handedly saving Christmas twice (he also found the lost doughnut cutter).
Ellie helped me learn to cut roll the dough and cut out cookies.
Mom showed the fine art of using lots of flour to make it not stick to the rolling pin.
You can never have too many sprinkles or too much frosting.
Emily really enjoyed the cookie she decorated.
Isaac was working on a supery sugary surprise for his dad.
You have to taste test the cookies as you go, we've learned a valuable lesson from mom's mess-up taste testing is actually a crucial part of the process.
Carly won the award for best decorator. She outlasted all of us and was so serious with her decorating. If you had one of the cookies with LOTS of sprinkles, it was probably a Carly original.
The cookie baking/decorating team! Minus Carly who was tired from all the work she had done.
Enjoying some lunch after working on cookies. Then it was off for naps before we decorated them.
Gram and Bakka decided to start a new tradition this year. All the grandkids got new pajamas to wear for Christmas Eve. We were all so excited to open a gift early.
And here we all are all dressed in our new pajamas. Aren't we just the cutest bunch of kids you ever did see?!?
Christmas Eve morning, Carly and I enjoying some milk waiting for everyone else to arrive so we can have donuts and open gifts.
My first Bakka donut. I loved them!
A fun picture of mom and her siblings.
Aunt Chris was showing me her camera, someday I'm going to have one like this. Better start saving up mom and dad.
Bakka made me, Carly/Molly, and Emily these chairs. They are a chair and the back folds down so it can be a stool too. I love mine, but so far I haven't even let it go into the bathroom because I like the chair part too much.
Gram and Bakka taking one last picture with me before I head out for our next Christmas party.
Christmas morning at Grandma and Grandpa Gerken's. Do you like my new shades?
Gigi really appreciated the help I gave her, or at least she pretended to if she didn't.
In Dixon the new joke became Mullet Wear. Dad is modeling his new mullet wear that he got on Christmas. It's serious on the top and a party on the bottom with these Monopoly Manpri's. Watch out world a new style is headed this way.
Mom, Dad, and I with our Santa hats on Christmas at Aunt Patti's.
Chris made this stuffed animal for me for Christmas. I think it's really cool.
Mom started this new tradition this year to make a birthday cake for Jesus so we'll always remember what the real reason for this holiday is. Maybe when I get older we can add candles.
At Aunt Patti's house she also had Uncle Tim's side of the family and he has a great niece who is 11 days older than me, Cora. Here we are on Christmas. Funny how we dressed similar, from the back everyone kept mixing us up.
Grandpa and I were dancing and playing at Aunt Patti's.
Every time we spend the holidays with the Gerken's we seem to play a dice game. I think they're teaching me to gamble from an early age. I'm great at throwing dice now.
Grandma and I just relaxing after all the festivities.
Back at home unpacking all of my Christmas presents. Yes I know, I'm spoiled. And this doesn't even include my sled, or my new kitchen, wow. Thank you everyone for the great gifts, it was very nice of you and I love everything.
Well I guess I better clean out this toybox to make room for new toys.
Feeding my new baby. I'm such a good mommy, well except for when I threw her down and then threw the baby carrier on top of her, but what do you expect I'm only 17 months old.
DAddy was trying really hard to get me to want to climb through my tent tunnel. I was too scared, but he looks like he is having fun.
Well with all of the pictures we've taken I'm going to have to start helping mom scrapbook so we can get caught up. (hahaha caught up a phrase that is never realized in scrapbooking unless you stop taking pictures)
Last night we tried out my new sled. It was a blast and I giggled and giggled. We just went across the street to our park and the little hill we have there. It is just my size.
Yeah take me up for another ride.
Santa brought me this great track for my matchbox cars and it is really cool. I think Daddy likes it just as much as I do.


Thanks again everyone for making my 2nd Christmas great. I miss you all, but am glad we got to see most of you.

So much to do, so little time

I don't have slippers yet, so I had to borrow Dad's. Aren't they cool?!? A little difficult to walk in, but a small price to pay for looking good.
Oops busted. I was just inspecting the Christmas tree and found a Moickey and Minnie mouse ornament and I'm sure I'm supposed to play with them.
Thanks Aunt Kim for giving mom and dad the information about free cookies at Super Target. I enjoyed my cookie throughout the entire store.
Watch out people, it is the last weekend before Christmas and I have some shopping to finish up. I haven't bought a single thing for Gretchen yet.
Whew, one store and we got all the presents we needed for Gretchen. I think more stores should have carts my size.
Mom and I made jello jigglers this weekend. It was good practice for doing cut out cookies later this week with all the Kitson's in Dixon.
How could I be expected to work and not take a snack break. I must say my handiwork is very tasty. Notice my shirt, we were cheering on the Huskies to a Bowl game victory while cutting out our jigglers.
Relaxing on Sunday morning with dad. My absolute favorite thing about the Christmas season so far is these wonderful hats we get to wear. I make mom and dad put theirs on every day. It is so much fun. Gretchen is not a fan of hers though.
Mom was trying to get a workout in on Sunday, and she forgot to ask me to join in, so I just went and got the weights myself. Just wait until you see how big and strong my arms are getting from all this weight training.

Check out my mad dancing skills at this link. It's me and my favorite dancing partner, Gingerman....thanks Gigi for the great gift!

http://www.youtube.com/user/BrianGerken?feature=mhum

Good-bye everyone, see most of you soon!

Decking the Halls

We are busily preparing for the holidays at the Gerken household. Thanksgiving was wonderful and we enjoyed time with family. Now we're onto enjoying and preparing for Christmas. I don't understand...... I have to wait how many days until Christmas?!? You get me all excited, and then I find out it's not for 28 more days!

Playing at Grandma and Granpa Gerkens' with Uncle Brett.

Grandma seems to think I'm ready for a story and bedtime. She is sadly mistaken I've got lots more play in me.

Grandpa was showing me how to make real mashed potatoes. It was very entertaining.

Daddy was so excited to show me the Macy's Thankgiving Day Parade and mom didn't think I'd sit still, but I sure proved her wrong. I loved watching it and even danced around at all the music.

After dinner we played Left, Right, Center. I was Uncle Brett's cheerleader.

Don't you just love my piercing bllue eyes. This picture really shows off all the hair I have now, even if it is a bit untamed.

Coming home from Grandma and Grandpa's after Thanksgiving Gretchen did this to me. Gretchen LOVES to lay in the sun and she was not happy that her side of the car didn't have it, so she took matters into her own paws. She tried this more than once, but was busted by Dad every time.

All the grandkids together again. We tried, but it's nearly impossible to get everyone looking forward at one time.

Who knew this cheap toy could provide so much entertainment at Ellie's surprise birthday party. I loved these glasses, they make me look so cool!

Still not Christmas, I was hoping by the time you got this far it would be Christmas...plus this is too cute not to show you twice :)

All the decorations come out and I go in. What a fun game.

Do you know the old saying that if it gets quiet you better look for the child. Well mom was making dinner and I was bothering her a lot. She kept trying to busy me with toys. Eventually I got very quiet in the other room and she thought great Cassidy is finally playing...then just as quikcly she thought, oh no, why is Cassidy so quiet. Hahaha, I found the drawer with all the toilet paper rolls and had some fun unrolling them and tp'ing mom and dad's room.

Look at that funny face mom makes when she's ready to kiss me.

And now Daddy's turn. They love giving me kisses.

It's time to start our Christmas baking. Last year I watched mom bake from the jump-a-roo. This year I get an apron (thanks Grandma Gerken), and a chair to help out. I pretend to help out, but I really like being the official taste-tester. Here mom and I are working on her favorite treat, logs. She and Nana (her grandma) used to make these together when she was a kid so she was really excited to finally show me what they're all about. The tradition lives on.

At our house, we celebrate St. Nick day and he came on December 6 and put things in our stockings. I got a little people nativity set and a monkey ornament (since my favorite book is the monkeys jumping on the bed.....sorry mom it's my favorite). Now I have my very own nativity to play with and the angel on top of the stable even sings.

We hope you have a great holiday and we'll update again soon as I know we'll be doing lots of fun things this month. Mom has over 2 weeks off to spend with me at home and we're even going to go to Chicago to the museum with her friend Sara one of the days. Talk to you all soon.