A note from Santa

Here it is! The letter from Santa! He even knew Ascher's nickname! Ascherman! How cool is that!

Christmas with the Litos

The day after Christmas, we went to Immer's parents house to exchange gifts. This time, we were a little more prepared. We took Immer's car with 4 wheel drive! It's really fun to see everyone. We see them frequently, but not all together.

Immer's mom gave him and his sister Mitzi each a box with their stuff in it. Their first drawings from school, silver dollars, photo albums and other memorable stuff. It was really cool to see what Immer's teachers said about him when he was little. And I must say, I still agree with most of those comments!

What's a family get together without a little wrestling!

And here they are, all sugared and gifted out.......It was around midnight, and time for everyone to get to bed!

Day after Christmas

This is what Christmas should have looked like! White, nice fluffy snow! All day long!!

Ascher's Kitchen Set

Ascher playing with his new Tag system from Uncles Amy, Mike, David and Steven. Great choice guys! He likes hearing all the different noises. Now if only he would let us show him how to read with it.

Playing with his new Woody Doll. When he opened his Buzz, he started screaming "Star Command come in, Come in Star Command!". I really wish I would have been recording that!

Ascher got quite a few really good gifts. Walkie talkies, Buzz & Woody dolls, LeapFrog Tag, and a kitchen set. He saw this set in a flyer from Aldi. So after much consideration, Santa brought it! And what fun it is! All of his Melissa and Doug food fits in there, as well as plates and forks! The only problem was that it took Immer 4 hours to assemble it! Ascher was getting quite anxious to play with it! Immer really had to remain calm as Ascher tried to cook and start putting things in before the counters were even on!

Ascher's first meal in the kitchen....spaghetti for his handy man!

Unfortunately on Christmas Day....we had really yucky weather. It had snowed the day before, then rained all Christmas Day. Half way through the day, it started to snow again. Which means ice everywhere. We were supposed to head to G-Gma's house for Christmas. We left with plenty of time, but the conditions and weather was so nasty that we had to turn around. It took us an hour and a half just to hit the Hinsdale Oasis. So Immer and I had to make a tough decision to turn around and stay safe. Ascher really didn't like that idea. He started crying and said "I want to go to g-gma's house. everyone loves me there and everyone wants to see me.". This kid really cracks us up sometimes! We were really sad that we didn't get to see everyone, but I hope they understand that it was a safety thing. People were in the ditches everywhere on the way home.

Christmas Morning '09

Our tree was pretty packed this year! Ascher got a special note from Santa, telling him what a good boy he's been, and thanks for the special treats! How exciting! He has also gotten into the typical children mode- unwrap as quick as possible and move to the next one. Drives me crazy! Look at everything, THEN move to the next one! Once everything was unwrapped....he looked at everything like he had never seen it before!

It's always nice when mommy and daddy get gifts too....not just the kid. So I was SOOOO excited to see a beautiful steamer under the tree for me! Can't wait to steam something now! One step closer to healthy eating for the Hernandezs!

I also got Immer a little something. We are big Scrabble players, and enjoy bringing new words to the table. When we first moved into our house, I bought a Scrabble set that folded. Nothing fancy. This year, I found him one of the coolest sets ever! It's black and chrome, tiles stay on the board, a book for scores, timer, and turns! You know you give a good gift when the first thing he says is "Oh yeah baby, Lisa's going down!"

Leaving Treats for Santa

Last year, Ascher and I found this really cool plate with Santa and some Reindeer on it for a cookie plate. Unfortunately, we forgot to use it. But this year, Immer reminded us, and we created a nice little spread for him. We left a few cookies, carrots and a bottle of water to keep him hydrated.

Tracking Santa

Man, do we love Google Maps! Track Santa from your computer! It was really fun to watch the videos of Santa in the different countries. By the time Ascher went to bed (stayed up and watched Up!).....Santa was heading our way! So we scooted off to bed and waited for his arrival!

A Visit from Uncle David

A few days before Turkey Day....we got a call from David. He wanted to come for a little visit in December. So of course.....he booked his tickets and was on his way! Ascher always loves having new people come and entertain him.....so it was nice for everyone!!

And what's a visit from Uncle David without a trip to Toys R Us!(that place was a zoo 4 days before Christmas! I can't believe people wait soooo long to go shopping!). So Ascher picked out a really cool Trio Crane set. Of course, he wanted to go home RIGHT away and play with it. Unfortunately, we had just started shopping, so he had to wait. But I think it paid off! They had fun putting it together and learning how to tear things down!

As you know.....we love the zoo. So I was uber excited that David wanted to go! So we bundled up really good and hit the road north. On the way there, we had to take a little detour to the Jelly Belly Factory. I don't know where David had more fun, Jelly Belly or Milwaukee Zoo. Once we made it to the Zoo, all the animals that are cold weather animals were out. Except the Polar Bear! Not happy about that :( But it was really cool to see the camels covered in snow, the tiger sitting beautifully in front of the window, and the red panda! We even caught a glimpse of the wolves.....but from far away. Not bad for going there 5 times and never seeing them!

David of course also wanted to hit the city. So we bundled up again, and dragging Immer with us. Had lunch at a small little restaurant, Portillos. Maybe you've heard of it. Try it some time, really good. It was really nasty weather, and we had Ascher bundled in the stroller with a blanket. Lucky Duck! It was really fun to walk in the crowds....but again, who waits that late to shop!

And here is Immer in front of one of the many statues in the city. Told you he was short.

the First Snow of the Season

This year, we had a whole new reason to look forward to the first snow. The snow plow! According to Ascher, it didn't work. According to mom, it works just fine. You just have to be gentle and not put ALL your weight on there, or it won't drive! The one thing that didn't work was the salt. I even bought kosher stuff and it won't spit out. Oh well. Maybe the next one will work better. According to Ascher, he's getting another one for his birthday.

Hernandez Thanksgiving

There has been a lot of things going on with us in the past month, that we decided to have Thanksgiving with Immer's family in December. It worked out better for everyone! With such a list of things to cook, I nominated Immer to cook the turkey on the grill. Great choice! It was soooo juicy and flavorful. Definately plan on doing that every year!

Ascher and Nathan always love playing together. Of course, they would rather play than eat. So we had two hungry little boys the entire time running around like crazies. That is, until the hot coccoa was ready.

Like all desserts I make, my neighbors cannot stay away. They came over to enjoy a little Mexican Hot Chocolate and German Chocolate Cake. Delish! It's nice to share.......as long as you make sure you got your serving first!

After they were pumped with sugar and chocolate....these two little monkies couldn't sit still! They were chasing each other around the kitchen, climbing the stairs, and causing all kinds of chaos. That's fine, what goes up, must come down. And hit hard. In bed. And sleep in the next day.

Decorating Lita's Tree

Immer's mom bought a little Christmas tree, and wanted everyone to come over and decorate it. So I decided that everyone needed to make their own ornaments. So I brought some felt, markers and GLITTER!! And let everyone alone with their creativity. It's really fun to see how each person decorated their own things. They all turned out really great! I think Nathan had the most fun with all the glitter. We couldn't keep him out of it!

Space Rangers

For a few months, I was unable to find my copy of Toy Story. No biggie.....Ascher loves Cars. Well, I found it. Now Ascher loves Woody. That's all he wants to watch. That's all he wants to play. That's all he re-enacts in his bedroom. So one night, Ascher wanted to play Space Ranger with daddy and paper towel rolls. When I finished the dishes, I decided to join the fun and grabbed my colander. I suddenly became the bad guy, and was ganged up on by two Buzz's. I quickly was put to sleep, and my gear was taken over by the two boys. It's funny to see my kitchen utensils used for other purposes. If only he can understand that I need them back. He can't keep them as toys from now on.

The Christmas Tree is Up!

We were planning to decorate the tree the weekend Ascher had his accident, but, plans change. So we decorated it during the week when we had some free time. This year, we moved it to the corner by the tv. That way, Ascher will resist the urge to kick a ball into it, ram a truck over it, or try to pull the stuff off. Luckily, most of those things are happening. Except Ascher still can't resist touching the tree by "accident" with his shoulder or toy while playing near it. There is such a strange attraction between children and Christmas trees......

Crepinsek Thanksgiving

We made it just in time to clean up the left-overs. Which is fine with us! No lines! It is always fun to see all the little ones play together...and how they react to new faces and more people. Ascher always loves to pull out all of trucks from the closet. But he found his true love when Kyle and Immer decided to set up Grandpa's trains. Then things really took off!

All the little ones were downstairs watching the trains go round and round. Some of them didn't work, and you had to give them a little push just to keep them going around. But hey, it's been 5 years since they were last on! I'm glad to see that simple toys can still keep the children entranced!

The stitches are out!

Ascher was excited to get his stitches out, but I don't think he understood the process. It's exactly like getting them in, but this time, they use scissors! He didn't like the doctor coming at him with scissors, or us holding him down, but he did really great and it went really quickly! So quick in fact, that we were able to head down South for the Family Thanksgiving!