{the things she says...}

Lola: "Mommy, now can I have a cupcake?"

Me: "After you eat a few more healthy things for lunch."

Lola: "Aw, you're clever Mommy."

Gingerbread House

This afternoon, Lola & Mommy decorated a gingerbread house together--it was a perfect memory made. I did all the icing and Lola placed all the candy, so this is truly her creation. We're big on vocabulary in this house and while building with blocks yesterday, John introduced her to the word "architect". Lola was the lead architect on this design :)

Isn't it perfect? It will serve as the centerpiece on our dining table all season long. And perhaps Mommy will save it for her and give it to her years and years from now...

Happy Birthday, Pooh Bear!

Johnny had a fantastic Winnie-the-Pooh themed first birthday! Our chubby little cubby was showered with love from family and friends today as we celebrated our boy with a very fun party. We rented out a great room at our beautiful rec center in Tinley. As always, there is no way I could have planned this party on my own--Mom & Sue were a great help. Ronnie played a big part too, making his delicious pulled pork for us all to feast on.

I wasn't going to do a theme for Johnny's first birthday, but after seeing him in his Halloween costume, it was a no-brainer :)Leeson's did a great job on the cupcakes and made him the most adorable smash cake...

About that smash cake--pretty sure he enjoyed it more than any other one-year-old has before him. Wow. He went to town on that thing and created the perfect mess. We were SO proud!

As always, the pictures tell the story...ENJOY!

Johnny's 1st Birthday

{one}

From this...

to this--in just one short year!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST AMAZING SON WE COULD HAVE *EVER* IMAGINED! You are filled with happiness, love, courage and determination. You have completed this family so very perfectly. You have been an incredible blessing to us. Mommy, Daddy and Lola love you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!!!

Have a shelf? Get an elf!

{Lola & Buddy, watching the Christmas Classics}

I’ve been thinking about getting an “Elf on the Shelf” for the past week or so, and when John came home and mentioned he’d heard about it at work, the decision was made--so while Mommy was out shopping bright and early this morning, I stopped by the adoption agency {Target} and picked the sweetest elf I could find. I think it was his blue eyes that got my attention--so angelic!

We mentioned to Lola that Mommy would be brining him home today so she was VERY excited when I got home with our new friend--she named him Buddy (a very special name in our family)--and that is exactly what he has been to her all day long. Everywhere she’s gone today, so has Buddy. (As soon as we opened his box, I handed her the Elf, not knowing that the children aren't supposed to touch him. They need a disclaimer on that box! Oh well, we'll just tell her Santa restored his flying magic and start following the rules tomorrow.) She was very hospitable, making sure he was included today with the others--even hooked him and Aurora up on a little date!

Lola is a very well behaved girl the majority of the time, but it doesn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands around--you see, Buddy will fly back to the North Pole every evening to report to Santa on Lola’s behavior. Ah, so looking forward to this new yearly tradition!

Do you have an Elf? Click HERE for some fun ideas!

Thanksgiving {2011}

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The Hernandez Four have more to be thankful for this year than we could possibly list.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Dad & Sue’s with a fantastically delicious feast--an organic bird cooked to absolute perfection, surrounded by the classic side dishes. Yum, yum, yum!

While laying in bed last night, Lola commented that she was thankful for us--and Lucy playing with her over at Mimi & Papa's. So sweet.

Here’s an album of our day...Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving {2011}

{cowgirl lola}

Auntie Mary & Uncle Johnny gifted Lola with an authentic pair of cowgirl boots, direct from Nashville. So awesome! She loves putting them on and giddying up on her Amish horse, always with her Jessie hat upon her head.

Halloween Treats

{click on the album}

I have too many memory cards--totally forgot I had these pictures on another one...

Lola & Johnny got fun cards in the mail from Nonna & Papa for Halloween--Lola took her gift straight to the Disney store so Princes Eric & Charming could join the family collection :) Johnny just enjoyed eating his!

Mimi & Papa stopped over a few nights before All Hallow's Eve with some treats, too. Our Princess collection is now complete with the addition of Mulan and our good friend Tink resides with us as well. Johnny got an awesome new Semi Trailer Truck with cargo cars. Perfect to play with on his new train table. Papa got a Baby Ruth candy bar :)

what a difference a year makes...

Hernandez Halloween {2011}

Hernandez Halloween {2011}

Thanksgiving is this week--it's about time I got around to posting Halloween pictures, you think?! Oh my.

Halloween was a very busy and fun day for us. Johnny & I dropped Lola off at Nursery school and then headed out to Mt. Greenwood to visit the guys at the shop. We were able to visit Mimi and Dr. Malinowski at work, too, before picking Lola back up at school.

Grammy came by in the afternoon to visit with her Princess and Pooh and brought a big Halloween Treat--a dual car DVD player that will come in very handy for our road trip to Florida this Christmas!

We then headed to St. Stephen's for their Halloween party. After the party, we stopped and visited with Auntie Cheryl & Kylie. Kylie joined us as we trick-or-treated up and down their block. Pooh Bear had had about enough at that point, so we headed home. Daddy was able to get home from work a bit early--just in time to take Lola for round 2 of Trick-or-Treating and a visit to Uncle Dave and Auntie Karen's!

It didn't take us long to finish off the mound of candy we had collected--as far as I am concerned, there can never be enough chocolate in this house! Lola now has a new obsession with M&Ms and Mommy has learned they can be quite the bargaining chip :)

Johnny's Big Gift!

Johnny has been enjoying his special birthday gift from all his grandparents--a Pottery Barn Train Table! Daddy put it together when it arrived this week and he is loving it. THANK YOU so much to all of you--I swear these kids have the best Grandparents on the planet :)

AFOS for Johnny

Mom and I headed downtown with Johnny this afternoon for an appointment with Dr. Gabler at the Rehab Institute of Chicago. She came very highly recommended from his nuerologist and physical therapist. The main goal of the appointment was to evaluate him for braces, specifically hinged AFOs (Ankle-Foot Orthotics). Our boy is doing SO awesome--cruising along everything. It's just a little difficult for him to stand without holding on to anything because he has such a tendency to stand on his toes, because of the increased muscle tone in his legs. The AFOs will help keep his foot at a 90 degree angle so he will be able to better balance himself to stand and walk.

Overall, it was a very happy, positive appointment. She commented that she sees walking and running and sports in his future. We're excited to see all he'll be able to accomplish with this new assistance. This last year has been filled with lots of doctors appointments and therapy sessions--at times, it's been exhausting, but all SO VERY worth it. I can't even imagine the emotion we'll feel when we do see him take those first steps. It's been very apparent for the last few months that there's no doubt that moment is in his future.

the hernandez four

A little sneak peek at our recent family photo session done by our friend Lana at one of our favorite spots, the Morton Arboretum. Many more to come, just wanted to share my favorite!

Making Spritz

This video was lost in the archives for about a year (read: it was on my iPod touch and I just re-discovered it since I'm training for a half-marathon and have once again found a need for an iPod!)

Anyways, it was taken last year while Mom, Dad and Renee were in town for Thanksgiving. We all got a big surprise when Johnny arrived just a few days later.

This is a video of our "baby" girl. She clearly is no longer a baby--she is a big girl. And we LOVE the stage she is in now. I can't really put into words how magical our little preschooler is. But looking back at this video puts the biggest smiles on our faces, because it sums up to perfection just what an absolute ANGEL she was as that "baby".

{brother & sister}

A sweet sight I get to see pretty often while driving the kids around--and couldn't pass up sharing. She is very sweet and loving with her brother (the majority of the time!)

1st Birthday Invitation!

I've received word that Johnny's 1st Birthday invites have arrived in mailboxes, so I can now share this sweet image that adorned them. I'm a big fan of giving my soon-to-be one-year-olds big ol' lollypops for their birthday pictures, if you recall ;)

And while I wasn't going to do a "theme" for his 1st Birthday, I decided on one just yesterday and I think it's perfect!