The Hemsworth Family

2012-02-16T13:32:00.002-06:00

tomorrow my sweet blonde girl turns five.
it's hard to believe that the first little sister is going to be that old.

she asked me today if i remember when she used to be three.

i remember.

i remember the joy of that positive pregnancy test in the middle of the night.
i remember getting the due date of my birthday, and deciding
to name a girl erin elizabeth, after her mama and her aunt.
i remember my huge belly, and dancing around the living room with kate,
trying to convince that little baby to come out.
i remember a hard, fast labor....
i remember tears of joy because it was another girl.
i remember a calm baby, who slept through the night at 12 weeks.
i remember sweet blonde curls,
huge blue eyes,
puppies, and more puppies, and sweater puppy.
i remember when she was a baby, in the bathtub, and how she used to
purposely go under water.
now, in the pool, it's hard to get her to come up for air.
i remember her first steps.
i remember when she got her first scooter, on her third birthday....
how those wheels gave her confidence and speed and joy.
i remember her first day of k3.
i remember her first day of k4.
i remember her becoming a big sister, three times.
i remember her asking grandma and grandpa when they would have a baby.
i remember her doing her irish dance routine for me and dan,
and telling us that we are supposed to smile.
i remember that she is a friend to kate and annie's best playmate.
i remember that she chases tess around the house to make her laugh.
i remember how she figured how to make sara jane laugh,
over and over and over.

i remember, erin.
i remember all five sweet years of you.

2012-02-14T20:21:00.000-06:00

my littlest valentine.
xoxo

fun and games

2012-02-13T06:27:00.000-06:00

it's marathon week in the hemsworth house.....

piano lessons
valentines day parties (times five)
dance class
swimming lessons
one sweet blonde girl turning five
grandparents to come celebrate
furniture delivery (well, i had to throw that in here.)
irish dance debut for two little girls
followed up by a baptism for one sweet little niece.
(oh, and another year older for this mama.)

i hope to keep my humor high,
my wine intake low.
oh, come on. or within reason.
my girls healthy,
and my wits about me.

wish me luck....
i think i'm gonna need it.

(kate and tess discovered an open door. i could barely take
the pictures i was laughing so hard.)

2012-02-12T06:40:00.001-06:00

2012-02-11T13:47:00.002-06:00

annie girl, usually with wings or a princess dress of some sort,
and a blanket and kitty following close behind,
and the thumb?
we always know where the thumb is.

2012-02-09T19:47:00.000-06:00

i took the little girls to the good doctor this morning for sara's 6 month check-up.
we left knowing that tess has pneumonia and sara has (her fourth) double ear infection.

ouch.

2012-02-08T19:54:00.001-06:00

my sweet girl.

2012-02-06T06:24:00.000-06:00

sara jane is six months old today! i can say with 100% certainty that this little sweetie has been the
perfect completion to our family. she is easy tempered and very go with the flow and completely
adored by her four big sisters and parents. she now rolls across rooms and only protests when
she gets stuck under furniture. she thinks her sisters are hilarious and gives them lots of good belly
laughs when they entertain her. she does this weird inhale happy noise that i've never heard any other
baby do and is completely her own. if she slept through the night, she'd be the perfect baby. oh, i didn't
just say that.....did I?

i'll keep her.....every 2 hour feedings and all!

2012-02-05T20:09:00.003-06:00

the other evening we gave little sister her first taste of solid food. she had decidedly waited long

enough and lapped it up like a baby bird.

heaven.

2012-02-04T06:40:00.001-06:00

happy birthday today to my wonderful dad,
loved so wholeheartedly here by his one girl,
and five little girls,
and i think dan, too.

xoxoxo

2012-02-02T19:33:00.000-06:00

giggly baby with her big sister kate.

2012-02-02T13:11:00.000-06:00

almost six month baby....
loves the giraffe.

2012-02-01T13:46:00.001-06:00

(homework)

2012-01-29T12:59:00.000-06:00

socks are optional.

2012-01-27T06:21:00.002-06:00

good morning, sunshine.

2012-01-26T12:54:00.000-06:00

happy birthday to our much loved, much adored, much worshipped,
can't-imagine-what-we-would-do-without-her grandma.

all the love from our little world to yours today, mom.

xoxoxoxo
dan-brooke-kate-erin-annie-tess-sarajane

(my attempt at a group shot. this was not the day to do it....annie cranky, tess
demanding to hold tupperware of brownies. you know how it goes.)

2012-01-25T12:28:00.002-06:00

saturday we traveled south to celebrate our nephew danny's sixth birthday and to meet our new
niece hallie. hallie is so small and sweet and perfect. we tried to do an impromptu photo shoot
but the light was bad and the baby wasn't in the mood. next time we'll give her more of a heads up.

2012-01-24T06:18:00.000-06:00

my wiggly girl cooperated for a spur-of-the-moment (much debated) haircut sunday morning.
i like the outcome.

2012-01-22T14:29:00.001-06:00

kate is the 5th girl from the right. they judged two girls at a time. all different schools
competed, and each school has their own steps.... that's why her steps are different
from the girl next to her. she got 6th place out of 13 six year olds..... i think she did
great for how nervous she was. (dan said....i don't really think there were 5 kids better
than her....he's such a dad!) this is such a learning process for all of us.

2012-01-22T14:13:00.001-06:00

kate competed in her first irish dancing feis yesterday. she was really, really nervous

beforehand.....more nervous than i have ever seen her.....like teary splotchy face body

shaking take me home nervous....but with the help of seeing her buddy rachel she

pulled it together and lined up and danced her best. we are so very, very proud of her.

2012-01-20T06:23:00.001-06:00

tess, my patient girl, waiting for school girls to be done.

2012-01-19T11:58:00.003-06:00

everyone in the family is feeling relieved that this tooth is finally out.
it was a teary dinner, with it hanging by a thread.....i yanked twice
(really, with permission!) but couldn't get it out....and it finally succumbed
to some garlic bread. happy girl, happy sisters, happy parents....
happy tooth fairy to tuck a golden dollar coin under her pillow.

i like the gappy smile. i think it suits her.

2012-01-18T19:42:00.000-06:00

i've been taking sara's month pictures with this big pink kitty, to document how much she is growing.
it was a cute idea back in september.....now i'm thinking, oh my gosh am i tired of looking at this
big pink kitty. oh well. this session she just kind of fell over on him.

we're on day 6 of forcing down antibiotics for her third ear infection. she seems to be feeling better but
isn't really sleeping better. i'm trying not to complain....she is so easy tempered during the day and i am
not ready to let this sweet baby cry at night.

2012-01-15T06:49:00.004-06:00

i did.
i do.
i will, every day....
for the rest of my life.

2012-01-14T14:55:00.001-06:00

I think it's safe to say that these baby blues are not going to turn brown. After Kate and her huge

brown eyes, who would have thought she would be followed by 4 blue-eyed sisters?!

2012-01-12T19:02:00.002-06:00

what a difference a day makes!

2012-01-11T20:46:00.002-06:00

it was an amazing 54* january day. we're not sure it will ever happen again, so kate thought it would
be a good idea to document it. i think we soaked up every possible ray of sunshine, and tomorrow
when we look outside to see all the powdery snow, we'll know we had it coming!

2012-01-11T20:36:00.004-06:00

2012-01-11T20:34:00.002-06:00

2012-01-11T20:28:00.001-06:00

2012-01-09T14:39:00.001-06:00

my head princess organizer.

2012-01-07T12:25:00.002-06:00

our (5 month!) girl is feeling a little better today. still a nasty cough and runny nose but no fever and
her smiles are back. we're giving her lots of baths to clear her nose, which she loves. i've given
up on baby bathtubs and just let her kick around in the big tub.....my little fish loves the water!

5 months!

2012-01-07T06:56:00.002-06:00

2012-01-04T10:29:00.002-06:00

we took sara in to the doctor this morning. she's had a really awful cough for a few days now and has
developed a fever along with it. the doctor thinks she has either bronchiolitis or RSV....which means
no treatment right now....which means no sleep for a few more nights. i feel sad... she's a pretty miserable
little baby. i'm hoping this clears up quickly. i mean, aren't breastfed babies supposed to be healthy?!

tess had her 2 year check-up and is the glowing picture of health. (at THIS minute!) when the doctor
asked her if she was healthy or sick, tess told her that she is sick....and her tummy hurts. then she
decided that her ear hurts. you can tell what we talk about a lot! she's almost 3 feet tall and 28 pounds
and is doing great.

2012-01-02T19:37:00.003-06:00

christmas break is exhausting.

back to school tomorrow....
i think we're ready!

resolution

2012-01-01T07:33:00.001-06:00

my 2012 new year's resolutions?

eat less.

yell less.

spend less.

bite my fingernails less?

worry less.

love them more.

i can do that.

happy new year's day, friends.

2011-12-31T06:48:00.003-06:00

2011-12-31T06:37:00.000-06:00

the 2s

2011-12-30T06:39:00.001-06:00

the night of tess's birthday i told my mom that i couldn't remember anyone turning 2. those
first birthdays are etched in my memory......second ones? maybe not so much. i had to browse
back through a little photo history to find proof that they all really did turn 2.

and they all really did.
tess, annie, erin and kate, respectively.
four sweet little 2 year old birthday girls.

2011-12-29T19:35:00.002-06:00

it's been a rough week for annie. she woke up early monday morning with what we thought was
the stomach flu. it turned into a high fever and nasty ear infection that is still going on 4
days later. certainly a quieter christmas vacation than we had anticipated.....i don't mind a few
quiet days but poor annie. i wish she felt better!

2011-12-28T22:12:00.001-06:00

2

2011-12-28T19:34:00.015-06:00

our girl had such a sweet second birthday.

she got bouncy balls and balloons and lots of singing and sweet wishes from her sisters....

helped to make her own cake...

grandma and grandpa came and she did a genuine happy dance....

learned to blow out candles (she did it twice....2 year olds need practice!)

got a new baby that she cuddled and loved....and a new puppy that she didn't.

it was a good day to be 2.

2011-12-28T06:52:00.000-06:00

erin, and her cousins.

2011-12-27T06:22:00.002-06:00

2 years ago today we welcomed this sweet girl into the world.

she's been running our house ever since.

happy birthday, tess.

we love you

(and every wonderful, crazy thing about you!)

xoxoxo

mama daddy kate erin annie sara

2011-12-26T20:33:00.000-06:00

2011-12-25T20:36:00.009-06:00

christmas 2011....

after all the anticipation and planning and worrying, it turned out just about perfect.
a christmas eve mass to remember (forever!), a good day spent with family in chicago, and a christmas day spent home in pjs, with happy girls and a snuggly baby and my husband who makes me laugh more than anyone else can.

my cup runneth over.

2011-12-23T06:27:00.003-06:00

have yourself a merry little christmas.

yes, sara jane....even you.

2011-12-23T06:18:00.003-06:00

2011-12-21T05:55:00.000-06:00

worried face.

2011-12-20T20:27:00.006-06:00

i got to spend the whole day with julie today....as i said on

Facebook, so good for my soul. i met julie in 1994! when we

were sophomores at BU. we shared three good years of college

...many, many, many laughs...and one lucky rescued cat named

max. she has recently moved from arizona to alaska but always

comes home to her sister in wisconsin....lucky me to be so close.

today she chatted with annie and cuddled with erin and snuggled

sara jane....and got to witness a little bit of crazy that

goes on in this house. i got a day full of good chats and i laughed

harder than i have in quite some time. i'm so lucky.

hooray for old friends.

2011-12-20T20:16:00.001-06:00

i like that face.

2011-12-19T08:41:00.000-06:00

sara is in love with prince charming.

i mean, who wouldn't be?!

2011-12-16T20:13:00.000-06:00

2011-12-15T20:07:00.000-06:00

2011-12-15T06:17:00.003-06:00

i've heard sara jane's belly laugh twice now, and it's about

the best sound in the world. once tess got her to do it, and last

night it was kate jumping on bubble wrap. i've tried very

hard to get her to laugh like that for me, and she will smile

and coo politely. good grief!

2011-12-14T06:18:00.003-06:00

tess came with me to kate and erin's dance lessons last night....

and an observing mother said (of tess).....oh, she must be your live-wire.

oh, yeah. she is DEFINITELY my live wire!

2011-12-13T12:14:00.000-06:00

i love this baby....

more than any words i have.

2011-12-11T20:15:00.001-06:00

2011-12-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

2011-12-09T06:31:00.002-06:00

the stomach flu was so last week........

we've moved on to strep throat.

kate's had a rough week, to say the least. high

fevers and sore throats and headaches and misery.

we were back at the doctor yesterday when she was

still 103 after 48 hours.....aack. antibiotics are now

on board.

tonight is her christmas concert. i am hoping with

all my might that i can have her back to school this

afternoon or i am going to have one heartbroken

little angel.

2011-12-07T16:37:00.000-06:00

we had sara's four month check-up today.

14 pounds 14 ounces!!

2011-12-06T06:20:00.008-06:00

our sweet, snuggly, smiley little baby.....

four months old already!

2011-12-05T06:24:00.000-06:00

2011-12-04T06:56:00.001-06:00

last year tess started a tradition of crying for the thanksgiving picture.

2011-12-04T06:53:00.002-06:00

she's not one to break tradition!

2011-12-02T19:43:00.000-06:00

2011-12-02T19:09:00.003-06:00

i was grateful for today.

back to school,

back to the club,

back to swimming.....

back to normal.

i like normal.

2011-12-01T13:42:00.002-06:00

my almost two year old.

with her constant colds and sinus infections, amazingly, she is

the only walking member of the family to escape the stomach flu

this week.

i decided monday morning, when i went upstairs and discovered her

sleeping in her crib, and her pacifier in the middle of the bedroom

floor, that it was time to say goodbye to her "mimi".

monday was heartbreaking, and that first nap time i will admit

to some tears (hers and mine). i consoled her with cookies and

lots of cuddles when she got up from a short, sad nap.

since then, though, she's been asking less and less and she goes

to sleep just fine without it.

i don't look forward to these transitions, but once they are over

they always seem surprisingly painless. dan and i were looking at

pictures of her from last christmas and she was such a baby then.

she's such a big girl now.

2011-11-28T13:10:00.002-06:00

sara's first roll, last week.

she hates tummy time so much she'll do anything to

get out of it.

i think there will be happier rolls in her future!

2011-11-27T09:17:00.000-06:00

2011-11-26T12:24:00.001-06:00

my friday swimmers.

2011-11-24T13:23:00.001-06:00

my turkeys.

2011-11-24T06:42:00.000-06:00

(thankful)

2011-11-22T12:31:00.002-06:00

kate has never seen star wars,

but if felix loves it, so does she.

(i'm not sure who that green guy is!)

2011-11-21T12:41:00.001-06:00

(clean)

2011-11-18T06:27:00.000-06:00

sweet face.

(not really kate)

2011-11-17T19:06:00.001-06:00

what she looks like sleeping, aaaaand

what she looks like when mama wakes her up.

(oops)

2011-11-16T05:34:00.002-06:00

swim meet!

2011-11-13T12:16:00.006-06:00

kate got her first taste of competitive swimming today.

she participated in the swim meet at our club and took

second place in the back stroke and third place in the

freestyle.

she was so nervous to do it.

we are so proud that she did!

my scooter girls

2011-11-12T16:21:00.010-06:00

i think it's safe to say that my kids are happiest outside, on wheels.

we're gonna soak it up before the snow sticks.

little mama

2011-11-11T06:32:00.004-06:00

i think tess thinks we had sara just for her.

she looooooooves her. sara gets a million "hi seeya!" and

"hi baby!" a day.....and a million kisses......and I get

about a million requests for "hold her!"

she could care less if sara is crying or not....she will

shush her and pat her and try her hardest to get her

to stop.

my sweet girl.

the farm

2011-11-09T06:28:00.005-06:00

the girls and i made the trek to grandma and grandpa's farm this

past weekend. it was sara jane's first trip. she traveled great and

was a very good little baby the whole weekend. i was happy to

introduce her to her great grandma. the girls were just happy to be

there....lots of time outside, helping grandpa feed the animals and

playing with the dog, and lots of time inside...soaking up some

grandma time and some dress up and puzzles and dancing.

2011-11-09T06:26:00.003-06:00

sara, wearing some of the baby clothes that i played with endlessly

as a child. my mom thinks that this little shirt actually belonged to

my cousins julie and laura. ladies, do you remember wearing this?!

2011-11-09T06:23:00.005-06:00

the goat charmers.

tess says the sweetest "hi, georgie!" that you can imagine....

but I think is still pretty convinced that if we put her down,

the goats would eat her. i hope her fear of farm animals

simmers down by the next time we visit!

2011-11-09T06:21:00.002-06:00

sara got to meet her great-grandma for the first time.

despite the 88 1/2 year age difference, these two got along great...

they spent a lot of time getting to know each other.

2011-11-09T06:20:00.002-06:00

2011-11-09T06:17:00.003-06:00

annie dances all day long.

grandpa and tess are very willing dance partners.

2011-11-08T14:39:00.001-06:00

three month old happy face.

2011-11-08T14:36:00.001-06:00

three month old scrunch face.

2011-11-06T17:14:00.004-06:00

just for the record, she was in a time out.

when she doesn't get her way, she jumps up and down like a pogo stick.....

which wouldn't be so bad until you add the incessant WHINING.

but sometimes i just can't resist those eyes.

or those eyelashes.

those baby blues took her down from 3 minutes to 2.....

i never said i'm not willing to compromise.

2011-11-03T19:49:00.003-05:00

missy and tracy came to visit!

sara tried her best to charm them into staying forever.

it didn't quite work,

but we're both hoping they will come back soon.

a wonderful day with two of my wonderful friends....

so good for my soul.

2011-11-03T19:46:00.000-05:00

2011-10-30T15:04:00.002-05:00

my sweet little bundle of love...

12 weeks, already!

2011-10-28T06:18:00.000-05:00

happy halloween!!!

2011-10-27T06:24:00.000-05:00

(jump)

baby lions

2011-10-26T06:28:00.003-05:00

our zoo has three new baby lions. they are about the

sweetest things ever. the girls were so delighted to see them.

definitely worth a trip!

2011-10-25T12:03:00.010-05:00

some pictures of our last days of (lovely) indian summer.

it's been amazing, as always, to get these girls to parks

after school and just watch them play. i feel lucky to watch

my big 6 year old run and jump while still getting a snoozy,

snuggly little baby to hang out with me in her sling. it has

definitely been a wonderful fall to remember.

2011-10-24T20:51:00.001-05:00

boo at the zoo

2011-10-23T08:48:00.002-05:00

we had four happy cheerleaders at the zoo last night,

excited to do all the zoo things in the dark. the train ride

was awesome---dark and cold and lit up jack-o-lanterns

all over the forest. it was pretty cool.

2011-10-22T07:12:00.002-05:00

funny face baby.