Sunday, May 27, 2012

Welcome, Susannah!

The Family Band finally decided on a name for our newest band member! Susannah Elyse was born on May 26th at 3:49 p.m. She weighed 9 lbs, 1 oz. She is 21.5" long. She is (so far) extremely mellow, and is doing well. We hope you will get to meet her soon!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Daddy time


MidMay2012040, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Luca has been a little clingy lately, so he was NOT happy when it was time for Daddy to hold him for a photo. Or maybe he just wanted to be pushing the button on the camera with mommy. In any case, I think this pic is hilarious!

Our 3 kids


MidMay2012035, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Here are Norah, Luca, and Baby H (still in large belly) with Mommy!

Mommy's birthday


MidMay2012032, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

It was Chiara's birthday yesterday, so we got a couple of shots with her and the kids, before the next one comes!

The class


MidMay2012026, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Here's the whole gang--we somehow got them all to line up and stop giggling for this photo!!!

Tap Time!


MidMay2012019, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

This latest dance class incorporated some tap time, too. Norah loves the tap time!

Another Ballet "Recital"


MidMay2012010, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Norah ended another session of dance this week, so we went to her "recital" where the kids show us all the stuff they know. Can you spot her in the sea of pink and tulle?

Norah and Mrs. Bogenberger


MidMay2012050, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Here is Norah with her other teacher (teacher's aide) Mrs. Bogenberger!

Norah and Mrs. Bauer


MidMay2012048, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

We had Norah's closing ceremony for her preschool this week, and the kids sang us a whole bunch of songs. It was great. Here is Norah with her teacher, Mrs. Bauer, who we will miss greatly next year!

Chocolate goatee


MidMay2012054, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

We gave Luke a leftover cupcake last week and he LOVED it! He ended up with a chocolate goatee, which was really funny.

Princess beauty sleep


MidMay2012053, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

It's hard work being a princess. This is how I found Norah the other afternoon. She plays hard and sleeps hard!

The Birthday Blast!


MidMay2012118, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

The best part of they party (according to the children polled) was when we released about 50 balloons into the gym and the kids decided to chase James around with them! He ran around that gym for about 30 minutes with a pack of happily shrieking 4 to 6-year-olds close behind. How often do you get to chase an adult and whack him or her with a balloon? Not often! They loved it!

Happy Birthday to YOU!


MidMay2012112, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Here's Norah getting ready to blow out her candles!

Preggers!


MidMay2012102, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

One thing I like about being this pregnant: I have a great little shelf to rest my arms on at all times!

Parachute + Scooter equals ...


MidMay2012093, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

My first thought when the park worker brought out the scooters was: BAD idea!

But, the kids had fun playing with both. When she called their numbers, they had to go from one side of the parachute to the other (and cross paths underneath!) without getting "caught" in the trap.

All I remember about scooters is pinched fingers (remember elementary school). Miraculously, we had no such injuries.

It was also fun to see how some kids (Norah included) took a while to figure out how they worked, while other kids (like the girl in this pic) were flying around in no time!

Parachute Fun!


MidMay2012087, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

The kids got to play some games with a big parachute. Here they are trying to bounce the balls off the parachute.

Happy 5th Birthday, Norah!


MidMay2012068, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Norah had her 5th birthday party early this year, since we weren't sure when the new baby would decide to make his/her appearance.

We had it at a local recreation building, and the kids got to play games for the first hour and then we had cupcakes and snacks and played with balloons for the 2nd hour. It was easy, and I think Norah had a good time.

Now, the hard part is, she keeps INSISTING that she is already 5! It irks me a little (I am detail oriented), and I was correcting her, but I have given up on that and just let her tell people she is 5.

Visitors


MidMay2012131, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Norah and Luca's cousins Ethan and Lucia came to visit last weekend. Here are the 4 of them playing in the sandbox, which they did happily for at least an hour, maybe more!

I love sandboxes, despite their messiness!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

New Cabinets!


new cabinets002, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

While Oma and Grandpa were here, they installed these new wall cabinets in our kitchen--we used to have some useless shelves here. We put these corner shelves on the sides to soften the look a little--I think they turned out great! Now I have a place (up high) to display my Chinese vases and tea sets.

Thanks, Oma and Grandpa for all your help!

Next step: have the cabinets professionally painted white to match--it will brighten the kitchen up considerably!

Grandpa and Luca


GrandpaLuke, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Here is Grandpa giving some cooking tips to Luca from Cook's Illustrated magazine. Luca will pretty much sit and read anything with anyone--he loves to be read to!

Oma and Norah


OmaNorah, originally uploaded by Chiara and James Hemsley.

Oma and Norah pose for a photo. Notice Norah's shirt, which says "Big Sister." Oma, Norah, and I made this shirt (Oma did most of the sewing for me!) for when the new baby is born. Norah loves her shirt and can't wait to wear it!

I got this idea from Sunny, who made "big sis" and "li'l sis" shirts for Ivana and Frieda, my nieces. It was really fun. I will post a pic of Luke's shirt soon--it's almost finished!