February 2011 - Part 1

The first half of February has been filled with many memorable experiences.

I'll start off with some photos from 'Snowmageddon' - The Chicago Blizzard of 2011.

Those two humps in front of the Local Option are cars!

This is in our backyard - Sam, Ally and Matt


Ally along Seminary Avenue


Ally in an igloo built at the bottom of the hill at Oz Park where I took her sledding. She was so ridiculously excited to go. Then after three runs down the hill she says to me, "Uh, mom, ok, two more times down then we are going home."
Me: Ally? Why?
Ally: Um, I have to go pee-pee, um, mom, um, oh, dangit, I just went pee-pee...
Me: Oh Ally!
Ally: Oh, it's ok mom, we can still have lots of fun!
Me: Ok
Ally: Yeah, this is totally awesome!


I decide to take Ally and J.J. for a sled ride, just around the block

Well, going around the block would have taken 8 hours so we made it to the corner then I had to carry J.J. home as he kept tipping out of the sled and he could not walk as the snow came up to his waist! I think it took us as long to get dressed for outdoors as we actually were outdoors!

The view down Webster Avenue a couple of days latter

Little J.J. out for a stroll

Next are some Baby Andy photos...
He continues to live up to his reputation as the World's Most Perfect Baby. Not only is he cute, he sleeps like a champ, loves to talk and smile, is crazy for "solid" food and most importantly totally tolerates the giant bear hugs Ally is constantly showering him with.

Ally, Matt and J.J. have been busy as well...

We had a leaky toliet that Tony the Plumber came to repair. Ally was completely captivated by this job and stayed by Tony's side the entire time. When he had to run to his truck for tools, she followed him to the door then waited there for him to return. We were very impressed by Ally's interest in plumbing and the questions she had for Tony...

...but then when she changed into her finest gown and posed for photos, we realized that maybe she was more interested in the cute plumber than plumbing!

Jay and I visited Matt's school for a presentation on Egypt. Here is Matt with his Model of a Pyramid Complex.

J.J. spent most of the last part of January and the beginning of February sick. He had strep (along with Ally and I), ear infections and ear infections again. Now on his second round of antibiotics, he is doing much better and making messes at a record pace.

This was the pitiful look he would give us for most of these days. Besides in our arms, being in the bath was his happiest time.

But even sick, he still loves to laugh.

We celebrated his second birthday on Super Bowl Sunday with cake at halftime. Unfortunately I did not take any photos! But here is one of his sleeping with his new golf club. He loves it!

January 2011

This new year has already been full of activity for the Metzlers.

We have had some great adventures both indoors and out.
We explored the Chicago Children's Musuem at Navy Pier for the first time EVER the other weekend and are excited to return (on the first Sunday of every month when kids are admitted free!). We have also been able to enjoy a couple of days outside doing traditional wintery things.

Unfortunately we have not yet been able to celebrate little J.J.'s second birthday, which was on January 19th, as he, Ally and I have all been hit by a case of strep. We are on the mend though and look forward to having a little family party for him soon!

Here is a timeline of photos from the first half of the month...please excuse the quality of the photos, I have been camera-less lately and am relying on my phone to document these precious moments!

We proudly cheered on the Colts during their all-too-short playoff run...

...then we buried our heads in sorrow after their defeat.

We have been utilizing our new Christmas gifts,

and practicing lots of tummy time!

We took a trip to Indy,

and learned how to perfect drawing a peace sign at the age of 4! I found this in Ally's backpack, apparently this is what she doodles at school in her spare time. As Ally would say, "Peace, love and happiness, mom". She's so hip.

We discovered how to take photos of ourselves and want to do it everyday (well, J.J. does).

We had fun in the snow making snow angels,

sledding (at least that's what they called me pulling them around and around in a circle in the "backyard" while baby Andy was asleep inside!),

making a totally cute snowman at Grandma and Grandpa's house

and ice skating at Wrigley with friends.

J.J. did some tormenting of baby Andy. He likes to take Rudolph and hold the light-up nose against things to watch its reflection...here I caught him using Andy's forehead to do so.

But J.J. is also working on potty training! Yeah!

While baby Andy is working on being cute.

I'd say he's pretty darn good at being cute...

...they all are...

...especially when working on self-assigned "homework". When I tried to help Ally make her 3s without a loop in them, she was quick to point out that, "Oh mom, little kids always put bubbles in their 3s." Duh.

One last photo of little Andy and his constant companion, not-so-little Ally.

Until next time, enjoy your Januarys. Smile, laugh, have fun and be nice. That's our motto for the month.

More Catching Up...

Here are some more photos to catch you up on the fall/winter of 2010...unfortunately I uploaded them in reverse order so you will actually be looking at reverse chronological order! Cool, right? Please say yes...

Taking the family (kids) Christmas photo this year was much easier than we all thought it would be...

...because luckily we did not have to use a photo like this! Poor Ally, she is such a lover and these boys want nothing to do with it!


Baby Andy looking so sweet in his carseat

This is one of the first smiles he had...

Ally and her girlfriends walking home from school

These are my Toth cousins at Jenny's wedding in November. Meghan, Caitlin, Lauren, Ashely, Laura, Jenny and Me! We have all shared some really wonderful times at Birch Lake and Grandma and Grandpa's house in South Bend. It was really special to be together again as "adults".

A photo from Ally's Little Kickers Class. She is the blur you see jumping off the ground. J.J. wanted to join this day...he may be tiny, but the little fella has mad skills! Just look at the size of those feet! The coaches have already moved him up an age group!

Ally and Daddy outside of Project 57

A tiny baby Andy - only a couple of weeks old

A cute little photo of J.J. at the park near Ally's school

Jay and I being so touristy at the Bean. We love going here on the weekends...it's so bustling and full of all sorts of people.

The kids at the Bean. I love this photo of Matt and Ally hanging out while little J.J. is working to figure everything out.

I included this photo as a way to remember being pregnant...I have deleted almost every single other photo of myself this way! Now it's set in stone...or at least will take a little effort to delete!

Ally's first day of school. She is deep in thought. It only took a day or two for her to become the bestest of friends with these girls. She loves her school and we love it for her.

Isn't she beautiful?

Hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane as much as I did!

From now on, my posts will be much more up to date...at least that's the plan!