Ahhhhh.....the sweet peace of all three napping at the same time!

Below are attempts at a backyard photo shoot this afternoon. Clementine is such a ham and extremely photogenic when she wants to be, but when she doesn't want to be she really lets it be known. Not surprising, huh? Fortunately I got a couple of good shots of the three of them at the beginning before the meltdown started.

Clark adores baby Cecilia.

The beginning of the end

I was so frustrated with her stubbornness in the moment but decided to take a couple of shots of her tantrum. I'm so glad that I now have this timeless treasured memory. This is such a familiar face around our house! Looking at the picture, though, I can't believe she doesn't get away with more. Doesn't it just melt your heart? I still pray that her strong will can be harnessed and used for the benefit and not detriment of others.

The picture that is now the heading of the blog was the best of the bunch, but Cecilia's face here is so precious! She is so giggly and has the sweetest belly laugh!

The greatest excitement of our week was Clark being diagnosed with chickenpox. He's been vaccinated so it was only what the pediatrician referred to as a mild breakthrough case - so mild that it's difficult to see the spots as he's showing them off! Adam is of course immune, Clementine has been vaccinated, but Cecilia is too young for the vaccine, and I've never had the disease. So far, the girls and I are fine! Clark was never really bothered by the disease. He was a little itchy, but a dose of Benadryl here and there took care of that!

O.K., so these last two posted in the wrong order, but you get the idea. Clark is finishing up his first teeball season. He loves it, of course. He's very serious during the games and prefers that we not talk to him during the game. His coach gave him the game ball after his first game. He told us that it's because he gets all the big hits. It's currently his most treasured object. It's the only baseball that is not to be played with at all he informed us as he placed it on the shelf by his bed. He has had a few big hits, and his fielding is improving. Clark says his favorite position to play is batting:), but he also likes when he gets to be on first base, pitcher, and catcher.

Saturday Fun

Cuddle time with Clementine

It seems as though Cecilia has learned the fine art of thumb sucking from her big sister.


Cecilia is such a happy baby!

Cecilia was four months old yesterday, and Adam is 30 today!

One Month Later

I love the look on Cecilia's face here!

ONE MONTH OLD!

We have survived the first month as a family of five! Cecilia is such a good baby that the past month has not been as difficult as we expected it to be with a newborn! Cecilia's addition has completed our family, and we all feel so blessed and happy to have her. I am overwhelmed by having experienced three uneventful pregnancies & deliveries and by having three healthy vibrant children.

Cecilia is more alert every day and giving us a decent amount of sleep even! The past few nights she has gone to bed late, but she only wakes up once during the night, so I can't complain! Clark & Clementine already captivate her. At her two week check up she was back up to her birth weight and had already grown half an inch. We know she has grown more since then because she has grown out of newborn diapers and clothing, and we don't have to roll up the sleeves of 0-3 month outfits. She is our sweet little baby girl and Daddy's newest little princess.

Adam & I feel the fear already of raising and protecting two daughters. We of course are very protective of Clark, but girls are a little different - especially now that we have two of them!

Metz Sisters (Daddy's Girls)

Our Latest Addition

Cecilia Elizabeth Metz entered the world this morning at 9:40. Mary Beth's water broke at about 3:00 am and we headed off to the hospital. Mom had a smooth and relatively quick delivery. Mom is doing great. Baby is doing great. Clark and Clementine got to hang out with their new sister this afternoon for a little while. We are thrice blessed. Here's some pictures to put with the name.
Mommy and Baby are doing well.



Some fat guy dropped by and took random pictures with our daughter, who is this person?


This child looks incredibly like her older brother.

A fine looking threesome. The Metz clan.

Toledo Botanical Gardens

Abbey took us to the Toledo Botanical Gardens and we got our exercise walking through the garden and chasing my children. By the time we left to head back home, they were both so exhausted that they slept the entire way home. For those of you that know my children, they (especially Clementine) were obviously completely exhausted to have slept that long in the car.

The Metz Grandchildren: Clementine, Clark & Austin

Abbey was helping Clark get a closer look at the ducks and fish below the bridge.

Clark was insistent about having his picture made in front of this hedge. He was also excited about getting his picture made by himself with his little cousin. Scroll down to read more about Austin. This wasn't a great picture but it was the only one I got with our camera. Abbey got a better one that will be posted on her blog at some point I'm sure whenever she finds time with a newborn at home.

More from Toledo

While in Toledo, the kids enjoyed an afternoon at Chuck E Cheese before we headed back home. Clementine loved going down this slide although every time she nearly flew off the side. She is so fearless, though. Every time I caught her she wiggled away so that she could climb right back up and go again. I love the picture of Clark playing air hockey because of Clementine peeking over the edge.

Grandma & PaPa Ralph came over on Thursday evening to join us for dinner. We took Clark to a neat little diner that brings your food to you on a train. There were also three televisions showing three different Thomas movies so he thought he was at the greatest place on the planet while we were there. The sign above the table reads, "Please do not allow parents to touch train." Clark was quick to inform Grandma that she wasn't allowed to touch it.
Clark with his headphones and "CD-D player" is a common sight for us. He is always listening to the Ohio State marching band and singing along. If I can get a video of him singing I'll post it, but he usually gets shy when we start recording him. In this picture he was looking at an OSU tin at Abbey's house while listening to the band.
With Austin in our car, this is a preview of what traveling with the Metzes will look like come February. It's good to know that 3 carseats can be crammed back there!

Cousin Austin!

In August, I became an aunt for the first time when our nephew Austin Connor Raike was born! We saw Austin in the hospital the day he was born, but with the preschool opening and adjsuting to our new schedule we haven't been able to get to Toledo for another visit until this week. Adam wasn't able to go with us, but the kids and I had a great visit with Austin (& his parents, too, but we really cared most about seeing Austin).

Clark & Clementine were both so sweet and gentle with the baby. Yes, that's right, even Clementine was sweet and gentle. Surprisingly enough she was able to stay calm even while I held Austin. It could have been that she was too preoccupied telling Abbey & Jason's dog, Tressel, "No more!" because they seemed to taunt each other quite a bit. I don't have any pictures to illustrate how Clementine & Tressel got along well as long as they each stayed on their side of the room. Tressel was being protective of Austin, but Clementine really wanted to be up close to the baby. To get close to Austin, though, she had to cross over to Tressel's side of the room. Clementine & Tressel were great pals when both of them were calm and well tempered. It did happen occasionally. Clementine even tried to kiss Tressel once. I can't believe he didn't lick her face. That would have definitely prompted a harsh, "No more!" from her lips.

Clark especially liked to help Austin take his bottles. He also learned quickly that Austin likes his pacifier so anytime Austin cried Clark was quick to shove the pacifier in his mouth. This was actually quite handy while we were driving around town with all three children strapped into our backseat.

Clementine loved Austin's swing. Once she realized it wasn't for her she was happy to help entertain him while he was swinging. When the swing wasn't occupied by Austin, it was a place for Clementine to play with a baby doll that actually belonged to Abbey when she was little. I was shocked to learn that Abbey actually had a doll as a child until she told me about the creepy things she could do with it's eyes. That explained why tomboy Abbey had such a girly toy.

What a cute kid! Don't we have the cutest nephew? Austin hadn't slept much the day we arrived so he slept a lot while we were there. When he was awake, though, we got to see several smiles, and I was lucky enough to catch one on camera. He has a great smile. We love this little guy!