Catching Up is hard to do...

Wow! I've not blogged in a week and soo much has happened! I hope I can hit the highlights, not bore you, and manage to catch you up on the Kepleys happenings this past week!

To begin with I want you to know.. I love holidays and I love traditions. I have a hard time letting go of my traditions and accepting changes in the traditions I enjoyed as a young tot! That may seem somewhat selfish, but its even hard to let go of those after losing Mom. Luckily, my loving husband didn't grow up with annual traditions.. at least not to the extent I did and he doen;t wants that for Grace Anne. So, he and I agreed to start those traditions now, not next year or the next... so that is much needed info for explaining whats to come...
My Mom was quite the baker and always made candies and cookies among other things at Christmas time. I didn't get the head start Mom always had, but nonetheless I introduced Grace Anne to baking Christmas cookies! (She spent most of the time in her bouncy seat sleeping)

Christmas Eve is always the big day. As a kid I hated waiting until that night, but loved every moment of it once the festivities began. I am continuing the traditions that were established in my childhood. Mom would always fix finger foods and we opened our presents. See Santa only brought one big present on Christmas morning. All the other presents were exchanged Christmas Eve -- and that tradition continues. This year the Rigglets were the only present spectators. (we have people come watch us open presents.. does that tell you anything? I was an only child.. I was spoiled.. no lies) But, now they come to see Grace Anne. This year they even helped her open presents-- well lets be honest-- they took turns opening her presents for her! She got some neat toys that Mommy really liked shopping for... and she got a few new outfits -- of course.



Santa came to visit our house (we left him cookies). He brought Grace Anne a really cool UT Vols Rocking Chair. It's adoreable. Daddy had no idea what Santa was bringing and he was super excited for Grace Anne!



Christmas morning is always spent with the Riggs. For several years we have gone next door to see what the Riggs got from Santa and then watch them open the presents under the tree. This year was no different.. well with the exception of our newest addition. The rest of Christmas Day is laid back and no firm traditions are in place!
Typically we go to my family's farm for Christmas on the Saturday before Christmas. This year we had a conflict that made for justifiable "tradition-changing"... Kris' graduation. Growing up we always went on Christmas Day, right after Santa came! It was so hard to leave my toys and make that 4 1/2 drive to Hopkinsville, KY. I never wanted to put my kids through that and I'm very thankful we have changed that tradition.

We had a good time in Kentucky and even got to actually surprise Aunt Beth!! We showed up on Christmas night at about 9pm. She wasn't expecting us that early, but we wanted her to get a little extra time Grace Anne.

Grace Anne got lots of goodies for Christmas. Mommy and Daddy racked up as well. We are so thankful our family and wonderful friends. We wish everyone a happy new year!

Postpartum Visit..

At 6 weeks you go back to your postpartum visit.. I'm telling you this because I went yesterday and that in turn means my baby girl is 6 weeks old (well she will be Friday). I can't believe it!!! My doctor said everything looked GREAT! That I was doing well... Now, for my sake and sanity, I just need to lose the rest of the baby weight... which isn't much, but it seems like quite a daunting task! Although, my doctor did pretty much tell everyone in the office my secret shopping obsession (as if its a secret). I was actually shopping, and we aren't talking grocery shopping, the Monday after Grace Anne was born.. the day after being released from the hospital-- well she happened to be shopping too.... and well I got caught.

So the weekend was great. After graduation festivities we got to celebrate Christmas with Grammy and Papaw at our house. Poppy also came over. Grammy tried and tried to get Mommy and Daddy to go to dinner and a movie together. We thought we might be able to do dinner, we knew a movie was out of the question-- well neither happened. It had nothing to do with her staying with her grandparents, we just couldn't leave her! We will eventually..

Mommy and Daddy again racked up on Christmas presents. Daddy got new Ray Ban sunglasses. Mommy even got a David Yurman ring from Poppy! Of course Grace Anne continues to be spoiled by all! Grammy bought her tons of goodies and basically a new wardrobe! haha We just have to get to 0-3 sized clothing (which should be soon.. I think!)

SNOW?

I'm not really sure how I missed the weather, but at about 8pm on Thursday I found out that winter weather was on the way. Now, I do love snow and any other day the thought of snow would have elated me... but, this day I had more of a "uggh hmm snow.." reaction, and let me explain why! We were leaving on Friday morning for Johnson City because Daddy was graduating!! He had actually already finished this summer, but he wasn't able to walk until Fall semester was over. So, nonetheless, we had family coming from Louisiana, North Carolina, and Georgia.. snow wasn't a good idea. On Thursday night Mommy packed the car with presents for Christmas, a pack n' play, Daddy's grad attire (which included a selection of 3 dress shirts, 4 ties, his suit, his dress shoes, robe, cap, etc. etc.). It looked like we were driving a combination of Santa's sleigh and a U-Haul-- of course with a BMW flair.

So Friday was a mess, it all began with just rain and turned into lots of snow and slush . The NC family saw lots of cars going into ditches, but in the end everyone arrived. We decided to go to the big, impressive (sarcastic) Johnson City mall with the Kepley side of the family. We were having fun just strolling along with the last weekend before Christmas shoppers. Kris glanced out the window and noted the big huge snow flakes falling. We were in no rush to get back to our hotel so we strolled another 30 or 45 minutes. Long story short, in less than 2 hours there was 3 inches of snow with lots of slush and pathetic, inexperienced drivers... We decided returning to the hotel was a must, obviously every other soul in that mall decided to leave as well. There were people going in every direction! Unfotunatly, the BMW didn't like when the folks in front of us stopped in slush and we were stuck! BUT, luckily enough we could roll backward, get enough traction to turn the wheel and get in the other lane. We were successful at getting around the stopped cars and we returned to the hotel without injury-- we just had a very hungry baby!

Friday night Kris and his Dad went to get Ruby Tuesday's To Go. We were very thankful they braved the cold and walked, yes walked, to the nearby Ruby Tuesdays. (we have a picture on Darlene's camera.. I'll update this section when I recieve the picture.) After filling out tummies, we all went down to the lobby of the hotel by on e of the fireplaces to open presents. Lets just say, these Kepleys racked up! Grace Anne is so spoiled by all her grandparents... and her Mommy and Daddy can't complain about that. Mommy got the Ugg boots she was wanting and Daddy got the Wallabees he wanted. Mommy also got BMW floor mats among other things. Daddy of course also got UT paraphernalia!

Saturday morning came very early. After Friday night's fashion show, Kris knew which shirt and tie he'd wear. We got up early to pack up. There was about 8 inches of snow.. it was beautiful. Daddy got all spiffed up and went on to the dome line up. The rest of the clan walked over a little later. Daddy looked awesome and we were all very proud. We all went to lunch after

and celebrated Kris' achievements. Even though he has been done, there is something about walking across that stage!

PS- I started blogging Thursday and just posted it last night.. sad it took so long, but that is why the date is the 17th!

The LITTLE runt is GROWING!

I know everyone wants an update and everyone is having Grace Anne withdraws!
I should be better at this and I keep promising myself I will be and then look.. its been another 4.. almost 5 I guess... days! Ahhh! I won't even waste your time with excuses!

Grace Anne is doing fabulous! We went to the doctor this morning and she is up to 7lbs. 15 oz. She is almost a pound over birth weight which is not that much apparently for a month old, but for our little runt we are very excited about the growth!! And yes, she is a month old.. you read it right. Can you believe it?!
After the doctor check-up, Mommy's friend Jennifer came over to visit, camera in hand. She took lots of pictures of GA! Yesterday we were talking and decided Grace Anne needed a tutu. Tutu's are super easy to make too which made the whole process of creating one that much more fun! I have a feeling my child will end up wearing tutu for quite some time. Jennifer also brought us our first pair of baby legs, not that they would fit now, but they will look so cute under the tutu when she is bigger! So, back to the original thought--I can't wait to see the pictures.. Jenn has a very creative eye and I've loved all the work I've seen her do.. and this time was shooting my kid so it can't be bad!

Oh and our newest pass time is playing in our little activity mat gym thingy. She loves throwing her arms about and hitting the toys. Also, we have two toys that play music.. those are by far her favorite!

We have a very busy week ahead. Daddy finished his bachelor's this summer and will be walking at graduation Saturday. Grace Anne and I bought Daddy a new suit for graduation so its only fitting that Grace Anne get a new outfit as well. Poppy bought her a dress, tights, and really cute shoes. She will look adorable... I tried it on last night the only flaw I foresee is that the tights are huge! I don't know what we will do instead-- stay tuned.

Finally, I like to refer to myself as Mommy in the blog, but I have noticed that I switch back and forth to Mommy and I which in turn makes me jump from third person to first person and back to third. I want you all to know that I DO know better. I am about to have a graduate degree and I don't want anyone to think wow she can't even get the basics down. I may really work on sticking to first person, but then again... I may not! NOW, that being said-- spelling errors don't count. I am a terrible speller and if spell check doesn't catch it.. then we are out of luck. Oh and within the blog...punctuation, especially commas, have no rules!

DON'T GIVE UP ON US!!
Keep coming back to the blog!

My deepest apologies! I went a week.. no blog.
What you may not know though... the Mommy behind this blog has had to be more than just a Mommy this past week. As of yesterday though-- I'm able to be 100% Mommy and wife! I finished all my course work, my exit interview, my portfolio.. I'm a licensed teacher now! I also have all my coursework finished for my master's and I'll take my comps in the Spring-- so by May I'll have my M.Ed :) So, now I no excuse not to blog, right?

Anyways, on to the important things... Grace Anne went to the doctor Monday. She gained 9oz. She is up to a big 7lbs. 6 oz. and 19.5 inches! So, she's still small. We think the most noticeable change is that her hair is growing!

Today I picked up the pictures from last week. Daddy hadn't seen them and loved them. I have a feeling he will be showing her off again tomorrow at work.

So, here are some of them for your viewing pleasure:

SAY CHEESE!

Yesterday Grace Anne had her first big picture day! Okay so technically she had pictures at the hospital, but yesterday was her first true photo shoot! She is going to be a superstar! She did really well considering she slept most of the time.. thankful she loves the camera.. and we seem to think it loves her-- but it might be us being partial. The picture above I took on my phone, but I'm very excited about the real pictures. They took one with this rose mat thingy-- sounds super tacky and honestly I didn't think it'd be cute... I was just going with it since they had been so nice and bragged on how beautiful she is (of course we all know that). Well, my friends, the rose thing turned out to be adoreable! I loved it she was so sweet and her expressions were great--she was showing more of her personality (that we are really picking up on now that she is nearly 3 weeks old-- can you believe it!?)

After seeing how well she did yesterday I'm very anxious for my friend Jenn to take some pictures of her! I think Jenn will have good ideas and she may be able to capture some unique shots! We might as well start building her portfolio now... give her a few years and Vogue will be calling.. :)

OH CHRISTMAS TREE, OH CHRISTMAS TREE!

Well December has arrived! We put the Christmas tree up and got a few decorations out of storage. I must admit, I didn't deck the halls to their fullest. There is just so much going on right now.. a newborn, finishing my portfolio, preparing for Daddy's graduation, etc. etc. etc. Honestly, these may be nothing but mere excuses for the fact that I couldn't get but about 3 weeks worth of mileage out of them and then I have to clean them up. Thanksgiving has been too late the last couple years...

So, the Christmas tree looks good! We have lots of travel related ornaments from Kris and I, Mom and I, etc. They range from Santa climbing the Eiffel Tower to a lovely map of the Pondarosa (for all the Bonanza fans out there-- yes I've been to the infamous Ponderosa ranch where the Cartwrights and Hop Sing did their Bonanza thing..) The tree is always so fun to put up for the mere fact that I'm flooded with many great memories and stories. Unfortunatly, this year I noticed our tree is tiny and that is going to have to change.. especially as we add mroe ornaments and travel to more destinations. Not to mention the space we put the tree in needs to grow-- next year Santa might need more space for Grace Anne! This year I think we will be okay!

This year Grace Anne was defiantly present for the decorating of the tree, but we look forward to the time we can tell her about the ornaments. We want to tell her about the Effel Tower ornament that Mommy and Daddy got when she was in Mommy's tummy and we didn't even know! We want to tell her about the pirate ship ornament from the Virgin Islands, and the slot machine we got in Vegas. There are so many memories to be made and we can't wait to spend time with our baby girl-- as long as she doesn't grow up too fast!!