Yes, we are alive!

Texas has taken us by storm! We are busy people lately and therefore we honestly would have lots to blog about, but... I'm a major slacker! I didn't know anyone still checked out the ol' blog until I received a few emails that made reference to missing the blog! I am not making promises, but here is a quick recap...

February was filled with food poisioning, an unhappy colon, and way too many trips to the doctor (all of this was Mommy issues, but now when Mommy has issues it affects the whole family... but we juggled, shifted, and made it through!) March was much better and included our Anniversary and Grace Anne's first trip to NYC! (oh how Kris and I have missed 'the city')

April has been great so far. Grace Anne got a swingset and we've had a blast in the backyard... everyday!

So the real reason you check the blog... Grace Anne updates!!!

Grace Anne is a busy little tot! To begin with, we are very active in attending playdates! We are part of 2 playgroups but over the last several months we have made very good, dependable friends. Grace Anne 'hangs' with several friends each week and seems to enjoy being so social! (would you expect anything less from my daughter?)... She is walking very well and has been running quite often! She keep trying to figure out how to jump but hasn't mastered it yet!

She is very talkative and expressive, but her vocabulary is still limited (in less you include the jibberish). She of course says MaMa, DaDa, and now clearly says Elmo. She never misses a dog in a book, on the street, in a store, or on TV! She points and proclaims "DOG"!!

Hi and Bye have been around for a while but she has begun twinkling her fingers when saying "Bye" and she usually says "BYE. BYE.... BYE" in a manner that is very adament and loud.

While we still have her in her "space saver" high chair, she is getting much better with eating! She uses a plate and a fork... okay well-- lets be honest here-- she uses a fork nearly 50% of the time! She loves having a fork and is pretty good with using the fork... when she chooses to use it to pick up the food. Some days she put the fork in one hand and uses the other hand to eat!

Her favorite pastimes include... swinging, sliding, destroying the living room by pulling out every single toy (and repeating over and over), dancing to commercials (esp. the ipad commercial which she drops everything for), watching Barney, feeding Brewski (she has finally found a way to his heart), reading her books (also known as flipping each page and jabbering away), and kissing (MUUUHHHMUUUAHHH) us!

She is growing way to fast and we are doign everything we can to enjoy her! She is truly the light of our lives and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. While Texas is very far from family and old friends, we realize how great this opportunity and adventure has been for us as a family! We aren't going to be here forever but we are making the best of right now and enjoying life. It does help that Kris likes his job, has flexibility to spend time with us, and its an added bonus to have met some fun friends to hang out with!

Four little Kepleys in a bed...
none fell out or bumped their heads

I should be sleeping, yes... this is true. I am always in need of sleep and I suppose that won't change anytime within the next ummm 17 years..? But, everyone is sleeping and it theory I feel like I could be so productive. That is probably not going to be the case seeing as I am blogging... but to my loyal fans and followers-- blogging is productive! But, I must say, part of my inability to sleep is the mere lack of sleeping accommodations. Currently, only 1 bedroom, of 3, is occupied. Brewski, Grace Anne, and Daddy-o are all in bed with me. I am beginning to think that we could really use a bigger bed!

Grace Anne was sleeping soundly in her crib, but she decided at midnight she wanted to bond... thus, she is now smack in the middle of our queen sized bed. Brewski has a softy, cushy bed of his own though he seems to feel the need to also sleep with us! Ugh!

Oh well.. here are some new pictures! Enjoy!

WAKE UP GRACE ANNE! Caroline heard you were coming to play.. not sleep!

Grace Anne is a BIG girl now! She faces forward!

She is thinking... "ARE THESE REALLY MY PARENTS?"

New year, new you...?
So there is no excuse for the lack of blogging and no resolution to do better! I put making promises away in 2011! No guilt or promises... :) That being said, I'd like to blog regularly again! I have been thinking I should blog for a while and then it gets put on the back burner... then, a few days ago the most loyal of my fans told me how much she missed it and I thought... I should for sure bring it back! So I waited until today since today is that loyal fan's birthday! Happy Birthday, Alexis! We miss you!

To all my other loyal fans and followers, thanks for stopping by!
So much has happened and life in Texas is much different than the days in Tennessee!
Grace Anne is a blast... she is loud, she is fast, she is smarty and sneaky. She has teeth (4 and 1/2), determination, and a substantial amount of hair! She loves shoes and purses-- her own (yes she has her own Vera Bradley) and her Mommy's! She is a girl through and through.. no doubt! She has attributes of both of us and there is no doubt she is our daughter. The new pediatrician has diagnosed her as.. "strong-willed."

Texas is much different in many ways-- the most obvious at the moment is the climate! My Atlanta/Knoxville "peeps" are facebook-ing and texting about their snow and ice... we still have not turned our heat on (granted our house is very well insulated)! Its actually in the 40's today and that is LOW! You would think we were getting the blizzard--people have pulled out their coats, gloves and scarves! I will say, the wind makes it chilly!! And, I will admit... our bodies have adjusted to this warmer climate... but never did I think 40 could feel so cold!
We stay really busy with playdates, walking, storytime, library visits, park playtime, meeting up with moms (and kids) for lunch... etc etc. I've even taken on a roll in a playgroup as an assistant organizer. Who would have thought that these groups had rules and an organizing hierarchies?.. but you'd be surprised. Grace Anne socializes well and really likes playing! She loves following the big kids around and playing with the boys.. go figure!

What a big girl!

So our sweet little girl is ONE.
We had a great weekend with friends and family in Tennessee. I'm still very upset that so many of the invitations never made it to the addressed mailboxes! I can't believe it!
Here are some pictures from the weekend festivities... I am waiting on the rest from the photographer!

Where did the itty bitty baby go?

Behind? I do believe I am! Why in the world would I go this long without a blog post? I am a Stay at Home Mom (S.A.H.M)-- what do I do all day anyways? Oh yeah, that's right... I lay on the couch eating bon-bons and watching soap operas... NOT! I never realized what the duties of a S.A.H.M! I mean don't get me wrong... it is the best job I could possibly have, but it is just that a job! I stay busy!

So, let's see... Grace Anne decided on Sunday that she was ready to walk. For the last month and a half she'd take a couple steps and then determine she was much faster at crawling and she'd resort back to her speedy crawling and forget the upright form of mobility! The last two weeks Kris was gone on business and while he was home last weekend she wouldn't even begin to show him her moves... Then he left and she began the cycle of 4 or 5 steps followed by hours of crawling. Well Sunday, that all changed. She decided she was walking and she wasn't doing the 3 step then fall and get back up, she was walking like she'd been doing it for months. It is hilarious, she just takes off! The only difficulty she has is letting her head get ahead of her feet. When this happens she obviously falls, but the falls (often not as gracefully as one would hope) don't end the walk-a-thon! She gets right up, no tears or screams and keeps truckin'! She truly does have our determination and persistence. My theory is, she didn't want to walk until she could walk as fast as she crawls... and now that she can she is on the loose!

Today, Grace Anne had her birthday party with friends! We went to a really nice park (or so I thought) and had cake and playtime. It wasn't any spectacular plan but we wanted Grace Anne to have a celebration with her Corpus friends. She played and ate cake and all the kiddos seemed to be having fun until Grace Anne's friend Caroline stepped in a mound of ants! She had fire ants all over her body! Luckily Grace Anne didn't make it to the mound too, because all moms turned to Caroline. She had several bites and swollen feet but she was alright once she got some benadryl and rest. Poor girl. Turns out, there were lots of ant mounds and the park wasn't as beautiful in the end!

Trick Or Treat

Halloween finally arrived and our little ducky went trick or treating with her friends... and her little red wagon.. of course!

Uhhhh OHHHHH....

So, yes I have been a horrible blogger and it is not for the lack of fun and exciting blog material! Daddy was out of town all week and I was going nonstop, full time. Last weekend we went to a Fall Festival and the pumpkin patch after walking in the Corpus Christi Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. This weekend we drug Daddy to some Halloweenie festivities!
This past week Grace Anne acted interested in walking and when Daddy got home I was so anxious for her to show him the progress she'd made... but as luck would have it, she showed no interested at all. She didn't take one step Friday or today! Ugh! But, she did show off her new favorite word... "UH OH." She drops her bottle or a toy and then she says "UH OH." It is very cute!

This afternoon we went to a Carnival thrown by the organizers of one of our playgroups. Grace Anne sported her UT Cheerleader outfit and even covered it in chili (that I was eating and she was playing in apparently). After the carnival, Grace Anne and I went to pick up Daddy and change her into her real costume. She looked adorable at Trunk Or Treat and the Fall Festival!

pumpkin patch Playing with Sophia

pumpkin patch

PJ party at the Library

Grace Anne and Caroline