P is for Potty.

Okay so we didn't really do a letter this week because learning to go to the big girl potty was enough of a lesson! I just want to state for the record that I did NOT want to potty train. I was dreading it... avoiding it like the plague. I was willing to pay someone or let Grace Anne wear diapers until Kindergarten.. college even. This is the one thing as a "Mommy" that I really didn't want to do. I waited as long as I could and realized I should give it a whirl. We are in town for a little while and she seemed "ready" by the expert's standards. 

So here is the thing... when you start talking or thinking about potty training you discover 1. there are 400 methods and 2. everyone has an opinion (again.. unsolicited advice.. great). One popular method is the 3-Day Potty Training. Crazy, right? The thought of staying at home 3 days in a row was nauseating to me! I may be a S.A.H.M but I wasn't meant to literally stay at home! I found a 1-Day plan on pinterest and I knew right away that was too good to be true. So I read the 3-Day book and decided that'd be a good jump start. I knew that it wouldn't be perfect but tried to plan on following the rules... which for the most part we did.. I think. 

We started on Memorial Day.. cookouts, pool, beach.. no thanks we will lock ourselves in our house and stare at our 2 1/2 year old waiting on any indication that she needs to go potty... while also avoiding accidents etc. Doesn't that sound fun? So Kris and I did just that. It was miserable in every way possible. At one point, I texted a few of my really good friends and told them I'd rather go through child birth than potty train-- at least you have the option to be drugged. The thing is.. she did really great. She had like 2 accidents the first day. She stayed dry through her nap and she started realizing she needed to potty -- she caught on and was doing pretty good. (Even though she asked for "diapees" a few times) The second day she did well too... and the third. The only problem we are facing is the "poop issue." (yes, I said poop.. its a blog about a 2 year old-- it's unavoidable). The first day she did it all by herself and told us when she was done. Since then its been a struggle! But, at least she isn't going in her panties because I'm not so sure I could handle much of that! I've determined that the most miserable part is being under house arrest (I actually left for about 1 hour on Day 2 and Day 3-- Thanks Daddy-o for helping me maintain my sanity!!). I don't like the feeling of being trapped. I also don't like that the convenience of diapers is gone.. but I'll be glad to not have to change them.. and even happier to not have to buy them!!! 

 

Today (Day 4) -- we are going to venture out. Here's to hoping the success continues!

This is me...

Yes, I will admit.. I'm a horrible housewife! I'm pretty sarcastic... about 100% of the time and I'm a darn good shopper!

The Kepleys Will TRAVEL!

So all along we have had this motto that we will travel. I think my parents cursed me with the travel bug long ago.. it's very contagious and Kris has been viciously infected as well. We just got back from California (San Diego to LA) and here are a few pictures to give you an idea of how great this trip was..!!!

Where does time go?

It's really just crazy. I sit down for two minutes and think "I should blog" and then does it ever happen.. clearly not.. don't even answer or rub it in. I used to have quite the following.. okay.. another lie. But, I'm going to try to fill the family and friends that do care in on occasion. (you've heard it before.. I know I know but my aspirations have been lowered-- notice I said "on occassion"

See this is the thing.. when Grace Anne was a baby I:
1. got tons of unsolicited advice that I ranted about..
2. I loved each cue and smile so much I wanted to tell the world.. my blog world (as it turns out 50%-75% of the time no one really cared.. or maybe they did but she was a baby baby then)
3. Prior to age 1 she was basically imobile. yes, she could crawl.. but no walking, running, climbing, jumping, marching, etc.
The new dynamic... now I just hear other moms brag, complain, judge, and do other things to create drama (which Kris so lovingly calls "Mama Drama"). There are still those who offer advice.. and I'm sure I'm guilty of it at times too.. but I'm a veteran mama now.. she's almost 2 1/2! haha As far as telling the world her every move-- well that is much harder to do when she's talking, walking, running, jumping, laughing, eating, smiling, whining, singing, dancing simultaneously! Which do I pick to tell about.. gosh knows I don't have the time to explain every last thing she does! And, finally.. that brings me to the third reason (or excuse).. mobility creates dictates our lives--she is always on the go. Okay, so there ya go.. did my excuses make any impact?

**One disclaimer, I'm not writing these details in any attempt to brag or nominate myself for Mom of the Year**

Grace Anne is full of energy! She's eager to learn and very active. AND, has a mind of her own!! She's Miss Independent I must say, I've loved every stage but we have a really fun stage. In the beginning of last August more and more "T" stuff appeared in our house. She quickly inquired "What's that?" and we told her "T"... as she started to ask "What's that?" more and more. She knew all upper case letters (by recognition) prior to her 2nd birthday. I thought that was normal.. maybe not? Since this accomplishment she's become a sponge... Obviously she is our first.. our one and only.. and this is all new to us.

When it comes to playing.. she loves puzzles. We have several wood/peg/cut out puzzles and she dumps the pieces out and puts them back in-- reciting the colors and letters. She's so proud of herself when she gets them right or puts it back together... (fingers crossed this continues.. ).
She also spends a lot of time playing in her kitchen... handing Kris and I every last play kitchen item she owns. It's funny watching her pick up one item, bringing it to one of us and saying "here Mommy..." or "here Daddy..." before running back to get the one item for the other person. It's always one item at a time.. so this is a long process. She adores hats and dressing up! She wears those loud Cinderella plastic shoes on a daily basis. Loves getting clothes and shoes in the mail (thank goodness because I LOVE buying them and I have to buy everything online -- Corpus shopping stinks) She also loves her babies, but she's mentioned Barbies a few times lately- she only has one! (kinda weird to hear Barbie talk because I don't encourage Barbies-- I was a baby doll girl) But, that being said-- she loves Minnie Mouse, swinging, trains, cars, Beauty and the Beast, balls,her "bike", jumping on the trampoline and building with blocks too!
She also loves to read books. At night we now line up along the couch. Brewski gets the chair... then it's Kris, Grace Anne, and I. Grace Anne distributes books to each of us. I always read mine aloud so she can possibly get something out of it. She pretends to read her's but usually becomes consumed in mine. Kris usually pretends to read his silently because if he isn't looking at the books she's sure to redirect his attention to the pages between his fingers. She means business!

She loves painting, crafts, and has started to like cooking. The cooking thing is funny but a challenge. I don't like people in my kitchen when I cook so her presence often leads to chaoticness! But, we usually survive with no burnt meals or body parts! (She insists on wearing an apron and says "Help you, I help you")

Finally, the proudest moment I've faced as a mother... Target. Grace Anne loves Target. We were in the Target shopping center the other day but I had no intentions of going to Target... but she kept saying Target. I drove by Target and she went nuts. I asked her "Do you want to go Target?" and she said "YEAH! Tarrrrrget" so of course.. how could I say no to that?! Last night I wanted to go to Target and when I asked "Grace Anne do you want to go to Target?" she quickly abandoned her toys and said "Mommy.. Target!! Let's go!" I hope she's always my little shopper!!

Look Whooooo's TWO!

Wow the day has come.. no more multi-syllable responses to the famous "How old is she?"
Now, she's just two. It's as simple as that! Okay it's really not, she's really terrible two. Not always terrible but we have some terrible moments. This whole throwing thing... it can go! Oh and the few instances where she's laid down on the floor and thrown a fit.. yeah not a fan.

Okay enough about the terrible twos because she isn't really terrible. She is a blast! I love this little girl to pieces and she definitely keeps us laughing! Her vocabulary is growing as fast as she is and she amazes us with the things she says! "Cookie" "cupcake" "turtle" "OH NO! It's a mess" (yes it is always a mess, a mess she's made) "Stop, dog." "What's that?" "It's a ____." "That's right." "Helllo?" etc. But, beyond her verbal ramblings I'm truly amazed by her ability to recognize letters. It all began with the letter T. As Vols fans we have several Tennessee Power T's lurking around the house. Her first letter was T and it was mostly because she saw it so much we told her what it was and she began pointing it out. She'd see a T in a sign or on a building and scream "T" and she's even see the Texas Rangers T etc. Then one day she spotted a capital T in a book title and asked "What's that?" to the letter beside it and the trend began. She has letters in the tub and she ask what they were and we'd tell her and she'd repeat. She now knows and recognized several letters accurately-- A, B, C, D, E, G, I, K, O, P, T, W, Y, Z. She will get the other letters sporadically though. She usually defaults to 'Dub Ew' (W) if she doesn't recognize it immediatly. I think she likes saying it. Oh well, so yes, we have a baby genius on our hands-- what can I say. (kidding)

The party-- this section is for all the family and friends that are 1800 miles plus away here is the scoop.
Theme: Look Whooo's 2, owl theme (ya know she has so much owl stuff)
Venue: The Kepley's Nest (ya know owl.. nest... get it) It was at our house incase that didn't make sense to you
Entertainment: BOUNCE house and backyard fun... yes backyard... it's South Texas... it was warm!
Food: HOOT dogs (ya know... Hot Dogs but owl theme... HOOT), chips, veggies, grapes, chips, and cupcakes
Gift/Favor: Treat bag (owl finger puppet, owl bubbles, owl crayon roll. and a "2" rice krispy treat. Grace Anne LOVES rice krispy treats!!!

Last but not least--- the stats 33.5 inches tall, 26.5 lbs

It's SPOOKtacular!

Halloween will always be a favorite. I love this holiday so stinkin' much.
We had a great time with a wonderful Halloween Party (which became a Game 7 or the World Series party too!). We had 17 kids, lots of adults, lots of yummy food, hot apple cider, and a brisk night for South TX! The Kepleys dressed up like the Flintstones!
For Trick or Treating, Grace Anne was the energizer bunny... the most fitting costume-- hands down. It was cute and a major hit! She loved Trick or Treating! She was a little confused by the people sitting outside (in garages, on the sofa in the driveway (which is a S. TX thing I'm convinced), etc). She was determined that ringing the doorbell and screaming "Trick Treat" was the only way to do it.

Hello World, we are back in BLOG-land.

So, let's face it.. I'm a terrible blogger, but I'm also terrible at that little thing known as a baby book. So there is a major gap in Grace Anne's growth documentation... in terms of "first word" and that sorta stuff. I will say, she has grown and developed fine. She's now got a mouth full of teeth, head full of hair (well compared to the amount of hair I had at her age, its not like its a TON) and enough spunk and personality to keep us busy-- we are convinced she is the Energizer Bunny.
So a quick "catch-up"---
*This little girl still doesn't sleep a whole lot. She does take a nice afternoon nap and sleeps from about 9pm to 6 or 7am... most of the time. But there is no 8pm bedtime at our house.. that'd never work. Strangely enough I remember my Mom talking about someone else requiring little sleep... and Kris says I've not changed
*She is strong willed and full of personality. She seems pretty social and content around any crowd, although she seems to love men. (scary),She is a smart cookie. She learned the letter T some time ago (see unable to tell you when with my lack of documentation) and so after T she seemed to show interest in letters, so i rolled with it and she now knows A, B, C, G (Sometimes), O, and T. She only knows them in capital form-- but she can find them anywhere.. in magazines, books, on licenses plates, road signs, shopping carts (and yes i know what you are thinking... she does know the Target sign)
*She talks a lot. We might not always understand her, but she babbles nonstop! She has been using complete sentences like "It's a dog." The other night she was looking at a picture of Kris and I. She pointed to Kris (in the photo) and said "It's a Dada." then she pointed to me and said "It's a Mama." We laughed-- she hasn't learned possessive pronouns. She then saw a picture of her and she said "It's a YOU." -- so as it turns out she hasn't learned pronouns at all! I tried to encourage her to say "It's ME." instead but that's a hard concept when I'm constantly telling her "That's you."
*The questions have begun. We constantly said "What's that?" or "Who's that?" and even "Where's ____?" when she started talking. Well now she will say "What's that? It's a dog." or test me "What's that?" and wait to get an answer like we used to do to her. Today she asked me "Where's Dada?" and later she pointed to the TV and asked Kris "Where's a Ba-Ba?" (Ba-Ba being Barney)
*She's fast! She can run, jump, walk, crawl, spin, and twirl! She is on the move and really quick! She loves to play chase with Kris and I. (Which is fun at home, not fun in public!) She also loves JUMPING! 9 out of 10 times she's say "UMP" before each jump. So she sounds so cute because it's like "UMP, UMP, UMP"
*She loves books! Loves them! I wanted her to love them and she does. We read for 30-45 minutes every night and I often read to her several times through the day, but she flips through books and reads to herself ALL the time!
*Animal sounds. There are hilarious. What's a cow say? "BOOOOOOOOOO" (sounds more like Boo than Moo and it's by far the loudest animal) The second loudest animal is the lion... it says ROAAAARRR (and let me tell you I never realized how many lions lined the entrances of Chinese restaurants through out the town. She spots them from the car and roars!). The neigh of a horse is still one of my favorites. A dog doesn't bark or say WOOF WOOF, it sounds more like "ooFFFF OOOfffff" and a pig sounds more like "Ka-Ka" (she stresses the K sounds but not the first part). Lastly, we are humored by her cat sound... she says "oEW".
I'm sure I've left out so much, but... oh well. My new blog style is going to be less detailed than the past and will probably also include rants about the findings and daily life in South Texas. After all.. it's a land of its own!