Summer is Sizzling

and the Heat has set in!

(Yesterday Daddy cheered on England against his homeland in the World Cup while his little
girl napped on his shoulder! We want to live in England so that was our salute to England I guess!)

So, as kids we grow up thinking-- "I can't wait for summer! I love summer." The truth is.. I never exactly looked forward to summer-- yeah I looked forward to the break from school and the vacations and of course I loved my Mom being off work and home with me.. but summer wasn't exciting for the heat. I'm beginning to believe more and more that I hate heat. I honestly am not really bothered by the heat until I am at a lack of air conditioning! Not that I enjoy the heat ever, but when its hot in the house I begin to HATE the heat! Well that day has come.. the A/C isn't up to par. But, the reassuring new is... the A/C guy is coming tomorrow to give us relief and hopefully tell us that its a simply, easy, very inexpensive fix!
Tonight we went out to eat (in order to avoid adding heat to the house) and then got Brusters. I let Grace Anne try the peach yogurt... i know.. she is too young.. she is too little and blah blah blah. Nonetheless, she tried it.. did she like it? I'm not sure. We video'd her!

Also, notice the use of the umbrella stroller below. Daddy was very sad that Grace Anne was big enough for the umbrella stroller! Although, I would feel better if she had a bar on the front of the stroller... BUT, When she starts walking Daddy will have a melt down!
Can you believe she is already 7 months old?!

Scooter-- Check
Crawler-- getting there...

She loves this ball. It is an O-ball Rattle. It was a worthwhile purchase!

Boy, time sure flies
when you are havin' fun!
(In this picture she is eating an orange in the little munckin food thing. It was very messy)

So, wow.. its been nearly two weeks since I posted. I can't pass any blame, but I will say... GRACE ANNE has been a bit of an attention hog!

Even as I begin blogging, one eye is fixed on her movement across our den floor. She isn't exactly crawling... she is moving though. She tries to crawl then she rolls and then she scoots and then she is going backwards... and then she tries to get up on her hands and knees... see as you can tell by just reading this--- its exhausting because you don't know the next move. A moment ago she was under the rocking chair with her mouth around the rocker bar. Yea.. she requires a lot of attention.

If we think back all the way to Memorial Day, we have nothing to report. Grace Anne had a virus and Daddy felt yuck--which we are assuming her had what she had. So Mommy had to play Dr. Mom while trying to avoid getting the bug. Luckily, they got better and I managed to successfully avoid their germs!! But, we didn't do ANYthing remotely holiday-ish. Mommy cleaned out closets while the two of them loafed and whined. (Grace Anne did MOST of the whining)

This past weekend we had a Garage Sale. Last year I swore I'd never ever have a Garage Sale again. They are a pain and they are way too much work! Well, I did it anyways. It was as big of a pain as I'd remembered! But, it was successful. I actually ended up only doing it Friday because I sold the majority of my junk and was over it! Plus, I slid on some oil Friday--my knee was killing me, and I could hardly move Friday night! Luckily I delayed going to the ER and felt some better Saturday. Having a Garage Sale on a muggy, hot June day with an infant is just not conducive! Luckily Daddy hauled all the remaining trash/junk/merchandise to the Salvation Army drop box and we are now a little more cleaned out. Don't get me wrong though, moving from my house would still be an absolute nightmare!

Last night, Daddy had a softball game and an idiot in the out field managed to catch the ball Daddy hit. We really think its more like the ball managed to find his glove because this guy probably hadn't caught a ball all season. Nonetheless, the hit would have won the game... instead it was an out and the other team won by one point. Daddy was bummed, but we had fun watching the close -- exciting game. His team hasn't had a lot of close exciting games... they have gotten much better but they are one game away from the end of the season with only 1 W beside their name!

After the game we went to grab dinner. Grace Anne sat in a high chair in the restaurant. This was the very first time she has used a high chair at a restaurant. (And she drank water from Mommy's straw!)

Sweet Dreams.. Sweet Pea

So, good thing I'm not one of those people that require advance bookings for visitors

(we used to have a family member that made you feel as though you weren't welcome without advanced notice) ! Yesterday Kris told me his grandpa and wife were in Pigeon Forge... He told me this around 11:30 and within an hour they were visiting! Its awesome they could just show up to see Grace Anne! (Glad they didn't come to see me! I had just gotten out of the shower and my hair was still in a towel !) I love Pa Gene and Sandra! They are both a lot of fun to talk to and have actually surprised us with a visit twice since Grace Anne was born!


The latest money expenditure ( came in the form of Breathable Bumpers. I've walked into the nursery on several occasion to witness a foot between the bars. Of course the bumpers have been removed from the bed as they are "unsafe" once the baby can roll over due to suffocation risks. But walking into the baby's room to see a foot dangling out of the crib is is a scary sight! When I walked in there yesterday morning and the foot was a whole leg I had to find a solution. Her whole leg was between the bars and that was more than scary-- it was terrifying. "What if's" filled my mind!! The only solution I could come to was to purchase the Breathable Bumpers and hope for the best. They aren't exactly cute and I don't exactly like what they look like, but if they keep the little one safe, well that's the ultimate goal.
I know what some of you are thinking... "When I had kids they didn't have that stuff AND they turned out fine.." and those were the sentiments of my neighbor Bob... "If all this baby stuff is so dangerous, then why aren't we all dead?" I must admit, Bob has a point! (For any of those who have not met Bob, you are missing out. He is in his 60's, nuclear engineer in Oak Ridge, and truly a good hearted man. When you ask "hey Bob, how are ya?" he will most certainly reply.."better than I deserve") But as previously mentioned, we are keeping our baby safe and new research and technology has lead to the need for more stuff I suppose!!

I'm posting a few pictures that I've failed to include in previous posts...


The pictures above are at Daddy's softball game Monday.We had a picnic dinner before the game and then watched Daddy's team get blown out by the "Waterdogs." It was a very warm day and Grace Anne was rockin' the Zutano hat!

Last week we went to see the fourth graders that I student taught. We watched their musical and then attended the Rock Star party-- Grace Anne got to dance with my crazy, fun mentor teacher!

Toys are becoming so much more fun at 6 months! I couldn't help but include this picture!

And, for Daddy's sake... I'll note that 100 days from today begins FOOTBALL time in TENNESSEE.

Where has the week gone?

The weekend was super productive! We were supposed to go to the beach with Granddaddy and Grandy... but we just couldn't make the trip as Kris had to work Friday and it is atleast 6 hours from here... We couldn't put Grace Anne in the carseat for 6 hours on Friday night to only really have one day at the beach before having to head home Sunday morning. Really, Mommy and Daddy couldn't handle the short rushed trip either... So since our weekends have been so busy, it gave us a chance to get some stuff done at home. Don't get me wrong, the weeds are still taking over and there are still plenty of closets to be organized! But, that being said, it was productive. On Saturday I reorganized the dining room- cleaning the china cabinets, buffet, and liquor cabinet out. On Sunday, I cleaned out the shed building behind our house! I have cleaned it out once, but it needed a second go. Since it is May, it was much easier to trash the Christmas decorations and non-sense stuff that I've been hanging on to. I mean Christmas decorations seem to be much more sentimental at Christmas time. But, Sunday (when it was 90 degrees and the sun was beating on the building and sweat was beading on my forehead...) I could have cared less! After several huge black trash bags and a decent collection of Garage Sale material, I was quite proud of my accomplishments! I'm quickly realizing that Grace Anne is getting her own collection of paraphernalia and I continually ask myself... "do we need this?" Or when it comes to her out growing clothing or even toys or gear-- I wonder... "Should I save this?" I mean... Will we have another baby? Will it be a girl? Will this stuff be dry rotted by the time we decide or she arrives? AH! the questions! haha

Furthermore, if we end up moving anytime in the near future... it will be a blast! We have so much stuff. I had enough stuff for a two bedroom apartment BEFORE inheriting a whole house full of stuff. Whew!
I can't believe its Tuesday.. I didn't post since last week... what?! Anyways, we picked up the 6 month pictures today and I must say... they are so sweet! I love this baby.. I love my family.. and i really wouldn't trade the life I'm living for the life I once plan and thought would be "ideal." Clearly a lot of things aren't ideal... but, not to get mushy, I must admit I am very thankful to have Kris and Grace Anne (and Brewski) to make my life fulfilling! Now check out the pictures!
Click: Grace Anne's 6 month album

Beep Beep in the Jeep...

Grace Anne loves Brewski... she loves him about as much as he hates her grabbing him! Actually, he is a really good sport! She also loves the camera, phone, or basically anything with a light... hence her infatuation with grabbing it to put in her mouth!

Doctor's Report:
She's perfect!
(and of course... we agree!)

Where to begin? How about with the fact that the "Jeep" was a bad purchase? Okay, I don't truly feel like it was a bad purchase, but according to my latest handout (from the pediatrician's office) on how to raise my child... walkers are a bad idea and shouldn't be purchased! The handout claims that they are not only a danger, they may also slow the child's development. I don't think that I've hit on my "walker" research, but I went back in forth with the whole walker idea.. and I ran across the study that claimed baby walkers could in fact slow the child's development as it would give children the opportunity to rely on support to walk and it would slow their ability to walk independently. Now, this may be the case... or it may not be.. BUT, ultimately the joy Grace Anne has gotten from the Jeep in the last week will make up for any developmental lack. And, honestly I don't buy into this nonsense. Yes, if a baby is left in the walker all the time then he or she isn't going to have the upper body strength or ability to hold him/herself up. Futuremore, the claim that walkers can be fatal may be true, but no child should be left unattended so is the walker the only thing to blame? NO! hello people. (Ps. The doctor didn't think the walker was a problem at all-- and by the way, we love the new pediatrician!)
Okay, off the soapbox! Grace Anne is growing like a weed! She is up to 14 and half pounds which puts her in like the 22nd percentile... but her length is up to 25 1/8 inches making her jump to the 53rd percentile. Our little runt is long and lean! For her sake, I hope that continues!
She did have shots so today has been rough.. she has slept a lot but when she is awake she is cranky! (A cranky camel is what we call her because of the Zoo book we have..just an FYI)

We are up-ing the fruits and veggie intake to twice a day! She isn't supposed to eat ANYthing during the night and it is time to work on getting Grace Anne to sleep consistently, in her crib... through the night! Whoa! Lots to do.

Finally, Daddy didn't get the job he really wanted in Nashville. Due to the fact that he is still searching for a job and that we have started paying student loans and all that nonsense.. looks like no beach trip with the Kepley side of the family this weekend. Daddy can't get off work and really we can't afford for him to miss work. We will miss the fun times and hope to get Grace Anne to the beach this summer... fingers crossed another opportunity comes along very soon! We are all bummed out about the current situation.

Oh and apparently there was a recall on infant tylenol so tell your mom friends! http://www.tylenol.com/page2.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subp_tylenol_recall_1.inc