Georgia Aquarium

A few weeks ago while Tyler was working in Atlanta, I decided to take the kids to the aquarium and invited my mom to go. She suggested I ask my brothers to go. One of those brothers asked if he could bring a date. I said yes, thinking we could use all the adults we could get since we were taking three kids three years old and younger. The trip to the aquarium was my first outing with all three kids and I was terrified. What if I lost someone?
That being said, there is absolutely no way my mom and I would have survived that trip on our own and here's why. I forgot to pack the stroller and the aquarium does not provide rental strollers. I also couldn't find Parker's monkey leash which is kind of necessary when going to a place like the largest aquarium in the U.S. Plus Parker has the energy of threes toddlers rolled into one and he tends to be a little strong willed.

The moment we walked through the door Parker took off yelling "PISH" (fish for you non toddler speakers).  Mom had Jesse, one of the uncles had Annley so I took off after Parker. He stopped suddenly and stared in awe at the fish behind the floor to ceiling glass. He took of running again but this time it was just the length of the glass and back. He picked out a fish and followed it back and forth for a little while before we moved on to something else.

We only made it through a third of the aquarium because both kids were up at 4:30 and hadn't napped. We left as soon as the meltdowns began. Regardless, we had a great time. The uncles were the heroes of the day seeing as they carried Annley and Parker most of the time we were gone.

Annley loved the jellyfish and the sea otters. She also got to touch a starfish and an anemone and was excited about it. That was a huge deal! I've never been able to convince her to willingly touch anything that wasn't cute and cuddly.

Mice on Main

I have done a HORRIBLE job of writing about what's been going on. A few weeks before Jesse was born Lori and I took the kids on a "field trip" to Greenville.
Downtown Greenville has done an amazing thing. The city took the book "Mice on Main" and actually put bronzed mice down Main Street.

I checked out the book and read it several times with Annley before we went to look for them ourselves. They were pretty tricky to find even with the clues Lori printed out to help us.
The weather was perfect! I think this was one of the last outings we went on before Jesse was born.

Jesse Grayson

                                                                Click here to see more pictures.

Tyler and I had Parker at Labors of Love Birth Center. We had such a good experience we decided go all natural again and have Jesse at the same place.

This time around my midwife asked me not to wait so long to head to the birth center when I started labor, since this would be my third delivery.  She told us to plan on heading to the birth center when contractions were five minutes apart, just to be on the safe side.

Well my due date came and went. Tyler and my mom were both calling or texting two or three times a day to check up on me, despite my insistence that I would let them know as soon as anything happened.

On October 4, Annley got up at 2AM and asked me to take her potty and to get her some water.  I had just walked her into the bathroom when I felt a contraction that made me double over.  I thought hmm...that really hurt. I'm pretty sure they started out easier last time. I guess I'll wait and see I have anymore. 

I had another painful contraction before I got Annley into bed so I woke up Tyler to give him a heads up.

Contractions were about seven minutes apart and lasting about 45 seconds so he said he'd go back to sleep for a couple of hours.  I walked and tried to "rest" for the next two hours.  When I woke Tyler up at four in the morning, my contractions were all over the place but very painful and still only 30-45 seconds.  Tyler went ahead and called my mom and the midwife to let them know what was going on.  The midwife told him that we could head to the birth center, but that I probably wasn't even ready since my contractions were so short.  Tyler passed the word on to me, and I wondered if we should just wait a little longer.  He, being a good, coach insisted we leave right away.

The birth center was over an hour from where we live and by the time we'd gotten close I felt like my contractions were still really strong but getting shorter.  I was worried we'd driven all that way only to be in false labor.  Once we got there I told the midwives what I thought was going on. They checked me and said "Well, you're at 6cm. Would you like to get in the tub?"  

It still didn't seem real.  I was so excited and still talking between contractions which were getting closer together.  We were only there for 24 minutes before I felt like it was time to push. I was given the go ahead and 6 minutes later Jesse Grayson was born. Total time of Labor and delivery 4 hours and 30 minutes. I'm really glad Tyler insisted we leave when we did otherwise he would have had to deliver a baby in the car.

Tyler's mom came and brought the kids to see us at the birth center.  Annley was so excited to see her new baby brother. Parker was pretty interested too, until he got distracted by a train set in the waiting room, and went to go play. We were back home by 10:30 the same morning.

Who?

 

Annley has imaginary friends.  Sometimes they're princesses.  Well, usually they're princesses.  Lately, though, Annley has been talking about some imaginary girl named Cara.

The funny thing about Cara is that she's not like most imaginary friends.  Usually imaginary friends show up to play.  Cara is someone who has yet to arrive.

Annley loves church--I promise this relates to Cara.  When Annley talks about church, she talks about God.  She wants to see God.  She talks about that all the time.

"I need to go to the woods to say a prayer and see Heavenly Father!"

Ok.

But lately when she talks about God, she talks about Cara.

"Cara is with Heavenly Father.  She's going to come down to be my friend!"

Ok.

"Cara is going to come down from Heaven to be with me.  She has blonde hair and blue eyes!"

Hmmm...

"Cara is going to come to be my friend after Jesse Grayson is born!"

Uh...

One day Nana asked Annley to help her draw a picture of Cara.  Annley described Cara and Nana colored.  Pink dress.  Blonde hair.  Blue eyes.  Finally, Nana asked Annley if the picture was done.  It was.  Nana asked Annley if she should write Cara's name on it.  She should.  She asked Annley how Cara was spelled.

"K...E...R...A..."

Kera?

So far, Annley has only ever been able to read small words like pot and cat.  But spelling words?  And spelling a name she's never seen before?  Where did she learn to do that?

And, more importantly...who is Kera?!

Annley Says...

One night, after dessert, Annley sat down on the couch next to Tyler and sighed.
"It's been a good day. I had cake."

Here's a conversation between Annley and Nana about watching a movie. She usually only gets one movie a day.  (Annley, not Nana).

Annley: "I want to ask my Mommy if I can watch."
Nana: "You already watched."
Annley: "I watch to watch Diamond Princesses."
Nana: "But you already watched."
Annley: "I watched The Ocean."
Nana: "Yes, you did."
Annley: "I think my Mommy will say no."
Nana: "Yes, I think so too."
Annley: "But in the end she will say "yes".

I wish I'd known about this conversation before she asked me if she could watch a movie.  Because I would have said no.


Last week I got my hair cut. My hair is now about 10 inches shorter than it was. When I got home, Annley started sobbing.

"Mommy, why did you have to cut your hair?!  Can I brush it?!"

Then, on Sunday...
"Mommy, I like your hair now."
"Thank you!"
"But Abbie will laugh when she sees it."

Ouch!

And then, on Monday...
"Mommy, who cut your hair?"
"Maggie."
"Why did she cut your hair?"
"Because I asked her to."
"You shouldn't have asked her to do that. Your hair just needs to stay long. Don't ask Maggie to do that again."

Thank You- From Annley

Annley's thank you to the family Tyler has been living with.

Annley's thank you to Tyler's boss at Comcast.

Faith and Forest Prayers

 Annley is learning and growing so much. She is also now has her own interpretation of things, pictures and phrases. This  has caused a little confusion and drama in our family the last two weeks.

Sunday, we went to church, came home, enjoyed the day, went to bed and voila Monday was here.
Monday, morning Annley wakes up and looks out the window.
"Mommy, I see a forest! I need to go in it and pray so Heavenly Father can see me."

My first thought oh, they learned about Joseph Smith and the First Vision on Sunday. Nope, I talked to the nursery leader. They learned that Heavenly Father has a physical body just like them. She did however show a picture of The First Vision to show that Heavenly Father does indeed have a body like them. She put the rest together on her own.

"Oh, um ok but we can't right now because Parker is sleeping. Did you know we can say a prayer right here in the house and Heavenly Father can still hear us and see us."
"But I want to see him. Will he come see me in the house?"
"I'm not sure. Heavenly Father doesn't make appearances for very many prayers."
Drama ensues... "But he will come see me pray in the forest!"

Next day, we go to my friends house.
"Guess what Mrs. Autumn? When we get in Phoebe (our van) and leave here we are going to see Heavenly Father."
"What? I never said that. Honey we can't just get in the car and just drive to see Heavenly Father." "He lives too far away."
"In Seattle?"
"Um No. We can't exactly get to where he is right now."
"When?"

Great, now I have to explain life and death to my 3 year old.
"Annley, do you remember Tuff? He got really old and died so Heavenly Father took Tuff to live with him. Heavenly Father gets to choose when we see him for now that is usually after we die."
Silence... followed my my sigh of relief. I should have known better. Apparently she was just analyzing what I said.

Wednesday, the next day.
"Grandpa, Tuff got really old and he died so now he lives with Heavenly Father."
"Yep, that's right."
"And you are going to get really old and then you'll die and go see Heavenly Father."
"Yep, that's true too."
"And then I'll get really old and die...then I can go see Heavenly Father."
"Yes, but that won't happen for a very very long time."
Short silence followed by loud sigh, pouting and tears...
"I don't want to get old! I don't want to die."

It was a long few days.  She is still asking to go pray in the forest so I'll be taking her to do that sometime this week. She's not upset about dying or at least she isn't talking about it but she is still talking about Heavenly Father seeing her pray and wanting to see him.

I really don't know what else to say at this point other than Heavenly Father decides who gets to see him while we live on Earth.

Annley in Nature

One of my goals this summer is to expose Annley to lots of nature and by nature I mean bugs and living things. Some of my favorite summer memories are of catching lighting bugs, frogs, turtles, going fishing etc...

Annley's first encounter was with a toad her cousin caught while we were on a walk.  Annley loved looking at the toad but she refused to get close to it or touch it. I guess maybe it was too ugly for her highness to touch; I'm not sure. She still asks to go for walks and look for frogs so I guess she likes them to some extent if nothing else she thinks they are funny when they jump.

The second "outing" was to catch lighting bugs. I bought her a bug box that she could put them with the condition that she touch one of the lighting bugs. She readily agreed. We waited with great excitement for it to get dark enough for the lighting bugs to come out and off we went. Annley loved the chase and opened and closed the box as her cousins and I caught the bugs.  Did she touch a lighting bug? Um no.

                                         
The third outing was a fishing trip. Annley has been begging to go fishing since we got back to my parents' house last week. Last night we finally got to go. It was a family affair. Even my mom and Parker went. Luckily there are some wonderful people in our ward who have a playground not too far from the pond on their property. This is where Parker and my brother's girlfriend spent most of their time.
Annley told me that she was going to catch three fish,  put them in a white box, then I could clean them and cook them but not the big one.
Well, I caught a couple of little fish and guess what? She touched one and I have proof.

It's a...

This morning my mom, Tyler's mom and I drove to Greenville Technical College for an ultrasound to find out what this baby is.

Greenville Tech offers free ultrasound for the women who are between 19-33 weeks pregnant and its free.
The ultrasound took 2 hours partially because the student does the ultrasound first and the instructor comes in afterwards to go over everything the student did and because the baby kept flipping around every time the student tried to get a picture of anything.

It was a lot of fun getting to watch the baby move around so much.

So, what gender is the baby?

It's a BOY!

Our Memorial Day

We left Pembroke, NC Monday morning and headed for the beach.  We just couldn't resist since it was only an hour away.  It was a last minute decision and one I am so glad we made.

Annley, being the cautious little person she is took a while to go very far into the water.

Parker, being the spontaneous and adventurous little guy he is, ran straight into the water. The bigger the waves the better.

They both LOVED it! So did I.  It was such a fun day. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was sunny and breezy but not hot and the water was just right.

I think I'll try to take them to the beach one or two more times this summer.

A Day Early

Sunday, we had a big family cookout. We celebrated Memorial Day a day early since so many family members had to leave early to go home.

It was one of the most relaxing trips to Pembroke I've had in awhile.

Annley had tons of cousins to play with. She loved every minute it of it and cried when it was time to go.
She even tried teaching her cousins "I Am a Child of God" and "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree".

Parker was a pretty good sport and wander around making friends and laughing at people.

After we ate my cousins set up the picthing machine in the batting cages and everyone took turns batting.  I decided not to get in the cage at 6 months pregnant regardless of how much I wanted to.
Most of the familly ended up outside in the 90 degree heat to watch and just visit with one another.

Great Grandma's 90th Birthday

The month of May has been unbelievably busy for the kids and I.  The average time spent between one trip to the next has been about three days. Needless to say the kids and I are exhausted and would really like some time off before we hit the road again.  We have one more trip this week and then we have almost 3 weeks before we're on the road again.

This Last weekend we were in Pembroke, NC for my Great Grandma's 90th birthday. It was a huge event and family flew or drove in from all over the country.

I can't remember the last time I saw so many family members at one event. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any pictures because my kids were both clingy and wound up the entire party.  Oh and Parker managed to bust his bottom lip wide open on the asphalt during my Grandma's speech honoring my Great Grandma.

To be 90 years old Myrtle, my grandma, gets around very well. 

We went to visit her at her house the day we left town.  Annley,pretty much cried the whole time because she just wanted to go to the beach or play with her cousins.  Parker, was all over the place investigating.  This picture was the only one we could get with both kids and my Great Grandma.

Caleb and Julia's Wedding

Last weekend my brother, Caleb and his now wife, Julia, were married.

It was the longest week of Annley and Parker's lives. We flew into Phoenix on Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning were spent driving to Salt Lake with my grandparents. Friday was the wedding day. We were going non-stop from 5:30am-10:30pm. Annley and Parker both crashed for about an hour during lunch.

                                    

 Annley and Parker had more fun at the reception dancing the night away with people they barely knew.

We were fortunate enough to get to spend and hour with Tyler's grandparents. Unfortunately, my camera was in somebody else's purse. I was so disappointed I didn't get pictures of the kids with their great-grandparents. The kids loved getting to play with them.

                               
                                                               Leaving the Utah.



We had a great time and were so lucky to be able to make it out there for Caleb's wedding.  It was well worth the all the traveling.

Bubble Gum Pink

This morning Annley found my very brightest hot pink nail polish which is reserved for the summer months.
"Ohh, Mommy! This is pretty can I wear it on my toes."
"Um, no.  That color is way too bright for little girls to wear."
"It's not too bright.  It's just way cool. Will you paint my toes after I eat my lunch?"
"No."
"My toes just need to be painted."
"That's fine. We'll paint them little girl pink after you eat your lunch. The End."

Little Feet Making Big Strides

 

I love watching my kids learn and grow but sometimes there are things they learn and milestones they hit that make me stop and think, "Man I wish they would stay little."

This week Annley has decided she wants to do everything by herself. Mostly they are the things I've been hoping and encouraging her to do like; dressing herself, taking herself to the bathroom, putting on her shoes, getting in and out of strollers etc.

Yesterday and today she has wanted help with none of those things and while I'm proud of her and excited I'm also a little sad that she is growing up.

Annley is my cautious child. She is 3 and only has only recently been willing to jump off anything to someone else. This week she jumped from one track mat to another which were both just below my waist.
.
She is also learning to write. I really ought to give her more credit than I have. She can write more letters than I knew she could. Today she wrote the words Annley and house. I told her how to spell them and she wrote them. I was so proud of her and she was so excited to have written on her own. She can't wait to mail them to her daddy.

Parker is also becoming more independent in his own way and more curious though I wouldn't have thought it possible. He's decided after his nap he prefers to play alone. This is strange to me since Annley has only recently started playing alone and even then she wants you in line of sight.

Parker is a junk food junkie and can sniff out chocolate, peanut butter and crackers regardless of where they are hidden. Just this afternoon I noticed an odd silence in the house so I went to look for him. I found him sitting in the floor with a half empty bag of Reese's Pieces Easter candy.

He has learned how to not only lift the toilet lid to play in the water but he can also flush the toilet. We now keep the bathroom door closed. He likes investigating places that should be left to fairies, gnomes and other small mythical creatures.

Lately his favorite thing in the world is to irritate Annley. He loves the reaction my little Prima Donna gives him every time he comes at her.

Easter 2011

Happy Easter from the Kneisly's!!!

Ready, set, go!

I honestly have no idea what they are looking at.

Open House

This weekend My mom and I took the kids and drove two hours north to Atlanta for the Atlanta Temple Open House. We made a spur of the moment decision to go,got dressed, packed snacks, jumped in the car and took off.

I was so worried that my kids would be disruptive and noisy during the tour of the Temple but it was also something I really wanted to do.

Annley was so excited to be going to Temple and getting to go inside.

She started singing the Primary song "I Love to See the Temple" as soon as we drove onto the temple grounds.

First, we watched a video that talked about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints in Georgia, the Atlanta Temple and how we would feel inside the Temple. I was able to get Parker to sleep during this movie and fervently hoped that he would sleep during the tour.

Next, we were given slippers to put over our shoes to keep the Temple carpets clean. Annley thought the slippers were great. Once we had the Slippers we were led inside and began the tour.

The Temple was beautiful and peaceful. Parker did sleep the entire tour and woke up the minute we exited the building. Annley managed to talk at a whisper most of the time and was in awe of the chandeliers and paintings.

Annley's favorite part of inside of the Temple was the Bride's Room which was roped off.

"Mommy, what's that room?"

"Well, it's a room where ladies go on their wedding day to put on their wedding dresses to get married."

We continued on the tour as soon as the room was out of sight Annley I could see distress setting in on Annley's face.

"Mommy, where's my wedding dress? I have to wear my wedding dress in the room."

Annley learned a lot from going to the Temple. She can tell you that...

~Angel Moroni is on top of the Temple.

~There are twelve oxen under the baptismal font.

~The Temple is Jesus house.

~Brides have their own room where they get to wear wedding dresses.

She may not remember all of the tour but if she remembers any of it I'm betting it will be the Bride's Room and I am fine with that.

I really wish Tyler could have been there with us. I really missed him especially when we were all in the Sealing Room. All I could think of was how grateful I am to know that Tyler and I are sealed together and our children are sealed to us for eternity.

Going to the Open House was a wonderful experience for me. The Spirit was so strong and I felt more peace than I have felt in awhile.

A Little Progress

I've been working really hard trying to get Parker to start talking. A task that has been like trying to get oil from a water spout.

He can say words and phrases but they are mixed in with his other language which Annley has recently begun speaking as well.

After weeks and weeks of practicing I decided to get back the basics; animal names and sounds. This is what we've accomoplished.

You Want me to Eat What?

Thank you to the friends who suggested pudding painting. It was a smashing sucess. Annley loved making the pudding and mixing in the colors. It took a little prodding but after awhle she finally ate the "paint".

The best part is that I wasn't the least bit concerned about the mess.