McNabb Family Blog

This year we were in Atlanta for Christmas. We left the night of the 23rd and drove to the cabin. We spent Christmas at the cabin. It was very nice. The previous owners had left tons of bear-themed Christmas decorations, so it was a very “Beary” Merry Christmas. On Christmas Eve we did our traditional Christmas stocking shopping at the Blairsville Walmart. We ate lunch at Subway and then went to see the movie The Princess and the Frog. I was surprised at how well Ensley did in the movie. She watched the entire time. After the movie we came home and ate some dinner.

Ensley and Rachel decorated cupcakes to make her cupcake stand look like a Christmas tree. After everyone watch Ensley decorate the cupcakes they actually sat untouched for the remainder of the week. It says a lot about Ensley’s “cooking.”

Two girls, Marina and Ksinia, from the single’s ward were up for Christmas Eve and Christmas. It was so nice to spend time with them and they were the perfect addition to our Christmas celebration.

The night of Christmas Eve we all unwrapped our yearly Christmas Eve gift of pajamas. We acted out the Nativity story with some puppets. We even pulled out the keyboard and sang and few Christmas songs. It was wonderful. Simple for Ensley, yet still brought the spirit of Christmas into our home.

After we put the kids to bed we started to pull out all of the gifts. I don’t know if it was because the room was small or Grandparents need to go to “spoiling grandkids anonymous, ” but the room was packed with gifts. We ate some carrots and cookies and headed to bed. I’ve never actually been in charge of getting rid of the Christmas cookies–this was a first for me. By the time Will finally decided to go to sleep I was wide awake and excited and it took me a good bit to finally fall asleep.

Christmas morning we woke Ensley up and told her Santa had come. She was excited; we all were excited just to watch her open the gifts. Although she got a lot of nice things (and likes them all) I think her two favorite gifts are the pretend birthday cake and the toaster. Will would have been just as happy with a pile of wrapping paper–typical.

My dad once again used the grandkids as an excuse to make sawdust and purchase more woodworking tools. Ensley got a doll bed complete with a matching blanket that looks like her bed. Will got a pull puppy that Ensley is currently claiming. Both are fine peices of work. Thank you Dad!

Stephen is serving his mission in Spain and we got to talk to him for an hour or so. It was great to hear his voice and talk to him. He’s doing well and very positive. It was one of my favorite Christmas gifts.

Christmas night, some more friends joined us at the cabin and we built a fire outside for some marshmallows and s’mores. Will was so tired he fell asleep while I was holding him (not typical). Why is it that sitting on a cold bench with smoke blowing in your face while eating a concoction of sugar and gelatin is so satisfying and brings people together? I don’t know. But I love it.

On the 26th we hung around the cabin and relaxed. We had to come home that day, but we were able to just enjoy the calmness of the cabin for one more day. Ensley spent most of her time chasing my parent’s poor cat. Ensley loves Swiper. I’m still not quite sure why Swiper hasn’t fought back yet, but I am grateful she hasn’t.

The remainder of our Christmas was in Atlanta. We had a get together with old friends, shopped, and hung out. We even made it to the carousal and Red Robin. My parents totally know how to spoil me–they always treat me to Red Robin when were together. It’s true the way to my heart is with a little freckled lemonade, bottomless fries and a California chicken burger. Yummy!

Posted on February 3rd, 2010 by Lisa
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From Thanksgiving to the New Year is my favorite time of year. I love the whole holiday season and this year I was even more excited than ever because Ensley finally (kind of) understood what was going on and got excited.

We had an advent calendar that we put a little activity in each day. It’s a calendar that Evan’s grandma gave us for Christmas last year. Each box is a magnet that goes to the nativity scene. It was fun to see Ensley anticipate opening the box each day. Some of the little things we did were paint toenails, read stories in her tent, make cookies, decorate an ornament, watch a Christmas movie, visit Santa. It was nice to have something fun planned for each day. I have to admit, some days got crazy and we had to improvise on our activity, but Ensley still really enjoyed it.

The night we went to go buy our Christmas tree Ensley kept saying she wanted a “square tree.” I don’t really know where she got that idea from, but that is what she wanted. We started out at a Christmas tree lot, but either the trees were much more expensive then we remembered or we were feeling rather cheap, because we decided to toss the idea of the real Christmas tree and ended up in Walmart’s Christmas section. $35.00 later we had ourselves the ugliest Christmas tree of our marriage. It looked so much better at the store.

Well, Ensley got her wish, a square Christmas tree. She was very excited about the tree. We just had to laugh because little did we know when we were laughing at her earlier that we actually would bring home a square Christmas tree.

Ensley had a good time decorating the tree. Unfortunately, she only really loved one small branch on the tree so the ornaments were not so evenly dispersed. We thought about moving them to try and improve the look of our already very sad tree, but then we thought it gave our tree the character it needed.

Will just sat around and tried to chew on the decorations, so eventually he was booted to the chair. Luckily, he’s so easy going he didn’t seem to mind that he had been moved from the action.

Ensley’s dance class had its winter recital. My parents came up for the recital. Ensley danced to “Frosty the Snowman.” Not that I am partial, but she was cute. When she first got on stage she yelled out over the entire crowd, “I’m going to dance now, okay.” As if to say, “Alright, all eyes on me now.”

Our church had a Christmas party and Santa made an appearance. I really wanted a wonderful Santa picture, but the kids didn’t really seem to care. It was late and they were both partied out. Oh well, I guess, it just preserves the memory.

Ensley gave her grandparents and great grandparents a ornament with her fingerprints that she “made.” Here we are working on our little Christmas project.

Posted on January 31st, 2010 by Lisa
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This fall we signed Ensley up for the dance class offered through our community center. It was perfect. I got an hour a week to go to the store and run errands with just one kid and Ens got to dance. She loved going to dance every week. She loved putting on her dance clothes and shoes. If I was watching Dancing with the Stars was on she’d want to change into her dance clothes too.

Ensley’s little class had two (very simple) concerts. The first one was at a retirement home and the second was for a Christmas Concert/Food drive at the community center. My parents were in town for the Christmas concert. When Ensley went up on stage she yelled out over the entire audience, “I’m going to dance now, okay.” As if to say, “Um. focus on me. I am here on the stage..” What a funny little girl.

Here is a little movie of the dance they did at the retirement home.

Posted on December 7th, 2009 by Lisa
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If I would have known that it was going to rain (and be freezing cold) for 10 straight days in Champaign at the beginning of October I would have come at a different time, but none the less we had a WONDERFUL time visiting Evan’s parents. We decided that we’d stay almost 2 weeks so that we would have enough time to get to do all the things we wanted as well as have some relaxing time.

I braved-it-up and flew with the kids by myself. It actually went well. I noticed a number of people smiling at us. Not the “nice to meet you smile”, but the “I am glad I’m not you” smile. But hey, I plan on giving those looks 20 years from now too. Evan flew up a few days later. He worked the following week from home (okay, his parent’s home) and then we flew back the following Saturday.

It’s funny to think that Nancy and I thought that we’d do some relaxing. We should have known better. I brought some nativity puppets that I wanted to make for Christmas gifts. I would have never had been able to get them done on my own, so I am so thankful for her help. They took way more time than we thought they would, but we were both pleased with how they turned out. We had a good time making them and even learned some valuable lessons like sewing machines really can’t sew threw hot glue and it hurts when you sew threw your finger.

By far, Ensley’s favorite thing we did in Illinois was go to Curtis Orchard. It’s a local orchard which now has grown to include a little petting zoo, horse rides, slides, hay ride and apple doughnuts. Evan used to go there growing up. Ensley was thrilled to get to ride a pony. She was so happy. She smiled for hours. For days she talked about going on the pony.

We also went on a hay ride through the orchard. I learned many interesting apple facts from the driver.

Grandpa and Will enjoying Curtis Orchard

We also drove up to Chicago one Saturday to see Great Grandma McNabb. Will discovered jell-o. He could not get enough of it. When the bowl was empty he was so upset. Great Grandma McNabb hadn’t met Will yet, so it was nice to get to introduce them. Will and Ensley still have 4 great grandparents. I think that’s pretty neat. I didn’t even have one.

Evan’s other Grandparents (Nancy’s parents) came over for dinner a few times. One night Great Grandpa was teaching Ensley how to write an “E.” She’s got the whole concept of drawing one vertical line down with attaching horizontal lines, but the stopping after 3 lines hasn’t quite sunk in yet.

Paul, Evan’s dad, loves trains. I think it might be genetic because we found that Will had rolled over to the train set that Ensley had been playing with. He seemed so please with himself. I’m guessing one day Will and Grandpa will be spending lots of time admiring Grandpa’s train set.

One of Nancy’s good friends has a daughter named Ella. Ella came over a few times while we were visiting. Ensley loved Ella. This is an example. Enlsey has a favorite baby doll. Ensley has never named her baby. When we’d ask her the baby’s name she’d always say “It’s my baby.” When we were in Illinois she told us her baby’s name was Ella. From that point on her baby has been named Ella.

When we got home Ensley was so exhausted she fell asleep on the floor playing with her toys. This is very unusual for Ens. She hardly ever falls asleep except for when we put her in bed. She had partied hard. We had a great time.

Posted on December 3rd, 2009 by Lisa
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Sometimes Ensley gets a little confused as to what is paper and what is skin. This is what happened after I gave her a birthday card to color for my brother and walked away for a few minutes. We now use markers under more direct adult supervision.

Ensley is completely ambulance obsessed. If she hears an ambulance or sees a firetruck, we’ll have to talk about it for the remaining duration of the ride (no matter how far we have left to go). She wants to know where it’s going, who got hurt, who needs to go to the doctor. She’ll always say, “Yisten Mom, Yisten. Do you hear da am-bue-ence? Oh no, someone got hurt. Someone cwash deir car. Oh no, he need to go to da hospital. Oh no.” This whole conversation pretty much goes in circles until somehow we are lucky enough to change the conversation or we arrive at our destination. It turns out that Sonic kids meals are giving away emergency response vehicles. Yeah, lucky us, one time Ens forgot her firetruck at my friends house. I had to call my friend and ask her to look around her house to find it. Seriously, who ever thought it was a good idea to put a treat in kids meals anyway?

Ensley wanted to go outside and play with “the boys.” I was trying to get ready for work. I told her to go upstairs and put her shoes on. She was much quicker than I thought she was going to be and she came into my room ready before I was finished. She started to close my bedroom door saying, “See ya Mom, me go outside with da boys.” After I told her to stay inside until I could go outside too, she said “No be pretty, be uggee (ugly) Mom. No put on make-ups. Be uggee. Let’s go outside.” Really Ens? Is it really that scary of a site until I get dressed every morning?

Ensley has moved to her new room. Evan and I noticed she’s been turning her laundry basket on it’s side and putting it in front of the door. Finally I asked her why she was doing that every night. She said, “Tuxie (our dog) no come into my room.” Her little brain is so funny. She honestly thinks a two pound laundry basket is going to keep people out of her room.

Ensley is always telling us what to say. “Mommy say, tank you Ens” “Mommy say, you welcome En-see” “Mom, say, good job En-see. Me so proud of you.” It totally cracks me up when she’ll ask for something and then say somthing like, “Say yes Ens-see you can have free (three) cookies.”

We were at the airport. Ensley saw a balloon that had floated up into the ceiling rafters. She came up with this elaborate plan of how she was going to throw her baby doll in the air and the baby would catch the balloon and bring it down. After throwing the baby in the air a few times she decided that the baby just couldn’t jump high enough and that Evan and I would need to start jumping.

Recently if I don’t get to Will as soon as he wakes up and starts to cry, Ensley will climb into his crib and try to “make baby Will happy.” I do think it’s cute that she seems so concerned, but the fact that she “helps” him by surrounding him with blankets and stuffed animals and wacking him on the back is a little worrisome. The other day when I found them both in the crib–Will screaming bloody murder and Ensley singing to him as loud as she could–I said to Ensley, “thanks for trying to help.” as I took her out of the crib. She turned and looked at me and said, “It’s no problem, Mommy.”

Ensley loves playing in the rain. I love this picture.

When you ask Ensley how much she loves Grandma and Grandpa she stretches her arms straight out. When you ask her how much she loves Mommy and Daddy she brings them in a little closer together. When you ask her how much she loves baby Will she spreads her fingers about an inch apart. I guess I should think positive–a little is better than not at all.

The other day Ens had a cold. She came up and put her head on my shoulder and said, “Mommy, make me feel better.”

Before I had given up completely on Ensley ever being potty trained, we bought a bribery umbrella. We set it by the toilet and told her when she went potty she could have it. One day a friend of mine was over and she asked Ensley when she was going to go potty in the toilet. Ensley thought for a minute and then said, “Um, someday.” FYI, The umbrella now sits new and un-used in the top of my closet.

We were at the grocery store and there was a Hispanic man with long hair and a beard on the same aisle as us. Ensley said really loudly, “Yook Mom, dares Jesus!” I tried to tell her quietly that it wasn’t Jesus–which didn’t work because she just yelled louder trying to convince me that I was wrong.

Evan’s dad sent this shoe horn so he would have it when he visits. Usually Ensley thinks it’s a sword, but on this particular day (after Grandpa had just left) she had to have it to put on her shoes.

Multiple times a day we hear the statement, “i yike pink.” She want to wear her pink shoes because “I yike pink.” She wants to eat breakfast with the pink plate because “I yike pink.” She needs strawberry Nestle milk (which Evan swears should be called pepto-bismal milk) in her pink sippy cup because “I yike pink.” She needs to draw with the pink crayon because, well, you get it. At our house, we like pink!

We were at Walmart and Ensley kept telling me she wanted to go to some place that sounded like “The Cheese store.” I had no clue what she was talking about, but I told her that this store had cheese and we were at the cheese store. She was still not pleased with my answer. Finally, she started telling me she needed to go to “the cheety store” because “my doggy need a kitty to play with.” Oh, the kitty store, not the cheese store. Good try, but using the excuse of a new kitty to befriend Tuxie is still not going to get you a new pet.

Justification, Ensley style: “I need it cause I want it.”

Ensley: (calmly) Mom, come see, deres a spider in my p-way house
Mom: (not calm) Um, let’s wait until Dad comes home from work. That spider is too big for Mommy’s to kill.

Ensley loves the show Max and Ruby (Evan and I find it pretty annoying, I guess we don’t think like 2 year olds). Ruby is the older sister and is very bossy. Sometimes I notice Ruby’s mannerisms coming out in Ensley. One day she was wanting Evan to make a paper airplane. She turns to us and says, “Grandmas just love airplanes.” If you’ve ever seen Max and Ruby I swear that line is in the show somewhere.

Evan has a neti-pot that he keeps in his bathroom drawer (we call it the snotty-potty around our house). One day I was showering while the kids were playing in the bathroom. When I got out of the shower she was hosting a tea party with the snotty potty. She was pretending that Will was Max (from Max and Ruby) and kept telling him no and yelling at him for “not playing nice.”

The rule is if you get out of bed the baby goes into time out. It usually keeps Ensley in bed because she can’t stand the thought of going to sleep with out her baby. This particular night we found Ensley reading her book with a flashlight. When I walked in she got kind of sheepish and put the flashlight down. She totally knew she was being sneaky. Really, am I already being out-smarted by my children?

Ensley, my mom, my sister and I were driving home. We started to talk about playing hide and seek. Ensley started to tell my mom how to play. I interupted the conversation and she yelled at me, “Mom, I am teaching Grandma!”

Ensley wants to be a big girl until it means something that she doesn’t want to do then she says, “I’m just a little big.”

After ice cream. Who says it’s inappropriate to lick the bowl? She probably learned it from her father.

One Sunday Ensley’s nursery teacher told us that Ensley had had a hard time sharing that day. The following week we talked about being nice and sharing the toys with our friends. After church I asked Ensley if she had been nice. She said she was nice. She said she had played with animals. A few minutes later she said (in a sort of confessional tone),
Ensley: ” I was a yittle mean today.”
Evan: “Why were you mean?
Ensley: “No, I was a yittle mean.”
Evan: “Why were you a little mean.”
Ensley: “I just wanted the lions.”

One morning I was singing some Christmas songs. Ensley said, “Mom stop singing. Your hurting everybody’s ears.” She said the same thing a few hours later when I forgot and started singing again.

We were eating some goldfish and I said the goldfish were delicious. Ensley said, No, it’s not delicious, it’s absolutely tanfastic!”

Posted on December 2nd, 2009 by Lisa
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Last Saturday Ensley caught two caterpillars. She played with them all day. She took them on her bike. She walked them around the yard. She loved those things to what I thought was almost certain death. We put them in Evan’s old bug box (anyone surprised that he’s kept it all these years?). Every morning Ensley would go outside and get new leaves for them. They were trucking along pretty good eating her little offerings and still managing to survive her constant care. A week later I noticed they had become much less active. I told Ensley that I thought one of her “piller-pillers” had died. Well, that was not the thing to do. She must have mentioned 10 times that day that she was sad because her piller-piller died and she “miss him yots.” She’d say, “I sad. I sad cause my piller-piller died and I miss him. I sad he died. I so sad.”

Finally on Sunday I thought it was time I get these dead creatures off my kitchen counter so I sent Evan and Ensley outside to have a funeral service for the little insects. Well, look who comes in all excited because we have a little caterpillar cocoon. So now we are not-so-patiently waiting for the little butterfly to arrive. We leave for Illinois a week from tomorrow so I hope he comes before we leave or she’ll be one sad camper to miss the arrival of “da beautiful butterfly.”

Posted on September 28th, 2009 by Lisa
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I can’t believe Will is already three and a half months old. The time is flying by. He’s becoming a much happier baby now that he can play and reach for things. He loves to lay on his play mat and reach for the hanging toys and look at himself in the mirror. The bouncy chair is also a nice feature to have. It seems to follow us around the house. I just have to watch out for Ensley–she’s always trying to “bounce” the chair. One day she’s going to bounce him right onto the floor.

He loves to be with people and will cry if he notices he’s alone in a room. He’s always flashing big happy smiles. He’s starting to “talk.” I love having little baby babbling conversations with him. He’s still not a huge fan of the car seat and pretty much screams from the time we get in the car to the time we get out, but at least when you get him out of the car he usually is quick to smile. I’m slightly unnerved and grumpy, but he’s happy.

Despite my best efforts Will is determined to be a thumb sucker. I’ve been trying to take his thumb out of his mouth and replace it with his pacifier, but it’s not working so well. I always find him with his pacifier spit out and his thumb in his mouth. If only he could find his thumb when we were in the car.

I cried when at three and a half months I noticed Ensley’s first tooth coming in. This time I was expecting it. When I looked in Will’s mouth last week and saw those two little baby teeth making their way, I just smiled and made sure I had some infant tylenol and oragel. At least this time I recognized the symptoms. There are a few advantages of being the second child.

By this point in Ensley’s life she had already had MRSA, strep, was wearing a boot for her club feet and had already had two allergic reactions to antibiotics. Luckily, knock on wood, Will hasn’t been sick at all. Not even a runny nose or an ear infection. Yeah!

I think Will is getting his sleeping habits from his mom. No matter what we do Will’s prime hour seems to be from 11 pm to 12:30 am. He always thinks it’s time to play and laugh. Will and I spend many nights talking on the couch playing waiting for him to get tired enough for us both to go to bed. What can I say? It’s my best hour too.

When we went for his two month check-up he weighed 11 lbs 13 oz—up from 6 lbs 3 oz. He went from the 6th percentile to the 48th percentile. When I told my doctor he was always hungry, she said she understood why and called him a Haas! He still is hungry all of the time. Sometimes I think this child needs a new hobby. He’s already wearing his 6 month clothes. It’s such a change from Ensley who could finally wear 3 month clothes when she was 6 months!

My friend Addie had a little boy, Aiden, a month before Will. We’re already planning on a tight friendship. I just don’t think they’re quite ready to start a little friendly wrestling match. Aiden would win for sure.

Posted on September 10th, 2009 by Lisa
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