Christmas 2009

There were plenty of presents in the Morris household this Christmas. Henry got a train set, a pirate ship, a robot dinosaur, and lots of other toys. Bryant got a new wallet and some much needed underwear. Elise got an electric skillet and a subscription to the New York Times. But the best present of all was that Vivian came home from the hospital on Christmas morning. She was discharged around 10am and arrived in time for Christmas dinner. Aunt Pauline had flown in on Wednesday, just as we were nearing the breaking point (see Winter Wonderland/Snowstorm from Hell), and made sure we were well feed and freshly laundered for the holiday.

On Christmas morning, Henry seemed momentarily stunned by all the new toys, but it didn’t take long for him to begin wreaking havoc. Bryant spent several hours carefully laying out and assembling Henry’s train set only to find that his son enjoyed ripping up track and scattering buildings more than playing with the engines. At one point, Henry set his robot dinosaur striding across the train table in a scene reminiscent of a Godzilla movie. At another point, Bryant looked over and noticed that Minnie Mouse was being held hostage by the toy pirates until Harold the Helicopter flew to her rescue and safely delivered her to the earthquake ravaged Island of Sodor.

Despite the surrounding chaos, Vivian was happy to nurse and sleep for most of the day. It had been a tough week for our little lady: high fever, a terrible diaper rash and lots of poking and prodding by the doctors, but through it all, she maintained her calm demeanor.

Symbolic of this year’s holiday, our Christmas tree had started to droop and wilt in the week before Christmas. So, the day after Christmas, with Aunt Pauline’s help, we packed up the ornaments and threw out the tree…ready for a happier and healthier 2010!

Winter Wonderland/Snowstorm from Hell

On the weekend before Christmas, the Washington area received a record (for December) 18-20 inches of snow. Ordinarily, we would be excited about the opportunity to stay home and play in the snow. But with a new baby in the house and Henry sick with a virus, this year’s snowfall was not entirely welcome. As it turns out, the blizzard of 2009 was almost our undoing.

The snow started on Friday night. Bryant and Henry had tickets to Sesame Street Live for Saturday morning but swapped them for Friday night’s performance when it became apparent that Saturday would be a bust. Henry had no idea what to expect from the show, but as soon as the lights went down and the music started, he sat up in his chair and watched Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the rest of the gang with great intensity. The show was perfectly suited to the 2-3 year old crowd and, afterward, it was magical to walk out of the arena as the first snowflakes were falling.

By Saturday morning, there was already a good foot of snow on the ground with the promise of more to come throughout the day. We mostly stayed indoors during the storm, but Bryant and Henry did venture out in the afternoon to experiment with the snow. Henry wasn’t too keen on wearing his winter gear and couldn’t understand why it hurt when we took off his mittens and stuck his hands in the snow. He had been home sick for the past week, so everyone was feeling a little anxious to get outside, regardless of the weather.

Despite our best efforts to keep Vivian healthy (Henry was doused in Purell at regular intervals and forbidden from touching her face), she awoke on Sunday morning with a fever. The pediatrician told us to take her to the hospital (which is pretty much standard procedure at such a young age). Unfortunately, our cars were buried in snow and the roads in our neighborhood were completely impassable. It soon became apparent that we were in for a very trying time.

Bryant walked up to the main thoroughfare (King Street) to see if it had been cleared. He found a neighbor who had shoveled her driveway, and she graciously agreed to drive Elise and Vivian to the hospital. So we quickly packed an overnight bag for Elise, trekked with both kids through the snow, and got Vivian on her way to the hospital. Bryant and Henry stayed behind and tried to make the most of another (long) day trapped indoors.

The snow was still a little overwhelming for Henry, but he enjoyed playing outside in short intervals. After shoveling off the walkways and experimenting with building a snowman, we borrowed a sled from a neighbor and took an excursion around the block. Everyone was snowed-in, and some folks were even using skis to get around. We were really worried about how Henry would cope with being separated (yet again) from his mom, but he held up pretty well.

At the hospital, the doctors subjected Vivian to the usual battery of tests. It seemed likely that she had caught Henry’s virus, but at that age, they test for everything. In the ER, they drew blood and (after four failed attempts) spinal fluid for testing. Meanwhile, Elise had developed mastitis (infection of the breast) and was suffering from her own aches and fever. But because she wasn’t admitted as a patient, no one could prescribe an antibiotic for her. It was truly an absurd situation: trapped at the hospital and unable to get any medicine! All the while, she was tending to Vivian, who was still running a fever but otherwise doing OK.

By Monday afternoon, Bryant had managed to dig out the car and was able to visit Elise at the hospital. Because of the swine flu outbreak, children were not allowed on the hospital ward, so Henry visited with his mom in the lobby while Bryant was upstairs with Vivian. Elise had managed to get some antibiotics and was feeling much better. It was a tough week for everyone, but things started to improve by Wednesday when Aunt Pauline rode to our rescue. She flew in from Detroit for the holiday and quickly put the house in order and took care of our mounting piles of laundry.

By week’s end, Vivian still had a fever but seemed to be improving. We were all hoping she would make it home for Christmas, but were mostly glad to see light at the end of the tunnel. Without a doubt, this had been the hardest week yet for the Morris family.

Thanksgiving 2009/Vivian's Homecoming

It was a busy Thanksgiving in the Morris household. Vivian was born on November 24th, two days before Thanksgiving. Bryant’s mom was already in town to help with the new arrival. On Wednesday, Bryant’s dad and his brother Kevin and his family also arrived for the holiday. All total, after Vivian came home, we had 10 people staying under one roof! It was great to have everyone together for Thanksgiving, and the company proved helpful as we readjusted to life with a newborn. We felt especially grateful to have Micah and Rylan around to keep Henry company while mom and dad were at the hospital. With his cousins there to distract him, Henry hardly noticed that he was no longer the center of attention.

Elise and Vivian were discharged on Thanksgiving Day and made it home in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Henry was glad to see his mommy again (after being away for two days) and seemed curious but not horrified by Vivian’s sudden appearance. Mostly he wanted to get back to playing with his cousins.

Kevin and Templa and the girls enjoyed their time in Washington. They explored the sites in Old Town Alexandria, visited the National Mall and went to the ICE! Experience at the National Harbor. Kevin and Templa even managed to step out one evening for dinner and drinks in Old Town.

As you can see from the photos below, Henry had a blast with his cousins. He talked about “Micah and Ra-Ra” for days after they left. Two moments stood out from the weekend: one was watching Henry, Micah and Rylan throw a huge Sesame Street dance party in the living room (at which Bryant appeared to be the only adult supervision) and the other was watching the three of them bouncing on the girls’ air mattress while reciting “Five Little Monkeys.” It made us realize how much Henry is going to enjoy having a little sister.

With the success of Thanksgiving, we are already making plans for a combined Morris family vacation to Disney World later this year.

Vivian Anne Marie Morris - First Pictures

Our newest family member--Vivian Anne Marie Morris--arrived at 10:10 pm on November 24th, weighing 6 lbs, 11 oz. It was another quick but intense delivery for Elise: we arrived at the hospital at 5:00 pm for a scheduled induction. By 10:00 pm, and before an epidural could be administered, the baby was well on her way. Like the other women in Elise’s family, Vivian has two middle names: Anne (for Bryant’s mother Joanne) and Marie (for Elise’s mother). Our first reaction was that she looks like neither of us but Henry when he was born. At the moment, she has striking blue-gray eyes, which we really hope will NOT change to brown. Below are the very first pictures of our little lady.

Monster in the Basement

When we rented our home in Alexandria, it came with a bonus feature: the owners had a large 50-gallon aquarium in the basement. There was an enormous fish living inside, and by enormous, we mean a good 10-12 inches in length. The owners said he was a pacu, which we had never heard of before. Thinking Henry might enjoy having an aquarium, we asked them to leave the tank. The plan was to find a good home for the pacu (i.e., a pet store) and get some nice guppies and tetras for the tank. However, in the months that passed since we moved in, Henry grew attached to the monster fish in the basement, and now he seems to be a permanent feature of our home. It seems a large fish, even one as ugly as the pacu, can be pretty interesting to a two-year-old: because he’s so big, Henry can more easily follow his movements.

Once we realized that the pacu was here to stay, we started doing some research on him (or is it a her?). It turns out the pacu is a South American fish and a cousin of the piranha. Here’s what we learned from Wikipedia:

Pacu (Portuguese pronunciation: [pa’ku]) is a common name used to refer to several species of South American freshwater fish that are related to the piranha, which are also kept as pets in aquaria. They are popularly thought of as herbivorous. Their teeth, which may look similar to human teeth, are used to cut through vegetation and crush seeds that fall into the water. Pacu and piranha have similar teeth, although the difference is jaw alignments; piranha have pointed, razor-sharp teeth in a pronounced underbite, whereas pacu have squarer, straighter teeth in a less severe underbite, or a slight overbite. Additionally, full-grown pacu are much larger than piranha, reaching up to 30 kg (60 pounds) in weight, in the wild.

Apparently pacu also are quite tasty. In doing our research, we learned that they are known for their sweet, mild flavor. Apparently they are now being raised on commercial fish farms as a good “food fish” (because they grow so large, eat almost anything and are easy to maintain). In particular, we noted several recipes for grilled pacu fish ribs.

For now, we have no plans to grill up our friend in the basement. Oddly, we haven’t thought of a name for him. He is simply known as “the fish” or (for Henry) “fishie.” Since the cat’s name is Vici, perhaps we should call him Caesar. Below is a picture of a large black pacu like ours:

New Wheels!

When we moved to the suburbs, we knew we’d need a second set of wheels. We could get by with one car in the city, with a Metro stop and most amenities within walking distance (and, in any event, we only had one parking space at our condo). But now that we were running around Northern Virginia for our Target and grocery shopping, we needed another car. A few years back, we saw a segment of the Today show on the best family cars. One of the cars they spotlighted was the Kia Rondo, and we’ve had it in mind as a possible candidate ever since. With all the other happenings this fall (see A Busy Fall), we didn’t have much time to visit car lots and haggle with salesmen. So we did our research online, made a few targeted visits to dealerships, and ended up purchasing a 2009 denim Rondo (pictured above). We liked the Rondo because it was relatively compact but still allowed for an optional third row of seats (for when family or friends visit). Plus, the Rondo has received excellent safety ratings and is considered one of the best bargains out there. It’s certainly not the sportiest or most luxurious car on the market, but considering the uses to which we (and our two kids) intend to put it, it should do just fine. Bryant especially likes the built-in satellite radio, which means he can listen to 80s music whenever he wants (or at least when Elise is not driving).

Henry's New Room (and a New Nursery)

As we mentioned, Mimi Pauline gave Henry a boat-shaped toddler bed for his birthday. Taking that as our cue, we decorated Henry’s room in a nautical theme. Our goal was to make the room as fun as possible, in the hopes that Henry would spend more time there (like during the night). Pauline donated some of Uncle Spike’s old sailing gear: model sail boats, nautical prints, an old ship’s wheel, port and starboard lights and a brass bell. We placed these throughout the room along with a treasure map rug and a signal flag banner that spells Henry’s name.

So far, Henry seems to enjoy his new surroundings. He’s been taking long afternoon naps, and although he still wakes up in the middle of the night wanting to come to our bed, he usually goes to sleep without too much fuss. Below are some pictures of the room, along with a sneak peek of the new nursery for the soon-to-arrive Baby Morris #2.

Halloween 2009

Despite an unusually rainy October, we enjoyed celebrating Halloween in our new neighborhood. To get into the spirit of the season, we returned to Butler’s Orchard for their annual Pumpkin Festival in mid-October. Mimi Pauline happened to be visiting that weekend and joined us for the usual activities of pumpkin picking, hayrides, lawn games, and the giant tube slide (which Bryant and Henry braved once).

On the morning of Halloween, we invited our friends the McCuaigs and the Huangs (and their respective families) over for brunch. Elise made bat-shaped pancakes for the kids and the adults had pumpkin bread, bagels and coffee. Henry seemed to enjoy having some other children in the house and even happily shared his toys. The children were especially excited to feed the fish in the basement, about which more later.

In the evening, we gathered with some other families in the neighborhood for a potluck dinner and communal trick-or-treating. This year, Henry went dressed as a pirate. We couldn’t quite convince him to wear the hat, but he happily tolerated the rest of the costume. Once he figured out the routine, Henry enthusiastically knocked on doors and asked for treats (although he was a little thrown by the neighbors who gave out quarters). Some of the houses had elaborate Halloween decorations, which he pointed out as “scary.” Judging from the scenes around the neighborhood, Spider-Man and High School Musical were the most popular costumes this year. Something tells me we may be looking at a superhero costume in our future.

Despite some light rain, we all had a great time. It was nice to celebrate the evening in a neighborhood with lots of kids (and enthusiastic neighbors). Bryant was especially impressed that one house had a special “witches brew” for adults only. It certainly made the evening go a little more smoothly.

A Busy Fall

After a busy summer moving house, vacationing in California and attending three weddings (not to mention planning Henry’s birthday party), we were hoping for a quiet fall, but September and October have been a blur. Elise was on call (twice!) and traveled to Boston in early October to attend the AAFP conference. In between, we all came down with a stomach bug that struck Bryant, then Henry, and finally Elise in successive waves. On top of everything else, we’ve been preparing for the imminent arrival of Baby Morris #2. She’s due to arrive sometime in late November/early December. Phase I of our preparations involved getting Henry out of the nursery and installed in his own room (see Henry’s New Room). Phase II involved replacing the safari-themed décor in the nursery with lady bugs and dragonflies. Phase III was the purchase of a new family car: a Kia Rondo with an optional third row (see New Wheels!).

Elise has been holding up well in the last few months of pregnancy. She was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in October and has been on medication and controlling her diet since then. Bryant and Henry have assisted by eating all the cupcakes and cookies that came our way this fall. The most burdensome part of the diagnosis has been the twice-weekly visits to the doctor for monitoring and testing. Fortunately, everything looks fine with the baby, and the diabetes should subside once Elise gives birth. We’ve all but decided on a name, which will remain a secret until the birth, but just to give you a hint: all the women in Elise’s family have two middle names, and Baby Morris #2 will follow in that tradition.

Henry moved to the Two’s classroom this fall and has blossomed in his new surroundings. We have long since lost track of all his new words and phrases. In the frustrating days of infancy, we used to say: “If only he could tell us what he wants!” Well, now he does – quite emphatically. He lets us know what music he wants to listen to in the car, what he wants to watch on TV and what he wants to eat for dinner. He doesn’t always get his way, but neither do we. Henry has been especially interested in music these last several months. It began with Barney songs, then moved to The Sound of Music (which he got hooked on after some friends from daycare gave us a DVD of movie clips), paused briefly on “The Bare Necessities” from Disney’s The Jungle Book, and is now focusing on Sesame Street tunes and a little ditty called “Down by the Bay.” As the price for eating dinner and/or taking a bath, Henry often insists that one or both of us serenade him with his favorite songs. He joins in too, but despite his love for music, appears to have inherited his parents’ utter lack of vocal talent.

Fall also brought the usual seasonal activities of pumpkin picking and trick-or-treating, which you can read more about in Halloween 2009. As you can see, it’s been a whirlwind. We’re expecting (hoping) life to slow down once Baby #2 arrives, but perhaps that’s wishful thinking on our part. We’ll soon see.

Things Henry Likes: Barney, Thomas & Elmo

Our last posting made us think of all the new characters Henry has embraced. He took a liking to Barney early on, and the purple dinosaur has only grown more popular with each new book, DVD or CD we purchase. Henry’s favorite DVD is The Best of Barney, and we can now sing most of the Barney songs by heart. In fact, Henry has been known to ride his trike around the neighborhood singing “I Love You” at the top of his tiny lungs. A close second in popularity is Thomas the Train. Henry discovered Thomas only recently, but he has quickly skyrocketed in popularity. Henry received a Thomas cake and several Thomas books and toys for his birthday. And his Thomas pajamas are definitely his favorite, so much so that he once insisted on wearing the top all day. Other popular characters include Elmo, Cookie Monster, Mickey Mouse and Nemo. Mom and dad are partial to Thomas, if only because the episodes are only 10 minutes long and involve no singing. There is only so many times you can hear Barney sing “Clean Up,” “Apples and Bananas,” or “Looby Loo” before you start to go a little crazy. And according to this report on the BBC, the Barney theme song has been used by American interrogators to break the will of Iraqi insurgents. The insurgents never had a chance.

Henry's 2nd Birthday

This year Henry had not one, but three birthday parties. On the Friday before his birthday (August 23rd), he celebrated with his friends at daycare by eating cupcakes during afternoon snack. Then, on Sunday, he enjoyed a Thomas the Train birthday cake and an afternoon swim at Brad and Tonia Powell’s home, where we spent the afternoon visiting with college friends. Finally, on September 29th, Henry had a joint birthday party with several of his friends from daycare at Hayes Park in Arlington, Virginia. The park has a sprayground (a water spray park for children), a large sand pit, lots of playground equipment, and Henry’s personal favorite: swings. The theme for the party was “A Day at the Beach” (because of the water and sand), and we were fortunate to have some cool (if overcast) weather. The turnout was terrific, and everyone seemed to have a great time playing in the park and eating birthday cake.

Celebrating with Henry were his friends Nicholas Cho and the twins Teddy and Dorothy Huang. Henry’s parents were glad to share the burden of planning and preparing for the party with four other parents. We were responsible for the favors and decorations. For favors, each child received a plastic sand bucket filled with bubbles, playdough, sunglasses, stickers and other small toys. And, yes, we did assemble each of those forty party favor buckets by hand!

Henry received lots of great gifts for his birthday. Mimi Pauline gave him a toddler bed shaped like a boat, which Henry absolutely loved (when his father finally managed to finish assembling it). Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill gave him an inflatable pool for the backyard. It was so hot in August, we let Henry open this gift early and start enjoying the cool water right away. Mom and dad gave him a puppet theater and some puppets. Unfortunately, the pirate puppet that we selected was a little scary looking, so Henry has gone off the puppets for a while. But hopefully the theater will pay dividends soon.

Click below for more photos from the party:

Settling In

It’s been a busy summer (three weddings, vacation and a birthday party), but we’re finally settling into our new place. With the newest Morris due to arrive in late November/early December, we’re working hard to get Henry established in his new room and transitioning the nursery from a safari theme to lady bugs, dragonflies and faeries. Henry received a boat bed for his birthday (see Henry’s 2nd Birthday), so we’re going with a nautical theme for his room.

Among the biggest hurdles has been unpacking and reorganizing our large collection of books. Between the two of them, Elise and Bryant have amassed a small library of medical books, historical romances, crime fiction, English literature and travel guides. As we’ve slowly unpacked our belongings, we’ve often wondered how we managed to cram so much stuff into a two-bedroom condo. We also think we’ll never again be able to live in a house without a basement/loft/playroom.

Henry is enjoying having a backyard and a neighborhood to explore. Our neighbors lent us their sons’ Kettler trike (the Mercedes Benz of training bikes), and Henry has been taking daily rides around the block. One of our favorite routes is to run down to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, which sits atop a large hill with great views of Washington and Old Town Alexandria. There’s also a family of deer which lives on the memorial grounds, which we occasionally see in the evenings.

So far, the commute into Washington hasn’t been bad: about 30 minutes in the mornings and a little longer in the evenings. Most days we’re able to avoid the evening rush hour. Bryant has been taking the VRE (Virginia commuter train) home from work, which is a lot more civilized than the Metro. Occasionally Henry also rides the “choo choo,” although his patience for sitting still wears thin after about twenty minutes.

Our new church (St. Mary’s) is located in Old Town, and we’ve enjoyed strolling down to the waterfront after mass for brunch or coffee. With all the activity this summer, we haven’t had the chance to explore Old Town much, but we’re hoping to do some more sightseeing this fall.

Our New Home

Finally, some pictures of our new digs. It's just a rental, but we call it home.