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.