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.