Christmas 2010

After a busy run up to the holidays, we had a relaxing Christmas at home with Bryant’s parents.  We went to eat at our favorite German restaurant--Old Europe--and attended Christmas Eve mass at St. Mary’s.  This was the first year that Henry was old enough to understand Santa Claus (thanks, in part, to a talking book rendition of “The Night before Christmas” from Mimi Pauline), and he enjoyed setting out cookies and milk for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer).  We also were glad to have Vivian with us this year.  She spent last Christmas in the hospital, recovering from meningitis (see Christmas 2009).

On Christmas morning, the kids seemed a little overwhelmed by all the presents (as did mommy and daddy).  Henry received a castle, a red wagon, lots of new books and games, and the Toy Story 3 DVD, which quickly became his new favorite movie.  Vivian received a toddler trampoline, a tea set, and a baby doll stroller and crib.  Bryant and Elise got a new printer and, courtesy of Bryant’s parents, a 42 inch flat screen TV and Blu-ray disc player for the basement.  Now, if we only had more time to watch TV…

 

The day after Christmas, we visited the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor, just across the river from Alexandria.  Every year the hotel hosts an ice sculpture exhibit and other seasonal activities.  This year’s theme was “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”  We had brunch with the Grinch at the hotel (and got to watch the cartoon while eating green eggs and ham) and then toured the ice sculpture exhibit (see pictures below).  Afterwards, Henry, Elise and Paw Paw tried their hand at ice skating.  Paw Paw never made it to the rink, but Elise and Henry went around several times.  Henry really enjoyed ice skating – so much so that Elise is now thinking about signing him up for lessons.

 

 

For a while it looked like we might get hit with the big snowstorm that was headed for the East Coast, but in the end, all we got were some flurries and lots of wind.  It wasn’t a White Christmas, but it was good weather for eating leftovers from Mimi’s delicious Christmas dinner and some homemade gumbo.  On Monday, we said good bye to Mimi and Paw Paw and returned to the work/school routine, wondering how long it would take to dismantle the tree and put away all the decorations (about two months this year).

Holiday Rush!

We had a busy, busy holiday season.  We returned from Michigan with a full calendar and lots of shopping and decorating to do.  The first weekend back, we headed into Old Town Alexandria where we watched the annual Scottish Walk parade and bought our Christmas tree at the St. Mary’s School fundraiser.  The gentleman helping us couldn’t believe we wanted to purchase the first tree we saw, but when you have two small children and it’s approaching lunchtime, you have to be decisive.  We spent most of the week busily decorating our tree and front lawn.  We stepped up our outdoor decorations just a notch this year with real pine garland and red ribbons around the front door.

Next weekend we headed to Williamsburg, Virginia to experience Christmastown at Busch Gardens.  For a few weeks each winter, the park opens up for a seasonal celebration.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate this weekend.  We spent a lovely morning in Colonial Williamsburg, looking at the traditional decorations and browsing through the Christmas market. However, in the afternoon a steady rain began to fall and continued throughout the night.  We had told the kids we were going to have dinner with Santa, so (despite our better judgment) we bundled up tightly, bought some ponchos and hoped against hope that the rain would stop.  It didn’t, but we did manage to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus.  We decided to skip the rest of Christmastown and try again next year.

Back home, we frantically continued shopping, mailing Christmas cards and preparing to host a holiday party for some friends from daycare.   On Saturday morning, we took in Elmo’s Healthy Heroes (Seasame Street Live) at the Patriot Center.  Later that evening, six three-year-olds and their parents and siblings gathered at our house to eat, drink and be merry.  Elise pulled out Aunt Pauline’s recipe book and made Tom and Jerry’s (eggnog fortified with brandy) for our adult guests.  After a brief and very messy cookie decorating exercise, we sent the kids downstairs to play in the basement and enjoyed a little adult conversation with our friends. 

Finally it was the week before Christmas and we still had more shopping to do!  We attended to the last few items on our list and got ready for Bryant’s parents, who arrived a few days before Christmas with a truck full of presents and food.

Thanksgiving in Michigan / Vivian’s 1st Birthday

We spent Thanksgiving with Aunt Pauline in Michigan. Despite the threat of TSA protests, we managed to get ourselves and two kids through the airport with no problems.  Fortunately, the flight is only about an hour and a half and we have a portable DVD player (which is invaluable when traveling with small children).  In Michigan, we had dinner with our friends the Lathoms, caught up with Tom and Anna Soehl (who are finishing up three years in Anne Arbor where Tom has been in law school) and met Pierce Blanchard, newborn son of Sarah Walter and Clay Blanchard.  We also spent time with the Baker-Brown family, who drove over from Detroit to help us celebrate Vivian’s first birthday.  Aunt Pauline ordered a special red velvet cake for the occasion, which Vivian really enjoyed (see below).

Right on time, Vivian started walking on her big day.  She had taken a few tentative steps before, but it wasn’t until Michigan that she really began moving.  Of course, now that she is moving, she doesn’t want to stop!  Henry had fun playing with Mimi Pauline’s many dog toys and his cousins Emily and Alexander, who stayed for a sleep over.

There was another milestone of sorts.  On Thanksgiving Day, Bryant took Henry to his first movie: Tangled.  Maybe it was the movie (which was actually pretty good) or maybe it was the large bag of popcorn, but whatever the reason, Henry did really well in the theater.  He sat quietly through the movie and even asked to use the potty when it was time.  It gave us hope that we might be able to take in other movies in the long winter months ahead.  Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, as always.  Aunt Pauline cooked a perfect turkey and we all ate far too much.  It was a nice visit catching up with family and friends and a chance to rest up before the busy holiday season ahead.

 

Vivian's Surgery

In mid-November, Vivian underwent minor surgery to correct blocked tear ducts in both eyes.  This was the same surgery that Henry had when he was one.  Vivian’s condition was a little more severe, so she had her procedure just before her first birthday.  Everything went fine.  In fact, the surgery and recovery went so quickly that Vivian and Elise were back home before Bryant could return from dropping off Henry at daycare.  At first we were worried that she might need to undergo a follow-up procedure as her eyes were still watery afterward.  But eventually they cleared up and now are more beautiful than ever before (see picture below).

Autumn Scenes

Below are some photos of the kids, playing outside and dressed up for their school's annual Fall Festival.

 

 

 

Halloween 2010

 Dinosaurs and fairies took over the Morris household this Halloween.  Henry has been learning about dinosaurs in his preschool class and decided he wanted to be a triceratops.  Vivian didn’t express a preference, but we thought she would make a lovely fairy.  This was the first year in which Henry was old enough to understand Halloween. Our neighborhood really gets into the holiday: several of our neighbors put up elaborate Halloween displays (strangely enough, the homes without children seem to be the most elaborately decorated), and on Halloween afternoon, the neighborhood association hosts a huge block party with catered BBQ, moon bounces and a costume parade.  Henry was intrigued by the Halloween decorations (he called them “spookies”), particularly the witches and skeletons.  He made Bryant drive him through the neighborhood each night on the way home from school so he could look at the displays.

  

We have a lot of young children in the neighborhood, and Halloween night is a pretty big affair. We started the evening with a potluck dinner at a neighbor’s house and then trick-or-treated for several blocks until Henry’s bag was so full of candy he could hardly carry it.  There were even drink-or-treats for the adults: one family was giving out sangria (with dry ice, of course) to the parents.  Vivian mostly observed this year but no doubt she will soon be following in her brother’s footsteps.  After it was over, Henry was sad to see the spookies go, but he took some comfort in the fact that Christmas lights and Santa Claus would soon be replacing the neighborhood ghouls.

  

Pumpkin Picking

When we left for Disney World, it was warm and sunny.  When we returned a week later, it was cold and rainy.  Apparently autumn arrived while we were away.  To make the most of the season, we headed out to Butler’s Orchard in Germantown, Maryland for our annual pumpkin picking excursion.  As usual, there were hay rides, corn mazes, moon bounces and, of course, lots and lots of pumpkins.  Below are some pictures from our outing.

 

 

 

Walt Disney World 2010

This year’s vacation was an (extended) family affair: we spent a week in Disney World with Bryant’s parents and his brother’s family (Kevin, Templa, Micah and Rylan).  Kevin and Templa are Disney World aficionados, and they planned our itinerary for us.  And what an itinerary it was!  Four character breakfasts, dinner each night in the parks, a pirate dress-up session for Henry, a Halloween party in the Magic Kingdom, and a special pirate room at our resort hotel.  We were racing to keep up with the Morris clan all week, but we had a great time and got to experience a tremendous amount.  We were especially grateful to Uncle Kevin for making all the arrangements and Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill for helping out with the kids during the week. 

Below is a brief outline of our week.  As you can see, we made the most of every magical minute:

Day One: We arrived in Orlando and checked-in at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, where Uncle Kevin had booked special pirate-themed rooms for us.  After settling in, we headed to Epcot Center for visits to the Mexico, China and Norway pavilions before having dinner at the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany.  Inside, we celebrated Oktoberfest with some hearty German food and polka dancing.  Henry really enjoyed twirling around the dance floor with his cousins while the Oompah band played.  

Day Two: We started the day with breakfast at Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom and met all the Disney princesses. Afterward, we tackled rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, including Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and (for Elise, Templa and Micah) Space Mountain.  Henry’s favorite ride was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  We probably rode that 20 times during the week.  He also enjoyed the Philharmagic 3D movie and the Astro Orbiter ride in Tomorrowland.

 

Day Three: We spent the day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, starting with a character breakfast with Handy Manny and other Disney Playhouse characters.  We then took in some shows, including Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and rode the ridiculously popular Toy Story Midway Mania ride (the wait in the regular line was over 90 minutes, but we were able to get Fast Passes).  We had lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, an indoor restaurant in the style of a 1950s drive-in.  This was probably our favorite dining spot of the whole trip.  In the afternoon, we checked out the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set playground and took the Studio Backlot Tour.  Along the way, we met Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Mike Wazowski (the one-eyed monster from Monsters, Inc.)

Day Four: We took the morning off to catch our breath but headed to Epcot for the afternoon where we visited The Seas pavilion and rode the Nemo and Friends ride.  At The Land pavilion, Bryant and Elise tried out Soarin!, a simulated flight over the California landscape. A little rain slowed our afternoon activities, but we finished the day with an excellent meal at Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canadian Pavilion.  To cap off the evening, we all rode Spaceship Earth, the giant geodesic sphere at the entrance to Epcot (or the “moon ride,” as Henry called it)

Day Five: Our next stop was the Animal Kingdom park.  In the morning, we met Mickey, Minnie and other friends, took in the Festival of the Lion King show (Vivi really enjoyed this; she was dancing in the aisles while the music played), watched the It’s Tough to be a Bug 3D movie, and (for Elise and the other thrill seekers) rode the Expedition Everest rollercoaster.  In the afternoon, we explored some of the animal trails (and saw some amazing giant bats) and played in the water fountains in Asia.

 

Day Six: Today it was back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.  We started the day in Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise (where our boat stalled and had to be towed back to the dock), Pirates of the Caribbean, and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets.  Before lunch, Henry and Paw Paw Bill got a pirate makeover at the Pirates League.  Paw Paw went for the Jack Sparrow look while Henry chose to be a spooky skeleton pirate (see below).  We were amazed that Henry sat perfectly still while his makeup was applied.  If only he could do the same thing in restaurants and church!  After an early dinner with Winnie the Pooh and friends, it was time for the Halloween Party.  We had special tickets that allowed us to go trick-or-treating throughout the park and ride many attractions with virtually no wait.  Once again, Henry insisted on riding Winnie the Pooh multiple times.

Day Seven: We returned to Animal Kingdom for breakfast with Donald Duck and got up close with various critters on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and at the Conservation Station petting zoo.  We then headed over to DinoLand USA where Henry, Vivian and Rylan played in The Boneyard playground while Bryant and Elise experienced the thrilling Dinosaur ride.  After an afternoon rest, it was time for more dinosaurs, this time at T-Rex Cafe in Downtown Disney.  Operated by the same folks who run the Rainforest Cafe chain, this was an elaborately decorated restaurant with life-size animatronic dinosaurs and a half-hourly meteor shower show.  Henry loved it!

 

Day Eight: For our last day, we returned to the Magic Kingdom, had breakfast with Minnie, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, and rode our favorite rides a few more times.  In the afternoon, we watched a parade on Main Street.  Vivi really enjoyed this: she was clapping and bopping to the music as the floats rolled past.  For our final meal, we had dinner under the stars at the San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion.  We were seated next to the river where you can take a slow boat ride through the Mexico exhibit. Vivi enjoyed watching the boats and waving to the other visitors.

Day Nine: Exhausted, we headed to the airport, in need of a vacation to recover from our vacation!

Below are some additional pictures of our trip:

Henry's 3rd Birthday

This year’s birthday party was all about trains. Together with some friends from daycare, Henry celebrated turning three at Cabin John Regional Park in Maryland, which has a miniature train that runs through the park. A series of freakishly strong thunderstorms almost derailed (sorry) the celebration after the party room flooded, the train stalled and a large tree fell across the entrance to the park. However, we relocated to a nearby picnic area and the engineer was able to get the train running for at least short distances. In fact, the park officials felt so bad about the party room, they offered us unlimited private rides on the train, which of course the kids loved. So, in the end, it all turned out for the best. As you can see from the pictures below, everyone had a great time.

Recently, Henry has enjoyed performing little “puppet shows” for us in the living room. This involves him climbing on top of a chest and making up songs -- sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without. In light of his budding theatrical interest, we got him some dress-up clothes for his birthday. In the future, if he decides to do a puppet show about pirates, firemen, explorers or magicians, he will have the costumes he needs. Mimi Pauline also sent him some books, which Henry enjoys “reading” out loud to his parents and sister. He insists that we sit very still and be quiet while he reads. We wonder if he does the same for his teachers at school. Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill gave him an art easeland some dry erase markers. We were shocked when he picked up a marker and drew an “H”. Apparently he has been doing more than just yoga and soccer at school.

Below are some additional photos from the party:

Summer Days, Poolside

After Vivian’s christening, we had a fairly low key summer (and an extended break from blogging). We decided to join a local swim club, Little Hunting Park, and spent many weekends hanging out at the pool. After last winter’s swim classes (in a freezing cold rec center), Henry was pretty comfortable in the water. With the help of a floatie and some encouragement from his parents, he was jumping into the water and paddling around with a minimum of support. To the annoyance of the older kids, he also enjoyed calling out “polo” at random times and wreaking havoc with their game of Marco Polo. After a few more lessons and another season at the pool, he should be swimming on his own. Vivian also enjoyed bobbing around in her baby float and splashing in the kiddie pool. Something tells us she’s not going to have any problems with the water.

We bought a grill for the house this spring and have been experimenting with cooking out over the summer. In addition to steaks and burgers, we’ve been learning to grill lamb chops, chorizo and brats. Bryant found a recipe for brats soaked in beer that we have tried several times with friends and neighbors. Delicious!

We also attempted a little gardening this summer, with mixed results. We planted some tomato plants in the backyard, and they produced 3-4 good-sized beefsteak tomatoes before fizzling out in July. We also planted a strawberry plant for Henry, which fared better in the heat but only produced very tiny berries (and we had to beat the squirrels and caterpillars to them). Our flower boxes on the front porch were a success, but only after we first sacrificed a flat of petunias. Hydrangeas and impatiens either fare better in the summer heat or they require less maintenance. In any case, they were still going strong at the end of September.

Henry stayed active at school this summer: he was enrolled in classes for gymnastics, soccer and, believe it or not, preschool yoga (more calisthenics than yoga, but Henry’s dog pose and “om” chant are pretty funny). He transitioned to the preschool classroom this spring and spent the summer learning about dinosaurs. By August, he was able to tell the difference between a T-Rex (Barney?) and a triceratops (Baby Bop?).

Vivian also stayed active this summer. So much so that her teachers took to calling her “wildcat.” She continued crawling and exploring, and by early September, was standing on her own. We think her first steps are probably only a month or so away. She now has four teeth and a full head of hair, and has begun tormenting her brother (and letting us know when he is tormenting her). She will be a full blown toddler before long.

Elise and Bryant were busy too. It’s been a challenge having both of us work full time. By the end of the work week, we’re usually completely wiped out. Fortunately, we have the weekends to recover (a bit). Elise’s new job at Georgetown University has been rewarding but also presented many new challenges. In addition, she was recently appointed head of the Family Medicine Department at Providence Hospital, which has brought its own responsibilities…and more work. At the SEC, Bryant has been working around the clock on various rulemaking projects required by the new financial reform legislation. All in all, it was a very busy summer on the work front. As we approached the end of the year and looked forward to the future, we both wonder how long we can maintain the current pace. But for now, we’re hanging in there.

Vivian at Six Months

Vivian is growing up fast: she started crawling a few weeks after her christening and is now exploring and climbing everywhere. We’ve already lowered her crib once and will need to do so again soon. And just this past week, her first tooth broke through. Below are some photos of Viv at six months. We just can’t take enough photos of those beautiful blue eyes!