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.