Christmas 2011

We had a somewhat subdued Christmas this year.  Elise was working most weekends in December, and unlike years past, we decided not to plan any holiday parties or weekend trips.  This was our first Christmas in our new home, and as with Halloween, Henry insisted we decorate early.  We bought a large tree for the living room, and the kids “helped” Elise decorate (see below). At times, it seemed liked they were taking down as many ornaments as she was putting up.  The nativity set also was a popular item this year.  Vivian enjoyed playing with the figurines, and we had to undertake several search-and-rescue missions to recover Baby Jesus.

 

Another first this year: the school Christmas pageant.  Henry and Vivian both had elaborate Christmas parties at school, and Henry’s class even performed a 15-minute concert for the parents.

 

Mimi Pauline was hoping to join us for Christmas but had to delay her visit because she had not one, but two(!), sets of puppies due over the holidays.  We missed seeing her but hope to visit Michigan in the spring.  On Christmas Eve, we all took a long afternoon nap and nearly slept through mass but somehow managed to get ourselves to church in the nick of time.  Afterward, we drove into the city and had a quiet meal at Clyde’s.  On the way back, Henry and Vivian serenaded us with Christmas carols.

Here is Henry singing “Feliz Navidad”:

FelizNavidad by bryantmorris

And here is Vivian singing “Away in a Manger” (listen for “stars in the sky” and “lay down his sweet head”):

AwayInManger by bryantmorris

Back at the house, we laid out milk and cookies for Santa, shuffled the kids off to bed, and managed to organize the presents before too late (learning from past mistakes, we started assembling days in advance).

 

On Christmas morning, there were lots of goodies for everyone.  Vivian received a large doll house – it has three stories and slightly less square footage than our actual home.  She also received some princess gowns and more baby doll accessories than we know what to do with (we seem to have purged our real baby gear only to replace it with miniature plastic versions).  Henry received a Spider-man play set, Lego blocks, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and a game called Pass the Pickle (kind of like “hot potato” but with a large pickle that plays music – he picked this item from a toy catalogue and it is his favorite gift).  After a low-key day unwrapping presents and playing with our new toys (children and adults alike), we joined our friends the Slivkas and Klucks for an informal Christmas dinner.  It was a delicious meal and good company and a relaxing end to our understated holiday.

 

New Table

Our new dining room table arrived just after Thanksgiving.  After years of talking about getting a farm table, we finally found a furniture maker in Sperryville, VA to build one for us.  It’s a maple “Irish immigrant” table with a bench and Mennonite-made chairs.  We ordered the table distressed (i.e., beat up) for an antique look and to help cover the inevitable “distressing” that Henry and Vivian will soon inflict.  We love the table (Elise says it is one of the best purchases we have ever made) and look forward to using it for years to come.  Below is a picture of the family enjoying supper around the new table.

Thanksgiving 2011/Vivian’s 2nd Birthday

We had many reasons to give thanks this year: Bryant’s parents visited from Alabama, we had a new home in which to celebrate, and, most importantly, Vivian turned two. Thanksgiving morning was like a mini-Christmas for Vivian with a new doll changing table/nursery station and lots of presents waiting to be opened. Vivian enjoyed washing, changing and feeding her dolls throughout the day, and we had to bring up the highchair from the basement so her new Bitty Baby could eat with us at the table. Bryant’s mom cooked some of our favorite dishes (mac and cheese, rice casserole, and fried corn) and, for the first time this year, we ordered a smoked turkey from Rocklands, which was delicious. After recovering from dinner, we broke out the Disney Princess decorations and enjoyed birthday cake and ice cream with Vivi. As always, it was great to have Bryant’s family stay with us. Paw Paw helped Bryant with some much needed home improvement projects and both grandparents took Henry to the movie (The Muppets) while Bryant, Elise and Vivian shopped for some new living room furniture. In between, we managed to take a day trip to Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium (and experience the 4D version of Polar Express, complete with simulated snow). Below are some pictures from Vivian’s birthday and the holiday weekend.

  

  

White House Tour

Bryant and Elise got a behind the scenes tour of the White House in early November.  Our friend Sarah Kendall, who works on the National Security Council, invited us for a private tour of the Old Executive Office Building and the West Wing, including the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Rose Garden and—from a distance—the Situation Room.  We weren’t allowed (for obvious reasons) to take photographs inside, but to the left is a picture of us standing in front of the entrance to the West Wing.  Thanks to Sarah for a fascinating tour and for all the great White House trivia.

Vivian's Dolls

Vivian has enjoyed taking care of her dolls this Fall.  It started with her carrying them around the house.  Then we noticed she was spreading out a blanket and patting them to sleep.  Then she began feeding them with a bottle.  The other day, Bryant walked into the family room and discovered her throwing a full blown tea party.  She had her dolls arranged in a circle and was serving them tea and cakes.  We’re thinking a doll changing table may be in Vivian’s future.

 

 

Spoooky Time

Henry loves Halloween and all things “spooky.”  At the first sign of Fall, he began asking if we could carve pumpkins and break out the Halloween decorations.  Under Henry’s direction, we added a hanging skeleton, gravestones, and an inflatable ghost to our front yard display.  For pumpkin carving, we decided it was best to avoid knives and stick with the “Mr. Potato Head method” again this year.  As you can see, Henry enjoyed making a pirate jack-o-lantern.  The pumpkins were so big, Bryant had to use his electric drill to make holes for the eyes and ears.  Although he had asked to be a skeleton, Henry decided at the last minute to switch to Spider-Man.  Fortunately, he received a Spider-Man costume for his birthday.  Vivian chose to be Minnie Mouse and made a valiant effort at wearing her mouse ears for at least part of the evening.

On Halloween night, we met up with our friends the Mates for some neighborhood trick-or-treating.  Halloween is always a big event where we live, and this year one family had a particularly impressive Harry Potter display.  They used plywood cutouts to transform the front of their house into Hogwarts and enlisted friends to dress-up like Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape.  They even had a Sorting Hat to assign the neighborhood children to different houses!  Henry wasn’t so sure about the hat and just watched from the sidewalk, but we’re thinking he would have been a Slytherin.

 

  

Fall Fun

October was filled with fun Fall activities.  Over Columbus Day weekend, we made an excursion to Sperryville, Virginia near the entrance to the Shenandoah National Park to shop for a new dining room table.  We’ve been wanting a farm table for years and finally decided it was time. After some research, we found a furniture maker in Sperryville who is going to build an Irish immigrant table for us – he promises it will be ready for Christmas!

That same weekend, we ventured to Cox Farms in Centerville, VA for the mother of all Fall festivals.  We usually visit the pumpkin patch at Butler’s Orchard in Germantown, Maryland but decided to try Cox Farms this year.  While it was bigger and more elaborate, Cox Farms was also much more crowded and somehow not as quaint as Butler's.  We missed getting to pick pumpkins from an actual pumpkin patch (as opposed to a stall on the way to the parking lot).  Next year we’ll head back to Butler’s.  

 

  

Later in October we returned to Claude Moore Colonial Farm for their Fall market fair (think Colonial Williamsburg meets Renaissance Fair).  We explored the old tobacco farmstead, visited the toymaker's booth (Henry chose a clay bird whistle and Vivian chose a rag doll), and enjoyed a delicious lunch of grilled sausages, meat pie and ale.

   

Finally, toward the end of the month, we went to Disney on Ice at the Patriot Center.  To Henry’s dismay and Vivian’s delight, the theme this year was Disney Princesses.  A busy month, and we hadn’t even begun Halloween celebrations!

London 2011

Having survived several natural disasters, Henry’s four-year-old birthday party, and a new school transition, we were ready for a break.  Fortunately, we had a superb family vacation lined up.  In early September we traveled to London to see the sights, drink good beer and visit with old friends.  As an added bonus, Mimi Pauline joined us for the week!  Below are pictures and a detailed account of our journey.

Day One: After several hours’ delay at Dulles Airport (note: never travel on the anniversary of September 11th), we finally boarded our Virgin Atlantic flight for London.  Henry and Vivian did great in the airport, and the one upside of the delay was that, by the time we finally departed, it was so late both kids fell asleep right away.  Henry had his own seat, but Vivian was still sitting in our lap for the journey, which meant Bryant and Elise didn’t get much rest.  We awoke (or at least opened our eyes) in London and made our way to Bayswater, where we had rented a flat for the week. 

Day Two: At the flat we met up with Mimi Pauline and spent the first day settling into our new surroundings.  The flat was ideal: just a few blocks from Hyde Park and Notting Hill, with lots of space (by London standards) and even a small courtyard in the back.  The owners had made the place as kid-friendly as possible: we had toys and children’s books at our disposal as well as a high chair, pack-n-play and stroller.  However, as we unpacked, we made a terrible discovery.  Apparently we had left our entire collection of children’s DVDs (about 75 in total) on the plane from Washington.  Bryant made a round of frantic calls to the airline and Heathrow lost property, but no one had any helpful information. We resigned ourselves to the grim possibility that our DVDs were lost forever.

Later that day, we took the kids to the nearby Princess Diana Memorial Playground, which is designed around a Peter Pan theme.  A few weeks before our vacation, we rented the Disney animated film version from Netflix so the kids could get familiar with the story – and London.  Both Henry and Vivian fell in love with the film and watched it repeatedly before our trip.  At the playground, Henry couldn’t wait to take off his shoes, splash in the water with the crocodile, and climb the wooden pirate ship. He and Bryant spent most of the afternoon pretending to be Peter Pan (Henry) and Captain Hook (Bryant), chasing each other around the ship and occasionally rescuing Wendy (Vivian).

 

In the evening, after the kids were washed and fed, Bryant met up with his friends Matt Rees and Sean Flanagan for a pint (or two) at the local pub.  It was great to catch up, reminisce about old (A&O) times, and reflect on how much has changed.

Day Three: We spent our first day out in Westminster.  While Elise and Pauline toured the Abbey, Bryant and the kids visited the London Aquarium, which was surprisingly good.  Both kids were mesmerized by the floor-to-ceiling tanks of sharks, rays, crocodiles and even penguins.  We were fortunate to have near perfect weather all week—high 60s and lots of sunshine—and this day was particularly nice.  In the afternoon, we met up for lunch at Giraffe restaurant, strolled back along the river and ate ice cream.  We hadn’t planned to ride the London Eye but got inspired by the fine weather and took a quick turn on the giant Ferris wheel for some amazing views of the city.

 

 

Day Four: We headed into the City on day four to visit the Tower of London.  Elise and Pauline joined the Yoeman Warders for a guided tour of the tower grounds, while Bryant kept the kids occupied watching the royal guards and chasing the famous tower ravens.  Pauline particularly enjoyed seeing the crown jewels, while Henry’s favorite was the castle armory.  After lunch at the castle, the weather turned blustery, and we had a cold and wet ride back to Westminster Pier on the Thames water taxi (it turns out the “covered” boat wasn’t exactly weatherproof).  Fortunately, the sun quickly returned and we spent the rest of the afternoon at the “Peter Pan playground” (as the kids now called it). 

 

 Day Five:  We left the flat early and made our way to Buckingham Palace for a tour of the State Rooms.  Before the tour, we had a morning picnic at the Queen Victoria fountain.  Then it was off to the palace (by the side door, of course) to see the Grand Staircase, the Throne Room, the Ballroom and an endless series of drawing rooms (Blue, White, etc.).  It was a lovely fall day, and the palace staff had opened up the windows to let in the fresh air.  About halfway through the tour, as we were admiring Kate’s wedding dress, Henry announced that he had to poop.  Apparently the Queen doesn’t share her bathroom with visitors, so Bryant and Henry made their way to the temporary toilets in the rear the palace.  After the tour, we all enjoyed tea and ice cream on the palace veranda and took a stroll through the gardens.  We caught the changing of the guard (which Vivian really enjoyed; see below) on our way back to St. James’s Park (where we found yet another great playground).  In the evening, we visited our friends Sean and Joy Flanagan and their daughter Iyla at their flat in Pimlico and swapped parenting war stories over curry takeaway.

 

 

Day Six: We headed to Waterloo Station and caught a commuter train to Hampton Court to visit the renaissance palace of King Henry VIII.  While Elise and Pauline toured King Henry’s apartments, Bryant and the kids explored (and soon got lost in) the palace hedge maze.  After lunch, the children napped in their strollers while the adults enjoyed some quiet time walking in the palace gardens.  As you can see, the weather was absolutely gorgeous that day.  We lingered until almost sunset and then prepared to head back, only to discover that Henry had dropped his silky (blanket) somewhere in the palace.  The helpful staff put out an APB over their two-way radios, and we soon recovered the missing blanket, narrowly averting disaster. Later that evening, after the kids had gone to bed, Pauline kindly manned the fort while Elise and Bryant slipped out for a drink.  It wasn’t exactly like old times in London, but it was close.

 

 

Day Seven: For our last day, we decided to stick around Kensington.  In the morning, we all walked to the Peter Pan statue near the Serpentine.  Afterward, Bryant, Elise and the kids visited the Natural History Museum while Pauline did some souvenir shopping.  On the way back from the museum, the kids napped in their strollers and Bryant and Elise enjoyed some adult time in the park.  We met up with Pauline at the Peter Pan playground and spent the remaining moments of our vacation watching the kids play.

 

 

Day Eight: Our stay in London was over too soon.  We packed our bags and headed to the airport, where we said good bye to Mimi Pauline and prepared to board our flight to Washington.  On a whim, Bryant asked the check-in attendant about our missing DVDs.  After a few telephone calls, the airline staff determined that our case was in the Heathrow lost property office!  Bryant made a mad dash to the basement of the terminal and, after some tense back and forth, finally recovered the DVDs.  Thanks to the abundant entertainment options, the kids were (mostly) content on the flight back, and we arrived home safely and soundly…and promptly fell asleep at 7pm.

Click below for more photos from the trip: