Although hard to believe, our Henry turned five this year. Having endured a live reptile show during a hurricane (see Earthquakes, Birthdays and Other Natural Disasters) at last year’s birthday party, we opted for something simpler (and offsite) this year: Pump-It-Up, an indoor moon bounce arena. To keep things interesting, we opted for the Pirate Adventure package, although we’re not sure anyone noticed the theme amidst all the bouncing, climbing and sliding. The party could not have been easier: all we had to do was show up. PIU took care of the rest, right down to ordering the pizza and serving the cake. Henry had a blast bouncing around with his friends. In addition to standard moon bounces, they also had giant inflatable slides and obstacle courses. Even some of the parents joined in the fun (OK, Bryant started it) by taking turns on the giant slide. Afterward, we all went to the party room for pizza and cake. Henry savored the chance to sit in the special “birthday throne” and direct the festivities (we’ve noticed that he’s something of the class comedian). When they turned down the lights to blow out the candles, he had the whole room squealing with excitement. Below are some pictures from the party. Later in the week, on Henry’s actual birthday, we celebrated at the house with a chocolate doughnut and some ice cream. Among other gifts, Henry received a Captain America costume and a Spider-Man sleeping bag. If the weather cooperates, Henry and Bryant may try camping in the fall.
July and August were relatively slow months in the Morris household. We spent most weekends at our community pool, trying to stay cool. The kids have been doing great in the water. At the start of summer we bought Puddle Jumper floaties (highly recommended) for both kids, and they were soon splashing around the pool on their own. This was a big change from last season, when they clung to us constantly in the pool. In mid-August, Henry took a few private swim lessons. The instructor had the patience of Job and needed every ounce of it--Henry was a feisty pupil! By the end of the week, she had him swimming without floaties for a few seconds, but he still won’t put (much of) his face in the water. Hopefully we'll make more progress next summer...
Elise continued to train for her marathon in the fall. She’s been getting up at daybreak on the weekends to go for 12, 15, and even 20-mile runs. The big race is only a few months way, so this is really crunch time for her training.
In between running, cooking and taking the kids to the pool, we also found time to discover a new favorite TV show: Doc Martin. A British comedy about a doctor living in Cornwall—perfect for us!
It’s been a while since we posted an installment of “Things We Like,” so we thought an update was in order. By now, you’ve probably figured out that Vivian likes, and we mean REALLY likes, Disney princesses. Her favorite princess varies from week to week, but Ariel, Belle, Aurora and Tiana are always in the running. However, Vivian has another obsession we haven’t mentioned: she loves Band-Aids. Hardly a day passes without a trip to the medicine closet. The slightest bump, poke or graze is an excuse for another Band-Aid. Often there’s no actual injury, just a firm insistence that something hurts and needs bandaging. These “invisi-booboos” can appear in the strangest places: forehead, neck, belly, even the bottom of her feet. If there’s an open patch of skin, it’s ripe for bandaging. Not surprisingly, we have princess-themed Band-Aids (although recently we’ve branched out to Dora). And heaven help us if we apply a Rapunzel Band-Aid for a booboo that requires Snow White. We’ve tried weaning Viv of this addiction, but in the grand scheme of things, it seems like a harmless habit. We’ve just had to get accustomed to seeing our daughter covered in adhesive bandages for most of the year.
