President's Day on Ice

President’s Day weekend provided time to try something new: family ice skating.  Elise grew up skating and has her own pair of skates.  She and Henry have done "mommy and me" skating a few times at the local rec center.  However, Vivian has never skated, and Bryant...well, he grew up in Alabama where there isn’t much ice.  There are several outdoor rinks in the area, but the weather was so cold (mid-20s), we decided to stick with the rec center.  Our plan was to have Elise take the kids in turns.  But Bryant managed to keep himself upright most of the time, and Henry surprised us by skating on his own (see the video below).  So, we were able to skate together—as a family—even if Bryant and Vivian need a little extra help.  Next time we may even try skating on the National Mall.

 

Winter Scenes

A visit from Uncle Stokes at the end of January and a neighborhood Groundhog Day party on February 2nd helped to brighten up the otherwise bleak winter months (especially after Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring).  Lent came early this year and caught us by surprise—we didn’t get to enjoy any pączek (from Elise’s childhood in Detroit) or king cake (from Bryant’s childhood in Mobile) before it was time to start fasting.  The kids have been learning about Lent at school and decided to “give up” a favorite toy until Easter.  Henry chose a blue dragon and Vivian parted with her prized Cinderella slippers (see above).  They’re now safely sitting atop a cabinet until March 31st.  February also brought Valentine’s Day.  We reached something of a milestone this year: for the first time, Henry was able to address and sign cards for each of his classmates (with some coaxing/bribery/threats from his parents).  The new year also brought another, more important, milestone: despite some occasional relapses, Vivian is now officially potty trained.  That means the Morris household is done with diapers, pull-ups, and wipes for the foreseeable future.  We removed the changing table and rocking chair from Vivian’s room and installed some IKEA bookshelves and a new bed canopy in their place.  Elise was a little wistful to see the last vestiges of the Morris nursery disassembled and packed away.  Bryant couldn’t get them in the attic fast enough…