Growing Up

Vivian joined Henry at the SEC daycare center in March. Two of her teachers—Ms. Louis and Ms. Gloria—cared for Henry when he was in the infant classroom, so we knew we were leaving our little girl in good hands. Her other teacher, Ms. Chichi, has been wonderful. Vivian is the youngest child in the classroom and definitely one of the favorites. The first week got off to a rocky start when Vivian refused to take her bottle at school. We had been giving her a bottle from time to time during Elise’s maternity leave to avoid such a problem. But Vivian decided to cause her parents’ some serious stress before she finally started cooperating. Now she eats and sleeps just fine. Her favorite activities at school are going for walks outside with her friends and turning the knobs on a musical play gym. She is now rolling over and pushing up on her stomach. She is intensely interested (and often amused) by everything her brother does and even managed to grab his arm the other day in what will surely be the first of many sibling tussles. Below are some pictures of Vivian at three months.

Presidents Day Weekend

After two blizzards in one week (see Snowmaggedon), we were ready for a long weekend away. Elise wanted to visit her Aunt Barbara, who had recently moved to a hospice in Hampton, Virginia. So we decided to head down that way and also spend a few nights at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Lodge has a giant indoor waterpark with a wilderness theme. More a theme park than a hotel (there are animatronic animals that sing and dance and costumed characters that roam the halls), the entire enterprise is designed to give kids (and their parents) a break during the long winter months. Thanks to his swim lessons, Henry enjoyed playing in the waterpark, which has a section just for toddlers. He even ventured into the three-story water fort, the lazy river and the giant wave pool. However, his favorite part of the stay was evening storytime when the children gather around the lobby fireplace and listen to a story in their pajamas. It was a nice change of pace, but after a long week stuck indoors, we were tired and a little out of sorts. Mostly we just wanted to get back to a normal routine.



On Sunday we headed down to Hampton and stopped at the Virginia Living Museum, which was a surprisingly nice little diversion. It was “reptile weekend”, so Henry got to touch an iguana and a boa constrictor. Vivian mostly just slept. On Monday, we visited with Aunt Barbara and her son Barrett at the hospice. Barbara was moving a little slower, but seemed as feisty as ever, especially when dealing with her incorrigible nurses. Elise and Vivian stayed at the hospice and had lunch with Barbara while the boys retired to a nearby playground. Barbara seemed to enjoy our visit, especially seeing Vivian and Henry again. This proved to be our last visit with Barbara. She passed away shortly thereafter. We hadn’t expected her to go so quickly but were grateful for the chance to see her once last time before her passing.

Potty Passport

One benefit of being stuck indoors for a week is that we were able to devote more time to potty training. Henry has been using the potty infrequently since last fall (and usually only after being bribed with gummy treats), but the real breakthrough came during Snowmaggedon, when he suddenly figured out the whole pee-pee thing. One of the parents at Henry’s daycare made a "potty passport" for each of the children where they can place a sticker each time they use the potty. For the last month, we’ve been regularly filling up our potty passport both at home and at school. So much so, we may need to get an insert soon. We’re still a long way from underwear (or even “number two”), but progress is definitely being made!

Snowmageddon

After December’s record snowfall (see Winter Wonderland/Snowstorm from Hell), we thought we had seen the worst of winter. Then the storm that became known as “Snowmageddon” hit. Round One started on Friday afternoon and dumped over 12 inches of snow in Alexandria. Further north, they received as much as 18 inches. When the blizzard finally tapered off on Saturday evening, our front yard, walkways and cars were completely buried. The streets were impassable, and the trees and power lines were sagging (ominously) with snow and ice. Fortunately, our power remained on throughout the storm; many people in the area lost power and had to temporarily relocate.

Not surprisingly, work and school were cancelled for several days, leaving us stuck indoors to spend some “quality time” together. Somehow we managed to keep Henry occupied (and away from his sister) while we slowly dug out. Many a time during the ensuing week, we would wonder aloud: why couldn’t we have experienced back-to-back snow days before we had children?

By Monday, when the sunshine finally returned, we were able to get outside and enjoy the snow. Elise bundled up Vivian in the Baby Bjorn, and we stuffed Henry (somewhat unwillingly) into his snowsuit. Then all of us trekked to the grounds of the George Washington Masonic Memorial for some sledding. Henry was up for several runs on a small hill and then decided he had seen enough of the snow. After all, it was up to his waist! Back at the house, he was more at ease playing with the giant icicles that were forming on the porch.

Just as we were getting back on our feet, Round Two hit. Another snow storm developed on Tuesday night and continued through Wednesday, dumping another foot of snow on the area. All total, we received 24 inches in our front yard. Our 80-year-old neighbor said it was the most snow he had ever seen in Alexandria.

Henry did well throughout the week, but by Thursday, cabin fever had set in and he was climbing the walls. When they announced that the government would reopen on Friday, we took Henry into school, even though we were planning to depart at noon for a weekend getaway. Apparently lots of other people felt the same way because the morning commute was terrible. As a work colleague noted, it was probably the first time before a long weekend (Presidents Day) that the federal workforce showed up en masse!

Click below for more photos from the blizzard.

MLK Weekend

We returned to Baltimore this MLK weekend for a quick get away. Once again, we stayed at the Homewood Suites at the Inner Harbor and visited the National Aquarium and the Port Discovery Childrens’ Museum. This year, we also remembered to pack our bathing suits (no last minute shopping at GAP Kids; see Catching Up). This was our first trip with two children, and logistically, it was definitely more challenging to pack and transport the expanded family (plus, babies come with LOTS of accessories). Vivian proved to be a good traveler. She adapted well to the hotel and slept through most of our daytime activities. Henry really enjoyed seeing the sharks and alligators at the National Aquarium and swimming at the hotel pool in the afternoon. Below are some photos from the weekend.

At Home with Vivi

With the holidays behind us, we’ve all been enjoying a low key start to the New Year. Henry has been taking swim classes on Saturday mornings and is getting really comfortable in the water. Vivian is eating and sleeping well (just not in her crib; like her brother, she prefers mom and dad’s warm bed). So far, the two Morris children are getting along splendidly. Henry seems genuinely fond of his sister, so much so, that he sometimes hugs/smothers her a little too much. Vivian, in turn, is exceedingly tolerant of her brother’s occasional “tough love.” Below are some shots of the whole Morris clan at home.

Boogie Nights

Henry seems to have a real fondness for music and dancing. Elise says this comes from her genes. Henry’s musical tastes are eclectic, ranging from Raffi’s “Down by the Bay” to disco/funk classics like “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” (Leo Sayer) and “Shake Your Booty” (KC and the Sunshine Band). Bryant also has been teaching Henry the lyrics to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Below are some shots of Henry in motion. As you can see, he has taken to using his step stool as a dancing platform.