New Hobbies

Bryant and Elise both took up new hobbies this winter.  In December, Elise began training for the Marine Corp Marathon, which is held each October in Arlington, Virginia and Washington, DC.  According to Wikipedia, it’s the fifth largest marathon in the United States and the ninth largest in the world!  To get ready for the race, Elise has been running three times a week at the gym and outdoors.  On Sundays, she trains with a long distance running group here in Alexandria.  Her first practice race was the Baltimore and Annapolis (B&A) Trail half marathon in early March, in which she placed eighteenth in her age group and averaged a nine minute mile.  Her next practice race was the Irish Sprint (March 17) in Quantico Virginia (see photo at left).  By completing the Irish Sprint, Elise automatically qualified to run in the Marine Corp Marathon this fall.  Well done, Elise! 

Bryant’s hobby has been less energetic.  With Elise hitting the trails, he's been trying his hand at cooking.  So far, Bryant has made beef bourguignon, pork roast, eggplant parmesan, beef and Guinness pie, and, most recently, corned beef and cabbage.  Elise has judged the meals a success.  Henry won’t touch the stuff (usually accompanied by wild claims to be “allergic”), but Vivi loved the eggplant parmesan and even nibbled some corned beef.  To accompany dinner, Elise has been baking fresh bread.  She started with a farmhouse white and then made soda bread.  Next up (at Bryant’s request) is rosemary focaccia.  Yum.

Catching Up

This seems to have been the winter that never was.  We usually spend January and February hunkered indoors, desperate for activities to keep the kids occupied.  This year, with unseasonably warm temperatures, we've suffered much less cabin fever.  Henry and Elise took up ice skating lessons in February.  Henry remembered most of the basic techniques from last winter but at times seemed more interested in eating the ice than skating on it.  Vivian is still too young for ice skating but spied the indoor pool at the rec center and insisted that we all go swimming.  We’ve signed her up for swim lessons this spring, but in the mean time, she’s been practicing swimming “like Ariel” in the tub.

Elise visited California in February for a week-long medical conference and managed to squeeze in a quick visit with college friends (Penny, Mike and Eric) in San Diego.  While she was away, Mimi Joanne helped Bryant maintain his sanity while home alone with the kids.  Below are some pictures from a weekend trip we took to the children’s museum in Baltimore while Mimi was visiting:

 

 

Henry and Vivian continue to delight, amaze and exhaust.  Vivian has fallen head first into Disney Princess mania.  Her favorites include Aurora, Ariel, Belle and Rapunzel.  On movie nights, when she is the “movie chooser,” she inevitably picks Tangled or Beauty and the Beast.  This usually elicits vigorous protests from Henry, but he ends up watching (and watching intently) with her.  Vivian absolutely adores her brother.  At home and on the playground, she chases after him constantly and wants to do just like him – climbing, swinging, throwing dirt.  And if Henry is tired and sucking his thumb, she will do the same.  Henry reciprocates by using Vivian as his wrestling partner (although she can give as well as she gets).  They squabble and fight and laugh and entertain and occasionally show genuine kindness toward one another.  Henry will share his dinner with Vivian (at least the stuff he doesn’t want to eat—like vegetables), and at night, when we are putting the kids to bed, Vivian will tuck her brother under the covers and kiss him goodnight.

Winter Scenes

We’ve had a remarkably mild winter this year, but the end of January did bring a light coating of snow and ice…enough, at least, for Henry and Vivian to insist on playing outside. Below are some pictures from the backyard. Thanks to Mimi Pauline for sending the snow gear from Michigan!

 

 

 

New Year’s in Huntsville

We flew to Huntsville after Christmas to spend a few days with Bryant’s brother’s family and Mimi and Paw Paw.  While we there, Paw Paw treated the whole clan to an overnight stay at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to see their annual Ice! exhibit.  As you can see, Henry and Vivian enjoyed spending time with their cousins and meeting Shrek, Po and the rest of the gang from the DreamWorks Experience.

 

 

 

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.