Day Out with Thomas

With Vivian’s christening behind us, we headed up to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for a Day Out with Thomas at the Strasburg Railroad. It’s hard to say what excited Henry more: the prospect of seeing Thomas the Train or staying overnight in the hotel (or the “Happiness Hotel” as Henry called it, inspired by the Great Muppet Caper). We drove up to Lancaster on Saturday afternoon and had time for a swim at the hotel pool before dinner. Lancaster is in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and we saw many Amish families taking a ride in their horse and buggy as we drove to and from dinner. It was sort of incongruous to see a gentleman in straw hat and suspenders filling his plate at the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday, but apparently some modern conveniences are OK. On Sunday we headed over to the Strasburg Railroad (a working steam railway and museum) to see Thomas and friends. We met Sir Topham Hatt, played with model trains and, of course, took a ride on Thomas. It was a great day out for the kids in a lovely part of the country. We enjoyed it so much, we’re already plotting a trip to Dutch Wonderland amusement park in the fall. Below are some photos from our weekend getaway.

Vivian's Christening

Vivian was christened on June 13th. We had the entire family in town for the occasion. Bryant’s parents and his brother Kevin and his daughter Micah flew up from Alabama. Elise’s Aunt Pauline drove down from Michigan and brought along Aunt Tweety and Aunt Butchy from New Castle, Pennsylvania. On Saturday night we had a cookout with the whole family. It was great to have everyone over, and Henry really enjoyed spending time with his older cousin Micah and going to the playground with Uncle Kevin.

Vivian was christened on Sunday afternoon at our local parish, St. Mary’s in Old Town Alexandria. Uncle Kevin and Aunt Pauline were the godparents. As you can see from the photos below, Vivian looked angelic in her white christening gown (thank you, Mimi Pauline). Henry did his best to sit quietly during the ceremony and was mostly successful, but by the end (see photo below), was feeling punchy. After the christening, everyone, including friends and neighbors, came back to our house for cake and coffee.

You can watch a video of Viv's christening here:

Springtime in Michigan

During the two week gap before Elise started her new job, we traveled to Michigan to visit Aunt Pauline. This was our first time flying with both children, and it was an exhausting experience. The flight is only one hour from Washington, but getting to the airport, clearing security and keeping Henry in his seat during take off and landing was quite an adventure. Somehow we managed to get there and back in one piece. Along the way, we had a wonderful visit with Aunt Pauline and our friends Jenn and Steve Lathom and their son Matthew. Below are some pictures from the long weekend. As you can see, Henry was both fascinated by and slightly apprehensive of Aunt Pauline’s dogs. He was particularly interested in the Labrador puppies. He also enjoyed riding around the property on Aunt Pauline’s Gator and looking for mushrooms. For her part, Vivian rolled with the punches, as she usually does. She slept for most of the plane ride and spent the rest of the time observing her bother’s antics with a bemused smile.

Things Vivian Likes: Sophie the Giraffe

Vivian is now six months old and is developing into quite the young lady. She is sitting up, learning to eat baby food and attempting to scoot on the floor. She enjoys spending time in her exersaucer (an invaluable gift from the Powells; we can’t believe we didn’t have one for Henry!) and playing with her brother’s toys.

One of her favorite distractions is a rubber teether called “Sophie the Giraffe.” We received two of these from friends, and heard that it was the hip new toy with the Hollywood crowd (or least those with babies). The company website explains that Sophie was created in Paris in 1961. She is made from natural rubber from the Hevea tree and is named after St. Sophie, the saint whose feast day (May 25th) is the same day she was invented. Apparently Sophie has been popular in France and across Europe for many years and is now all the rage in America.

As it turns out, there is something to this Sophie phenomenon. Vivian really enjoys her rubber giraffe -- something about the shape and perhaps the texture and taste of the natural rubber make it ideal for chewing. She also squeaks! The real test for Sophie will come in the next few weeks when Vivian begins teething. If Sophie can get us through that, she will be something we really like too!

New Job

After several years at Unity Health Care, an underserved clinic in Washington, DC, Elise accepted a new position as an instructor in the Department of Family Medicine at Georgetown University. She will be working in their teaching clinic in Fort Lincoln, Maryland. Elise has precepted at the Georgetown clinic for a number of years, so she will be very familiar with her new practice. However, unlike her current job, the new position will be full time. That means life will be getting even more hectic for the Morris family. To help manage the chaos, Bryant altered his work schedule to leave at 4:30pm. With any luck, we all will be home by 5:30pm each night. We had some trepidation about Elise working full-time, but the Georgetown position was too good to pass up. Elise will miss her friends at Unity and the patients to whom she was so dedicated, but she’s also excited about this new opportunity.

Easter 2010

Easter was glorious this year. After a long, hard winter, we were finally rewarded with some nice spring weather. Right on cue, the daffodils sprouted and the cherry trees blossomed. We spent as much time as possible outside over Easter weekend, talking long walks through the neighborhood and playing at our local playground. On Saturday evening, Henry and Vivian hunted for eggs in the backyard. After Henry discovered that the eggs had candy inside, he stopped hunting and started stuffing as much candy as possible into his mouth. On Easter Sunday we kept up our tradition of going to mass with the Powell family and having brunch afterward at Clydes. And in the afternoon, we had another egg hunt with Joey, Andy and Sara. Below are some pictures from the weekend.

That's Entertainment

After Sesame Street Live in December, Henry got to see two additional shows this spring. In February we went to Disney Live and in March we saw the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The circus was definitely Henry’s favorite. He loved seeing the elephants and zebras and kept assuring himself that the tigers behind the cage “can’t bite me”. Henry also got his first taste of popcorn at the circus and ended up eating the entire box (plus a snowcone).