Putting Down Roots

We’re going to be homeowners!  With Elise starting a new job in Alexandria, we began looking for a home to buy in the nearby area.  We’ve enjoyed being close to Old Town, and with Henry only a few years away from Kindergarten, we wanted to stay within the boundaries of St. Mary’s parish (and its blue ribbon school).  We’ve also grown attached to our current neighborhood: George Washington Park.  Unfortunately, so have a lot of other people, and homes there don’t often come up for sale…and rarely in our price range.   So when we heard about a house just down the street that was getting ready to list, we decided to investigate.  To make a long story short, we really liked the home and decided to make an offer. It was only on the market for five days and received multiple bids, so we thought our chances of getting it slim, but the real estate gods smiled upon us.  We’re now under contract to purchase and will probably move in early June.  It’s a four bedroom 1950s rambler, with a two-story addition in the back: we especially enjoyed the large deck and playground equipment in the shaded backyard.  We’ll post photos after we’ve closed, but rest assured, we’ll still be within walking distance of the Metro and have plenty of space (indeed, even more so), so please plan on visiting!  Needless to say, it’s been a busy few weeks finalizing the sale.  We dread the thought of packing and unpacking our stuff (especially since we’re moving only a few blocks away), but at least we’ll have a place to call our own.

Easter 2011

There aren’t many occasions when the Morris family dresses up. This year, despite Elise having been on call for two weeks, we managed to get everyone into their Easter finest on Sunday morning. We even had time to snap a few photos before dashing off to church (see below).

  

Vivian looked lovely in her Easter dress, and this year, for the first time, Henry was able to wear a suit. He particularly enjoyed his clip-on tie (he later insisted on wearing it to school with his tee shirt). To our surprise, he managed to stay more or less dressed for most of the day. As is our tradition, we joined the Powell family for Easter Mass and brunch at Clyde’s restaurant in Tysons Corner.  Afterward, we went back to the Powell home for an old fashioned Easter egg hunt. We’re still trying to figure out what to do with all the candy (why do we buy those awful Peeps?). Maybe next year the Easter Bunny can bring more books and less chocolate…but we wouldn’t bet on it.

 

Henry Writes! (Sort Of)

Henry has been learning his ABCs in preschool (each week his class focuses on a different letter), and he recently began writing out his name.  He mastered the "H" pretty quickly and is slowly tackling the other letters.  As he says, "N" and "R' are "kind of tricky"...

Catching Up

Winter has almost come and gone, so it’s time to update the blog on some of the happenings in the Morris family over these last few months.

Ice Skating:

Henry and Elise started ice skating lessons in February.  Elise grew up skating and was eager to get Henry started after they experimented on the rink at the Ice! exhibit (see Christmas 2010).  By happy coincidence, a nearby recreation center offers skating lessons for preschoolers.  Elise reports that Henry has done really well: after just a few sessions, he was able to march on the ice with only minimal support. He’s also learned how to safely fall and stand up – two important skills!  Below are some pictures of Henry and Elise in action at the rink.

 

Job Search:

For the past year, Elise has been working at a teaching clinic for Georgetown University’s Department of Family Medicine in Ft. Lincoln, MD.  She had the opportunity to continue working with the department in a new clinic in Northwest DC but, after much soul searching, decided to look for something closer to home.  Eventually, she interviewed and accepted a position with Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc. (ANHSI).  ANHSI is a community health center, similar to Unity Health Care, where Elise worked previously.  The new job will allow Elise to return to her roots in underserved medicine.  It also will allow her to be closer to our home in Alexandria, VA and, eventually, the kids’ school.  Her new clinical site is only five minutes from our house, adjacent to the INOVA Alexandria Hospital where Vivian was born.  It was a hard decision for Elise: balancing her love for teaching/academic medicine with a commitment to underserved medicine and a desire to be nearer her family.  She starts her new job on May 1st.

Visitors and Visits

Elise’s cousin Stokes Baker visited us in January, and a few weeks later, his wife Dawn and daughter Emily came to DC.  Emily’s church choir was performing at the National Cathedral in Washington, and Elise was able to join them for the concert and some shopping in Georgetown.  Over MLK weekend, Bryant flew to Las Vegas for his friend David Bain’s bachelor’s party.  It was strange traveling without a stroller/backpack/diaper bag—Bryant kept checking that he hadn’t left something behind. A month later, Bryant flew to Atlanta for David’s wedding. Both times, Elise graciously (and bravely) agreed to watch the kids by herself.  We also managed to do some family activities over the winter months: we visited our neighbors, the Mates, at their vacation home in Lake Anna, VA and took a day trip to the Port Discovery children’s museum in Baltimore.

 

“D” is for Doctor

Elise visited Henry’s preschool class in January and talked to the children about what it's like to be a doctor.  She brought along her stethoscope, otoscope (one of those lights they use to look in ears) and some other instruments for the children to experiment with.  She also read them a story about the Berenstain Bears visiting the doctor.  As you can see from the pictures below, the kids had a great time, especially when they got to practice giving a check-up to their friends.  Bryant is still waiting for his invitation to talk about what it’s like to be a lawyer…

 

To Infinity...and Beyond!

After receiving a DVD of Toy Story 3 from his cousins Micah and Rylan, Henry has become obsessed with Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang. The fact that the movie is set in a daycare center similar to his own preschool might be part of the appeal. This winter, we instituted “family movie night” on Fridays. On those nights, Henry inevitably requests two things: TS3 and a bag of popcorn. Fortunately for us, TS3 is a pretty entertaining film. The opening sequence, in which Andy enacts an elaborate chase sequence with his toys, perfectly captures how young boys play. Like the mom in the movie, we sometimes like to observe Henry at play to see where his imagination will take him. Henry has Woody and Buzz and Mr. Potato Head too, and they’re frequently getting into wild adventures with Batman, the Smurfs, and the herd of plastic dinosaurs that reside in our living room. Increasingly, these adventures have included the sudden appearance of a horrible monster known as “Frankenbaby” (aka Vivian). In addition to the DVD and toys, we also have a Toy Story bean bag chair, blanket, bed sheets, PJs, Band Aids and flashing T-shirt. Because if you’re going to like something, you might as well like it all the way…to infinity and beyond.

 



Valentine's Day 2011

Brotherly love...

Moving on Up

Vivian moved up to the toddler room in January. She was very attached to her infant room teachers—Ms. Louise, Ms. Gloria and Ms. ChiChi—and we worried that she might have a rough transition. As it turns out, she was more than ready to graduate. After some initial hesitancy, she was soon eating at the table and sleeping on a cot with the rest of her classmates and loving her new classroom environment (especially the climber). Unlike her brother, Vivian is an excellent eater and seems to like most foods, including vegetables. One day her teachers reported that she had three helpings of diced carrots! Not long after moving up to toddlers, Vivian also started feeding herself with a spoon. It’s amazing what a difference a healthy appetite can make. So far, her only words are “mama,” “dada” and “bye bye,” but she’s been chattering away, so others may soon follow. Well done, Vivi!