Henry's New Chair

Chillin' with the remote in his new easy chair from Mimi Pauline, Henry asked his mom to grab him a bottle from the fridge.

Things We Like: Sausage Balls

What would the holidays be without sausage balls? They're so good, it really is a shame to wait until Christmas to have them. Fortunately, sausage balls are incredibly easy to make. Here's the recipe that Bryant's mom uses:

Mix together:
1 lb ground sausage
1 lb Velveeta
2 cups Bisquick

Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!

The great thing about sausage balls is their versatility: they can be eaten as a snack, served as hors d'oeuvres or enjoyed for breakfast. Elise and Bryant have even been known to have them for dinner.

Henry's New Ride

Milestones II

Henry's language skills are developing rapidly. After mastering the word "mama," he is now reading Ulysses.

Milestones

According to his teachers, Henry is now standing on his own. Elise also thinks he has said his first word: "mama." However, that theory was thrown into doubt when Henry pointed to NBC news anchor Brian Williams on the television and said "mama."

July 4th in Howell

We spent the July 4th holiday in Howell, Michigan, visiting Elise’s Aunt Pauline. Pauline raises championship Labrador retrievers and has some fifteen dogs at her kennel in Howell. Pauline’s Labs have won numerous awards, including “Best of Breed” for her yellow Lab Marty at the 2004 Westminster Kennel Club dog show. In addition to Labs, Pauline has a Yorkshire terrier named Bebe and a black cat named Oz.

Henry received an early birthday present from Mimi Pauline: a step ladder with his name in puzzle letters. It was a huge hit, as Henry enjoyed both eating the letters and climbing on the ladder. Mimi Pauline also found some of Elise’s old stuffed animals and one or two (sanitized) dog toys for Henry to play with.

On Friday, Josh and Janet Smith stopped by with their son Nicholas. Josh went to high school with Elise and worked with Bryant in London. In fact, it was at Josh and Janet’s wedding in Kalamazoo, Michigan that Bryant and Elise first met.*

On Saturday, we left Henry with Pauline and went for an early anniversary dinner at Bella Ciao in Ann Arbor. This was the same restaurant where we held our wedding rehearsal dinner. It was a beautiful evening, and we were able to sit outside and later take a stroll through town. Although brief, it was nice to spend a few hours together in Elise's old stomping ground.

*Strictly speaking, this is not true. But more about that in a later post.

Redneck Riviera

Last month we visited Gulf Shores, Alabama where we joined Bryant’s parents and his brother's family for a short beach vacation. Gulf Shores has been called the “Redneck Riviera,” but there’s really nothing redneck about it. Just about every available piece of beachfront property has been developed into high-rise condominiums. We stayed at Summer House, which is right on the Gulf and has both an outdoor and indoor pool (in case it rains).

As you can see from the photos, Henry seemed to enjoy the pool more than the beach. He wasn’t sure whether to eat or play with the sand. He certainly enjoyed seeing his cousins Micah and Rylan, both of whom were great playmates. And, of course, Mimi and Paw Paw gave him lots of loving.

Bryant and Elise were grateful for the free babysitting and spent the evenings walking along the beach. Maybe next time we’ll make it to the Flora-Bama for a beer.