Silky

Our last post reminded us that we need to explain silky. Henry’s silky is the satin pillowcase which he uses as a security blanket. It was a gift from his cousins Micah and Rylan, both of whom had their own silkys. Henry’s silky is light blue and has his name embroidered on the bottom. Although silky travels with us everywhere, it has been lost only once: one night it was left behind in the toy bin at daycare. That was a restless night in the Morris household. For his birthday, Henry received a second, larger silky from his cousins. Now we will never get stuck without silky, and the original silky will (hopefully) get washed more often.

Henry's 1st Birthday

Henry’s first birthday party was a great success. Mimi Pauline flew down from Michigan, and we invited some friends and neighbors over for cake and ice cream. As you can see from the pictures, Henry enjoyed his first taste of birthday cake. However, he wasn’t such a big fan of party hats.

Henry received lots of presents, including some toy soldiers from his cousins Emily and Alexander in Michigan, a new silky from his cousins Micah and Rylan in Alabama, and a big bouncy ball from dad and a crocodile-shaped xylophone from mom. Mimi Pauline gave him a stool, an easy chair, and a Royal Doulton china set, and Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill gave him a musical play table. Henry enjoyed the gifts as well as the ribbons and wrapping paper that came with them.

Several of our neighbors stopped by to wish Henry happy birthday. We were particularly pleased that our neighbors Mr. Tim and Mr. Wynn were able to join us. Mr. Tim has lived in our neighborhood for thirty years and always has something entertaining and (he would insist) educational to say. Mr. Tim brought Henry a book of children’s poetry which belonged to him as a child and also a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, his favorite book.

After the festivities, we left Henry with Mimi Pauline and went to see our first movie – Batman: The Dark Knight – in over a year. It was playing at the Uptown Theater in Cleveland Park, a wonderful old cinema with a balcony and gigantic widescreen.

Click below for more photos from the big event:

And here's some video of Henry blowing out his birthday candle:

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."