Happy Halloween. . . the many faces of Brett Favre (BF)

We have a NY Jet (George-dog, BF 2008), a Minnesota Viking (Bowen, current BF), and a Green Bay Packer (Luke, 2007 & prior BF). And yes, for all the football buffs, I am aware that there was also an Atlanta Falcons BF, but Chris wouldn't wear the costume I made him :) . . . These costumes originally had helmets, but paper mache works best when created with enough advance to dry thoroughly (oops!). Okay, I'll do a better job next year. . . .

Bowen steals a leaf (a real find!) from Luke.

but then he kisses & makes up (so sweet!)

sadly, about the best picture we could get with all 3 Favres

We may be only 20 months old, but we know what chocolate is!

Neither boy was too excited to hold an orange bucket (Bowen handed it right back to me "Here you go, momma.") But they warmed up quickly when people started putting candy in them. . . .

1st hair cut - at 20+ months old

Now they're little boys (sigh....)

Long-haired babies

Who's never had a haircut???
Luke (above & below here)

Bowen (above and below here)

Luke below
Bowen below

Professional Family Photos

We finally got our first professional family photos taken. If you are looking for a great, reasonably priced photographer in the Shreveport area, Sheree is your gal. Check out our great photos at:

http://www.shereebabersphotography.com

Click on "Enter Site"

Then click on "Clients"

the password is Cathcart

Then enjoy!

As of today, not all the photos are up yet. She is still working on our full family pics and a few of the two boys together and the two boys with me. But about 45-50 of them are up, and they are precious. . . Of course, she had some excellent baby models. . . .

Good bye, Beau dog

June 16, 2000 to July 16, 2009
Wow the tears that follow this dog into the after life . . . Our original baby, brought home after we'd been married only 9 months, who went to every trip "home" for Christmas to my parents, on many outings, who had a crazy intuition (even predicting the boys' early arrival - long story).  Despite his quirks, we loved him with all our hearts.  We'll miss you, you crazy dog . . . . 

HOLY COW! Passed my exam!!!

Okay, no baby updates here (sorry) . . . 

So FINALLY I got my big white envelope in the mail today, for which I drove home when I had a 1-hour opening due to a patient cancellation JUST to stop at the mailbox and keep driving right back to work.  (I was tipped off by friends on the east coast who had gotten their letters the day before that I would likely get mine today.)  I ripped open that envelope standing in the middle of the street, my car running and driver's side door wide open, and when I saw "Dear Ms. Cathcart, Congratulations!"  I started doing a little dance in the street.  

So now I'm a WCS, which means Women's Health Certified Specialist through our national physical therapy organization.  Which yes (as I've been asked multiple times) does add letters to my name:  Darla Cathcart, MPT, WCS, CLT.  I don't know how many people passed, but we will be the very first group of Women's Health specialists (there are other certs in existence) to walk the stage at the recognition ceremony at one of our big annual conferences in San Diego next year.  It will be sweet!  And all my Duke buds (another 6 folks) and my professional organization buds (3 others) all passed too.  So we'll have a grand reunion.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and for asking me every now and then "Have you heard anything yet?"  I appreciate your thoughts.  Okay, as my co-worker Tina says, Praise the Lord!

LUKE CRAWLS!!!!

Fo' real!  Chris and I witnessed it twice tonight - arm, arm, leg, leg for about a foot and a half.

Papa (my dad) witnessed a version of his crawling first on Saturday night (5/30).  I was in Jacksonville, FL, at a conference.  Chris was at an engagement party in Shreveport, and the boys were spending the night with my parents.  My dad calls at 9pm that night to tell me that Luke had made his way 4 feet across the floor to a toy, and repeated it again for my mom.  I asked "Did he crawl?" to which my dad answered "Well . . . "  So then I continued to ask questions: "Did he roll across the floor, did he wiggle across on his belly, did he flop forward?"  No, no, and no.  "Okay, so tell me EXACTLY what he did."  "Well," my dad answered, "he moved one leg, then one arm, then another arm, then jumped both legs forward at the same time.  And then he repeated it until he got to the toy."  Then I made my dad put my mom on the phone to confirm that she saw the same thing.  I decided that counts as crawling.  (Am I right?  Well, I don't really care if anyone else thinks I'm right!)

So then Chris' parents witnessed him doing the same thing Sunday, and we finally tonight got to see an apparently more refined version of arm, arm, leg, leg, and not the double leg hop.  So we are rejoicing, as another very long-awaited milestone is checked off for Luke.  We are really starting to believe now that he will catch up before too long!  And we are also glad that he has been so much happier now that he is mobile.

Orange Beach, Alabama (Gulf Shores)

YES - That's a new photo you see!  From our annual trip to Gulf Shores with the Cathcart family.  (This photo was taken our last night there, but it makes a lead for the all the rest.)  Okay, so settle in with your cup of coffee, because there's a ton more photos to see . . . .

The car's almost packed and we're about to hit the road.  I would say for our first long road trip, but I think a 19-hour drive to Michigan trumps a 10-hour trip to Gulf Shores . . .

So for as long as I've been around this family (which has been going on 12 years now), we always stopped to eat at The Chimes, on the LSU campus, where we would meet up with Chris' brother Michael (who attended LSU then).  Now, Baton Rouge is the meeting point for us, Chris' parents (all coming from Shreveport), and Michael & Sylvia (coming from Houston).  Here the boys hang with Uncle Michael & Daddy outside of The Chimes.
STILL driving . . . there was so much terrible traffic this day - We had to stop for dinner (usually we would make it to the condo by dinner time).  So we hit a Cracker Barrel, and the front porch rocking chairs were a big hit with the boys.
and note Bowen with not one, but TWO sippy cups (he stole brother's before leaving the table).

Ready to head to the beach for the first time!

Below is, I think, my absolute favorite picture of Luke from the beach. . . .
Luke's like "What's this grainy stuff you call sand?"  This was the only day that Luke seemed to like the beach even a little.  The other days he just cried and seemed to beg to go to the indoor pool or the condo.  I don't think he liked the bright sun moreso than anything, and he also appeared to get some type of rash (heat rash, or sand irritation? who knows). . . .


Now Bowen, on the other hand, seemed to settle right in to the beach, only disliking when he would put a sandy hand in his mouth. . . .

Here is the Cathcart grandmother, who still has not decided on her official grandmother name.  We thought it was going to be Honey (which matches her blond hair), however there was much debate over the weekend, which included "Gigi" (sp?), "G," and others.  She knows she does not want to be Mamaw (we agree - does not fit).  Perhaps Bowen will choose one for her soon . . . . Regardless of her name, this Grandma is the mastermind behind the annual Gulf Shores trip.
Our first day on the beach looked like this:  (with the tropical depression hitting).  We actually think Luke did better this day because of the clouds blocking out the sun.

First dip in the ocean . . . .
okay, technically first dip in the Gulf, but same difference . . . .
Daddy helps Bowen "play nice" and not steal Luke's shovel.  (A very common occurrence around our house now.)
(These are the buckets and shovels that their Nana used for Easter baskets this year, knowing they had a trip to the beach ahead - she also gave them their cute little hats for Easter.)
Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Michael, who usually start at the pool, were enticed to the sand to witness the boys' first beach escapade.

Later that evening, Luke gets ready for the pool, when we realize that I coincidentally bought him swim trunks that almost exactly matches his Daddy's.




Even though this shot is a little blurry, it shows how much Luke loved the pool.  I would set him on the ledge, do a little countdown, and let him "fall" into the water.  I think that was his fave thing to do all weekend.  (Bowen liked it too, but much preferred to crawl around on the top pool steps and watch all the people walking in.)

Day 2 at the beach . . . . Luke tries to sleep it off, quite unsuccessfully.  He ends up back in the condo within 20 minutes.

Just chillin' in the condo - what we did the bulk of the time.  And if you haven't already noticed, Luke loves to sit with his Honey, and Bowen adores his Papaw.  (And the same goes for the Bowen grandparents as well - Luke loves Nana and Bowen loves Papa.)

Day 3 at the beach . . . . and my favorite picture of Bowen from the trip . . . 

Papaw buys the boys their first snow cone. . . By the looks on the faces, it seems a bit sour.

Annual trip to Lambert's.  We always go on Memorial Day to catch the hot, throwed rolls - if you've never heard of this place you should google it.  It's good times.  Guys walk through the dining area yelling "hot rolls, hot rolls!" and if you want one, you put your hands up and they throw one at you. 

The whole family - from left to right: me, Papaw (Dale) and Bowen, Sylvia, Michael, Honey (??still unsure of the grandma name, Anne), and Chris with Luke.
Both boys take after their Mom & Dad, loving the apple butter on their throwed rolls - Bowen even taking cues from his beloved Papaw, and dipping his roll into apple butter to get all he can!

While on the beach the last night taking our family photo, a guy caught a stingray while fishing off the beach.  (No worries, he threw him back to his watery home!)

All pooped out!  The boys nap with their stuffed animals on the long drive home.  Only 6 more hours to go! . . .