80th Birthday...........

My grandma, "Mamaw", turned 80. We road tripped down to her hometown of Hodgenville, KY to visit her for the occasion last Saturday. This was Ben's longest car ride and first visit w/ my mom's extended family. My grandma was in happy tears to finally get to see Ben. It was very touching.

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Great grandchildren were fighting to 'help' Mamaw open her gifts. I felt like a referee as I helped her read cards and identify gifts before the kiddos grabbed them and stuffed them back in their wrappings in order to hurriedly hand her the next package. I think she was at least as overwhelmed as I was!!


Ben did a lot of visiting, sat in many laps, and drooled on countless shoulders.The above pictured shoulder being that of my older brother, Chad. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Ben came down w/ a scary but short lived illness on Tuesday involving ghostly paleness and projectile vomiting. We took him to the pediatrician who assured us that is was most likely a stomach bug and advised us to watch for signs of dehydration and nothing more. Brad stayed home from work w/ him yesterday and by last night Ben was 100% fine.

In other news, I am happy to finally update you all on Nate. He had surgery a few weeks ago to remove several infected lymph nodes as well as a salivary gland. The biopsy was negative for malignancies and the culture and sensitivity are still pending to specifically identify the infective organism so that the docs can make sure he is on the most appropriate antibiotics. He is back to playing and attending daycare. We are very thankful!

Our Growing Boy....

This is the outfit Ben will be getting his picture taken in Friday morning....we had to try it on him to make sure it fit. He managed to drool on it for good measures. He looks like a BOY not a baby. He is growing soooo fast. Just look at his crazy hair. It's a daily battle to control it.

Here we have a couple of close-ups in the swing. We now have the toy tray on the swing w/ all kinds of things attached. He is grabbing these toys and shoving them in his mouth when he can coordinate it. He also LOVES faces and lights up whenever you look his way w/ a smile or a gaping mouth...I don't know why he thinks that's so funny. I think we are going to break out the Exer-saucer soon to see how he is w/ trunk control in supported standing now that he has mastered supported sitting. These are exciting times in the Cathey household. :)

Welcome little Sophia!

I would like to (belatedly) welcome our newest niece, Sarah "Sophia" Lamar! She was born on Monday, March 17th @ 4:58 pm. She weighed 7lbs 4.4 oz and was 20 inches long! According to her daddy (Dale), she and mommy (Valerie) are both doing well. Sophia has dark hair and eyes but blond eyebrows so it may be a mystery as to which hair color wins out in the end. After all, Ben's hair is getting lighter (and thinner!!) by the day.

St. Patty's day should be a fun birthday to have and easy for her uncle Brad to remember (he has testosterone induced memory loss when it comes to important dates). We can't wait to meet Sophia next month! We will be taking Ben on his first road trip to North Carolina to visit the Lamar clan and meet up w/ some of Brad's other family at Biltmore. We will see how he handles 5 and a half hrs of driving w/ a couple of extra hrs of nursing, potty breaks, gas fill-ups, and snackage. I bet his Nana and Poppy will be amazed at how much he has grown!!

Here is a St. Patty's Day video of Ben waking up. Sorry it is so grainy...our camera is in serious danger of being chucked out a window...we are searching for its replacement as we speak. BTW, this is how happy Ben is EVERY morning. I assure you he does not get this trait from either of his parents......

Oh and P.S. Ben is pretty much sleeping through the night almost daily......such a good baby boy! He smiles infectiously and wraps us more tightly around his little finger w/every passing day... we never stood a chance!