Jake's Namesake

The past couple of weeks we have been blessed to spend some quality time with Ty's Grandad. He is 88 and quite a remarkable man! He has more energy and spunk than I do and always is up for an adventure. We named Jake after him...Jake's middle name is Butler and his name is Kenneth Butler. Butler was his mother's maiden name. Ty has a special relationship with his grandad and we knew that was a strong name to pass on to Jake. His Grandad is a strong Christian man who loves the Lord, hunting, and fishing! He always has a freezer full of venison because he never fails to shoot his limit of deer each hunting season.

The past two Sundays Grandad has gone to church with us and then come over to go swimming. Swimming is his favorite exercise and at home he swims in Caddo Lake everyday. He was so excited to swim in our pool where he said he could actually see his hands :) He and his (equally spunky) wife Marie live part of the time in Louisiana on the lake at his house and part of the time at her house in Cleveland, Texas. When they got married, they decided to go back and forth between the two. She has been sick lately so they've been down here more--but she's doing much better.

Last Saturday we took dinner to them and stayed to visit for the evening. Even though we said we'd bring dinner, Marie still made cornbread, fresh corn on the cob, and fresh purple hull peas which were so good. Once Jake took a bite of the cornbread that was all he would eat for the evening. He definitely has his Great Grandaddy's blood in him when it comes to eating! We're blessed to get to spend time with them and enjoy their company!

Happy Holidays Ty!

I meant to post this picture of my two favorite boys last week. Ty's birthday is the 18th and always falls the same week as Father's Day so we get to REALLY celebrate him! I try to make each day special for him so he feels loved. So here's to you, Ty! We do really love and appreciate you. You can tell from the picture that Jake does love his daddy. He gets so excited each night when Ty comes home. He grins from ear to ear and laughs and laughs. Thanks for all you do for us Ty!

By the pool

Today we had a fun day outside by the pool...Two of my former Northland students, Molly and Chelsea, came over with Lauren Hance to have lunch and catch up on their college adventures. I made chicken salad and brownies and lemonade and we enjoyed the beautiful day in the backyard. Lauren and I got to teach one year together at Northland before I "retired/quit" for my new job as "Jake's mommy." We taught many of the same students and are both quite proud of Chelsea and Molly! Jake is sitting in his new lawn chair in the 2nd picture and stuffing his face with a brownie--he also had a very fun day!Here are some pictures I snapped of Jake later in the afternoon. He's wearing my favorite summer outfit for him--it was one of my Ebay bargains that I am quite proud of...

This was Jake trying out his new lawn chair earlier in the week...He humored me and left the hat on for the picture, but it came off right after I snapped it. He's getting good at smiling for pictures...he's used to the limelight!

A Night Out

Tuesday night Ty and I had a rare treat--a date night! His birthday is next week and he asked for Lifehouse tickets for his birthday. They were playing at the Verizon Wireless Theater downtown. I was a little apprehensive because it was a standing room only show, and I'm not a big fan of standing for concerts--I get way too restless. BUT, this was a great show and Ty and I had a wonderful time. A guy named Matt Nathenson opened up for Lifehouse and he was amazing. Lifehouse was also extremely talented and fun to watch, although I was getting pretty tired by the time they played. We felt a bit old at the concert as it seemed most of the people there were in high school or college--its hard to believe we're now in our 30's. We did run into one of Ty's friends from work there so we stood by him and his friend. Ty has such a love for music and always enjoys live shows--I enjoyed watching him enjoy the concert.

We got Molly to babysit for Jake, and I know he had a remarkable evening as well. Believe it or not, this is only the second time he's ever had a babysitter (besides family). We'll have to have Molly sit more often this summer while she's home from UT. I'm really apprehensive to leave Jake with just anyone, but Molly is so trustworthy! She took some pictures of Jake while she was here:

A Little of This...A Little of That

I didn't post anything on the blog last week because there wasn't anything terribly earth shattering or exciting going on in the McCathran household. Here are a few pictures and odds and ends that happened:

Last Saturday Jake and I had our last day alone before Ty came home from England. I had seen online that the big Houston public library was having a reopening party with various fun events for kids so I decided to be adventurous and independent and take Jake downtown by myself. It seemed like a good idea...When we got there I realized I would have to pay to park and walk quite awhile to the library so I found a spot in a garage and pushed Jake in the stroller. I decided I was very thankful for the Barbara Bush library by our house that I can drive directly to and park in a free parking lot. I'm glad I don't live downtown--I like the suburbs! Anyway, we got there and I realized quickly Jake was way too young for the festivities, but since we had paid $6 to park, we stayed. They had Home Depot there to make crafts, face painting, singing, pirates ( a little too scary for Jake), African dancers, and a magician. Jake did make there pipe cleaner glasses that are supposed to look like Arthur from the Arthur books.

What I REALLY wanted him to do was have a caricature drawn but the line was about an hour wait. The highlight of our time there was a call from my best friend Sallie. She lives in NYC and was on the way home from her Master's class at Columbia driving through the Village when she literally almost hit Owen Wilson with her car. She had stopped at a stop sign and he started to walk into her car, but looked up at the last minute. She said they locked eyes then he looked down and walked away. I love her celebrity sighting stories and live vicariously through her life in the Big Apple! After Sal called, I packed up Jake and we trekked back to the car and went to the airport to pick up Ty. Jake was so glad to see his daddy! Ty brought him back some great books from Amsterdam and England. My parents always bring him books from their travels as well and I love his ever growing library.

Monday something exciting DID happen. My best friends from high school and I spent all day trying to get New Kids on the Block tickets...we got them for the October show in Dallas. We were SUCH huge fans in junior high and decided this would be a very appropriate girl's reunion. The band was recently on the Today show and one woman had a sign that read "30 year moms love the New Kids"--I wholeheartedly agree. I can't wait for the show!

Tuesday night we had our life group over for a BBQ and swimming and really enjoyed that. We are blessed to be a part of a wonderful inter generational life group and love the relationships that have been formed.

Friday night our friends the Judd's invited us over for some great fajitas so we could meet the DeCarlo family. They are a couple Ty actually knew at Bammel when he was single. They have a two month old son who will have a similar heart surgery to Jake's next month. We were able to visit with them and give them some insight on the experience. God is really allowing us to use our story quite frequently. We will be praying for their family as they embark on their journey with their little Justin. It was great to catch up with Chris and Kelsey as well.

Tonight we had our friends, the Babb's, over for hamburgers, swimming, and a little electronic monopoly. The kids had fun in the pool and we enjoyed hanging out. It turns out Ty and Gary are both quite competitive at Monopoly--they tried to take Claudia and I for everything...

And lastly...some fun shots of our favorite little guy: