Walker is here!!

He is here! One day overdue but very healthy and amazingly sweet! 

Walker Harrison Cogdill 

8lbs 4oz, 20in

11:20am 12/14/14

Yes there was a name change, I'll explain that later :) 

Birth story coming soon, too!

We love him so much already! 

Christmas Fun!

Since beginning with Halloween, Banks has been ALL ABOUT the holidays!  He loves all types of decorations, parties, special treats, songs, movies, etc.  He caught on very quickly to Halloween and now is LOVING all things Christmas.  He loves to point out "cwismas twees" "tandy tanes" "twinkee wights" etc!  I am afraid we will be celebrating Christmas until March at this rate.

 

On Sunday afternoon we went to our city's Christmas parade.  Banks loved all the floats and people in the parade...but of course the candy, too.

 

 

We met up with lots of friends at the parade, it was a great time :)

 

 

After the parade we hopped in the car and headed to the zoo to see the lights!  It was a busy Christmas day :)

 

 All bundled in their wagon!  It was COLD night!

 

 

Little bundle :)

 

Happy holidays from all four of us!

 

Walker is still holding on tight.  Come on baby boy, we are ready to meet you.

 

GG and Pop Pop are the best! 

 

Soo...we tried to meet Santa.

 

Matt had told him that we need to tell Santa what we want for Christmas.  So the whole way he was whispering "choo choo, choo choo, choo choo" into matts chest. So sweet! 

He warmed up and even gave him a high five! 

 

 

 

My Poppy

On Wednesday November 26th my sweet, sweet "Poppy" went to Jesus.  It was after a short and unexpected battle with an infection in the ICU.  My heart is broken.

Growing up I lived less than 5 minutes from him and my grandmother's house.  I spent many, many countless hours and nights/weekends there with cousins on Harrison street. There are memories of special meals, walks around the block, late nights with ice cream and movies, many books read, and many, many hugs.  My grandfather loved us all so well and was so proud of all five of his grandchildren.  He never missed an opportunity to tell us he loved us. I am so thankful for that.  One of my favorite memories will be each night when we would stay at Mimi and Poppy's house, Poppy would get a marble and place it between his fingers.  He would then sit in his recliner that was located directly under a small crack in the ceiling.  All five of us would sit with anticipation gathered around his feet as he would blow on the marble and magically it would disappear into thin air.  We would all race upstairs and some how (still haven't figured this one out) it would be hidden in one of the bedrooms.  It may seem simple, but its those memories that I cherish. 

I am glad he got to meet 3 of his great grandchildren and so thankful that he was in town the day I announced to my family that there would be a fourth.  He may not had met Walker on earth, but he is holding him in heaven until he meets us in the next few days. 

I will never forget when Poppy met his first great grandson for the first time.  His eyes welled up with tears and he just stared at him.  As he passed him back to me he whispered to me how proud of me he was.  So very thankful he got a chance to love Banks. Banks might never remember him, but I will remember each of their meetings. 

Part of Poppy's greatest legacy will be his love for his wife. He loved my grandmother with a type of love that I was certain would never waiver...and it never did, he loved her the same (if not more) 15 years after she had passed than the day they met.  Still, after 15 years without her, he couldn't speak her name without his eyes filling up with tears.  Their love is in inspiration to me. 

As both of my grandparents are not gone on my dad's side, theres definitely a hole left in my heart and in our family.  He was a wonderful man and a wonderful grandfather.  I am thankful that I have my siblings and cousins to share these special memories with. I am more thankful to know that he is reunited with his creator and rejoicing in heaven.  I will cherish each of my memories and tell my children one day about their great grandfather and the man he was.  His passing is the perfect example of the circle of life, as his life passes on, a new one is soon to be started.  I pray that Walker will have his ability to love.  We love you Poppy and your legacy will never be forgotten. 



Walker's Nursery

Walker's nursery is done and it's just in time!  

We kept a lot of Banks' decorations/items and added a new little theme for our newest little boy.  We switched the orange for green and went with a green and blue with a touch of alligator :)

Obviously no pictures of him yet, but when he comes we will switch out Banks pictures for his pictures

My mom made his name banner for his crib! 

I (along with my mom) made him his own pillow for his chair. 

The quilt hanging on the side of the crib was made my grandmother (grandma koko).  She still hand quilts a quilt for each of her great grandchildren!  What a treasure :)

My dad had some extra pallets lying around so we used the wood to make his over the crib decoration. Lauren painted Mr. Alligator for us! 

I can see Banks' touch already...he managed to sneak in his Christmas bear into the pics.  I didn't even notice haha!

Aunt Jordan and Uncle Will surprised with the alligator toy chest...what a perfect addition to his room! 

Sweet boy we are ready for your arrival!  We've got a room ready just for you.  We love you so much already and are counting the seconds until we meet your sweet face.  We hope you like your room as much as we do :)

ANY DAY!!!!

Turkey Day 2014

We spent Thanksgiving this year with Matt's family and it was wonderful.  Ashley and Keith got to come and bring Cason (4 months) and Jordan and Will brought sweet Eleanor (2 months)...it was a house full of grandkids, fun, laughter, and a little crazy!

 

In true Pam fashion, she had prepared the most wonderful Thanksgiving feast.  She is a wonderful cook!!!

 

Oh sweet Eleanor!  We love you...especially Banks.  Banks was SUPER interested in what the babies were doing all weekend.  He would rub their heads, talk to them, try to make them smile...  Oh it gives me such hope he's going to love Walker!

We had a feast and it was awesome! 

 

 

The whole gang, happy Thanksgiving!

Cousins! 



Banks giving his cousins a hug...maybe just a little too hard :)

 Cici and Papa with their grands...just a few more days and Walker will be added!

Jordan's pecan pie cheesecake...it was delicious! 

 

The men!

 

It was a special Thanksgiving and what a blessing it was to have all these sweet little ones under one roof for a while.  I had been looking forward to spending time with everyone and it did not disappoint.  So much to be thankful for, the Lord is good!

 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!