Christmas Eve

Josie helped Kevin assemble his early Christmas present while I fixed breakfast. Kevin and I then headed to Richmond to see Haynie and Jennifer Lee's little boy Issac who was 12 days old and admitted to the hospital due to a high fever. Kevin helped Santa Haynie assemble a few toys for their tow older boys while I stayed with Jennifer Lee and Issac (Issac came home the day after Christmas is is doing just fine now!!). My parents took Josie to our church service and then met Kevin's Dad and Doris for their candle light service that afternoon. Kevin and I got back just in time for the festivities at Kevin's Dad's house. I was so glad to get my hands on my little girl. I feed Josie while everyone ate so I was the last to finish. The rule is - no presents to everyone finishes eating. Our nephew John watched me like a hawk - and was very concerned when I told him that I am a V E R Y S L O W eater. I even told him that I will only eat one green pea at a time. It was touchier for him and the other kids! The other rule is the youngest grandchild gets to open the first present and only one present gets opened at a time. We handed Josie her first gift and told them that we all had to wait for her to open it - she put it in her mouth! The other 5 kids offered to help her!! After a few pictures and a great meal - the paper flew! It was so much fun watching everyone - but Josie lost interest and fell asleep! After a little nap she was ready for the next round of kisses! (notice the teething fish is in almost every photo!)

Happy Birthday Granddad!

Josie fell asleep before the celebration began - but we enjoyed the Alaskan King Crab Legs Aunt Nancy sent Granddad for his 67th Birthday! Yummmmy!

Kisses for Amanda

I have told you before that Josie loves Amanda and now I have proof! Amanda is the only person she does this too - and she kisses Amanda every single time!

More Kisses For Amanda!

This is what happens when she really loves you!

Merry Christmas From Commonwealth

Josie and I came to work to wish you a Merry Christmas! She enjoyed her rattle from Amanda and if you watch the videos you will she she also enjoyed kisses!

John and Josie spent some quality time in the floor today!

Bath Time

5 Months

Who knew 5 months could go by so fast! Josie is 18 pounds and 28 inches long! She is now squeezing into her 9 month clothes because the 12 months are just a little big. Josie has changed so much in one month. Her appetite has greatly increased! She loves pears, bananas, peas and oatmeal - she does not enjoy peaches, apples or cereal. She still spits up A LOT - but obviously it is not effecting her weight gain. She is sitting up better but still has the "wobbles." I am concerned that she is going to skip crawling because she refuses to spend anytime on her belly - and she spits up every time we put her on it. Still not turning over often - only by accident.
She smiles and blows bubbles and has the highest pitch squeals and laughs. She is trying so hard to talk and is a little parrot saying back to us the simple noises. We can see two pearly whites beginning to peak through those pretty little bottom gums. Her favorite toy is still the jumperoo and her teething fish- which is a must have! She is like Velcro - whatever she touches sticks to her and then puts it right into her mouth. Still sleeping all night and takes a long nap in the afternoon. She is trying to pull up and wants to stand rather than sit. She is so much fun now - I enjoy every moment with her!

Christmas at Uncle Charles and Aunt Betty

We had a wonderful meal and great conversation at Charles and Betty Young's house. Josie was the center of attention and enjoyed every moment!

Soooo Sleepy

I had to video this moment - she was "in and out" for about 5 minutes before I grabbed the camera - You have to watch the entire clip to really enjoy just how sleepy she is!

Not so happy!

This is what happen when you wake her up!

Hanging Out With Grayson

We ate lunch with Granny, Granddad Walker and little Grayson. Josie really enjoys watching Grayson and Grayson was so sweet - he talked to Josie (or JoJo and he calls her). You could tell he just wanted her to jump up and play and so did she!

Loving on Amanda

Josie LOVES Amanda! She kept kissing her and loving on her. Josie can't take her eyes off Amanda when she's around. And Amanda is so good with Josie - she doesn't mind the spit, drool or poop! We love Amanda!

The Nursery

I have had several requests to post photos of Josie's nursery and I finally remembered!! I have been "planning" this nursery since we built our house - so I am very excited to share it! I wanted the nursery to different- so we decided to surround our new baby with symbols of our families. Every single picture has a special meaning or represents someone special. The pics were taken before Josie "moved" in.
As you enter the room, the first thing you see is the image of Roxabell. This is the old home place of Kevin's grandmother. Now, each year it hosts the Walker family reunion - where this year Josie was "introduced" to the family.
The driveway is lined with the most beautiful cedar trees - so we had one tree painted for each of Kevin's Grandmother's seven children. If you look real close you can even see the benches on the front porch.

This image of my parents home is on the wall that faces their house. The old Ford tractor is my Dad's - it is the one that Kevin borrows to cut our yard. The lifelike butterfly represents my beautiful Aunt Janice.
The eagle is for Kevin's Uncle Virgil and the deer is for my brother J.F. The hat is my Dad's, the cow was given to Kevin by my Mom the first Christmas we moooved in our new house (cause Kevin wanted real cows) and the picture is of the seven Walker children. The armoire was my Dad's when he was little.

This is to honor of my father's hard work farming.

More Nursery Photos

The crib was a gift from my Aunt Nancy. The red tail hawk is for my Uncle Arnold - he loved the red tail hawk. The blue bird is for my Dad - who said that if he is reincarnated that he wants to be a blue bird and find a feeder so he doesn't have to hunt for food! The horse is for my best friend Melissa - when we were little we said we were going to own a horse farm - M&M Horses! The lab is for our first dog, Daisy. The bunnies are for my mom and Kevin's mom. Daisies are my favorite flower. The table was in my Grandma Gill's house, the rocking chair is a Gill heirloom that my Aunt Nancy had repaired for me. The little slippers were Kevin's brother Stephen's when he was little (made by Little Granny), who gave them to Virgil when he had Larry, then Virgil gave them back to Stephen when he had Hannah and Stephen has now given them to Kevin. Kevin gave me the bear before we were married.


The dogwood tree represents our faith and trust in Christ. Inside the heart on the tree is K + M. The walker hound dog is for Kevin - the number 42 is "retired" and represents his favorite dog, Sidewinder. The fox on the other side is also for Kevin. The butterfly is for my Aunt Bettie.

The ceiling is covered with clouds and there is a turtle under one of the windows for me! I replaced the table with my old desk from my Mom's and use it as the changing table.



The rat has a story - Kevin's Granddad used to work nights so he would sleep during the day - he would tell Kevin "It better be quiet in here - so quiet that I can hear a rat pee on cotton" - so there's the rat and a cotton ball to represent him!

Grandmomma's Love

Miss Josie and I headed to Charlotte Court House for a much needed day with Kevin's "Momma" (which is really his Grandma but everyone - including me- calls her Momma). I called her Fri morning to ask if we could come see her and she was trilled to hear we were on our way. I was even more excited about going after I talked to her because she sounded down when she answered the phone - she even said she really didn't feel like getting out of bed - but as soon as I said we wanted to visit - she said, "Ohhh Sugga, I can't wait for you to get here!" If course I am completely aware that it was not the idea of seeing me that excited her - it was knowing that her "baby" was on the way.

As you can see, Josie enjoyed her visit too! There is something so very special about Momma. From the moment you meet her, you love her and you feel loved by her. She defines unconditional love - not just for her seven children or her countless grand and great grandchildren, but for everyone. I could write a million words and none would truly describe what she means to her family. I am so grateful to have be a part of her family - to learn from her example. There is only Momma - and she is so much to so many!



While we were in CCH, we has a few visitors - Uncle Gary found Josie's funny bone and she actually laughed several times - it was so cute! Of course I am jealous because I have been trying to get her to laugh and she saved them all for Gary! I am convinced it has something to do with his mustache!
She also got to see Larry, Debbie, Ashley, Adam, Reed Austin, and Alexis. We really enjoyed our trip!

Turkey Day!

We had a great Thanksgiving morning! Yes, Josie is wearing camo jumper with a pink shirt, bib, and shoes! Every year Kevin goes hunting on Turkey day and joins us for lunch at his Dad's. He always has his camo on during lunch - so to make him smile (and me)- I dressed Josie in her camo! Isn't she cute!
My Mom and I have watched the Macy's Day Parade every year for as long as I can remember - this year Miss Josie was part of the tradition! Even Uncle JF watched with us while Dad cooked breakfast!
Josie is wearing Uncle JF's Superman hat. She really enjoys her time with Uncle JF!

Thanksgiving Lunch

Lunchtime at Granddad and Granny's was so much fun! I left with a very FULL belly and a happy little girl. Josie was passed from lap to lap until she got her belly full and slept during lunch (which was perfect timing)! She took another little nap on Granddad's chest (he took a nap too). The camo outfit was a hit with Kevin!

Next year Josie will be in the pile! Granddad is so much fun to jump on!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Back to Mom's for dinner where my full belly from lunch, was stretched even more. For those of you who know my Mom - you know that the food was soooo good and dessert was even better. Josie had sweet potatoes for the first time - she wasn't really impressed - but she loved her bottle! I am sure next year she will be more than impressed when she can try all of Grandma's treats on the table! It was so wonderful to have our little girl at with us this year. We didn't know it - but she was with us last year at the Thanksgiving table! I have always cherished my family and I am so grateful for the love we share. To have my "own" family now- and to be able to share her with "our" family is so special. Nothing prepared me for the love I feel for Josie - I thank God each day for allowing me to be her mother. What a blessing!



Two peas in a pod I tell ya! Nothing like a little nap after dinner!

Taking Charge!

It's official - she has taken over the office! My Mom has been sick this week - so Josie has joined me at the office (thank goodness it's a short work week)!

It's cold out there!

Josie snuggled up to her "Monday" bear and came to work with me!

Thanks!

Josie loves her new toy! A great big teething ring!

Thanks!

Look at those blue eyes!!!

Four Months

Time is flying by! I can't believe she is 4months old! Weighing in at 17 pounds and a full 27 inches long Josie is a healthy, happy little girl. She recongnises us now and reaches for you to pick her up. The smiles and giggles are increasing everyday. She is a loving little girl and will allow anybody to hold her. She doesn't seem to be affraid of anything or anyone. She is sitting up by herself - well it's actually more like she is sitting up while using her hands as a prop - but it counts! Tummy time is still not her favorite and though she has turned over, she doesn't know how or why. She still LOVES her jumperoo and wants to stand more than she wants to sit. We have introduced several fruits and veggies, but she is really not interested in solids yet. She is in bed by 7 and sleeps until 5 - eats and back down until 8.
Josie has definatly found her voice and is hitting high notes make both of us laugh! She is, without a dought, a daddy's girl, but I am working on it.
Four months - and she is my everything!


Her eyes are still VERY blue and her hair is multi-colored - blonde, with a hint of red on the top and still very dark at the back.

A New Friend

Josie has a new friend! She enjoyed her visit from Elijah Taylor!

Aunt Lissa

OK - I think Logan is thinking -"Who's that girl in my Mamma's lap???"

Josie got to drooled on Aunt Lissa and flirt with Logan while we discussed all the ways we are going to make our millons....

Uncle JF

We are all so proud of Uncle JF - he ran (YES RAN) a 10 K (6.3 miles) and finished in 63 minutes!! Here he is just about to cross the finish line!
















BIG FINISH! JF ran the entire race - no walking or stopping!!














Mom, Dad, Kevin, Josie and I were all waiting at the finish line! What a huge accomplishment for JF - what an emotional moment for all of us! He is an inspiration to us all!