8 Months Old

How is Mae 8 months old!!?? Look how tiny she used to be!

Mae is quite the accomplished young baby
- She learned to crawl on August 26th and is now crawling EVERYWHERE. A week ago she didn't like crawling on the wood floor but I guess she grew kneecaps or her knees got tougher or something these last few days. haha
 -She is 100% a mommy's girl! If we go on a walk and she hears me talking then she wants me to pick her up. If anyone else walks with her then she doesn't care. She is starting to cry more and more when I leave the room. This is sweet and aggravating to me. : )
 -Mae no longer loves and smiles everybody. She is recognizing her "people" now. She can sense apprehension a lot a think
 -As you saw from Megan's post, she LOVES to swing!
 -Mae is pulling up to stand on everything too. She loves to stand by the coffee table and then fall and bang her head. (well I'm not sure she likes the last part) She now finds a pair of familiar legs and tries to stand between them. She follows us everywhere.
 -Mae started drinking out of a straw sippy cup and is doing pretty well. I'm very proud of her.
 -She does not like to share! She gets crazy arms when you try and take something from her. This is from a couple of weeks ago
 -She is starting to sleep better and still naps twice a day -Still HATES vegatables. Fruits are her friends. She loves puffs yet at least two thirds end up on the floor.

Random Recent Pics

This was taken on Labor Day. All the boys were representin' the U!

These are all the babies born in the last 8 months. Jack on the right is the youngest but certainly not the smallest. His birth weight was 10lbs 3oz and he's so sweet.

All the Gillmings, Watts, Allens, and Kirks together. The Gillmings dominated the group.

Mae, Harrison, and Grandpa watching Jake's baseball game.

Mae with Emily's mom, Lori

I love this picture of Jake. He looks like a super star! : )

Ooo, this makes me just wanna squeeze Ben. He's so tiny!!

Mae loves swinging and her daddy

Because I'm lazy and don't want to post pictures Megan already put up, go check out her blog at sunburstsormarblehalls.blogspot.com !! We had a great picnic at the park!

Sad Day

This post is in memory of Trouble Cat. She passed away this morning. I am heartbroken. She was the quirkiest/meanest/sweetest/funniest/sauciest cat I'd ever met. She got sick a few days ago and we thought maybe she had a tummy ache. Yesterday I didn't really see her much but I figured she was just out hunting and beating up the other cats as usual. This morning she was so sad and so much sicker. She could barely walk but she fought so hard to make it into the kitchen so she could be home with her family. I tried everything I could to make her comfortable but before we could even get her to the vet she was gone. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. It feels like a dream. Everything in the house reminds me of her. She was just always in the middle of all the action. I can't believe I'll never see her scratch at the door anymore or see her cry so we would turn the faucet on so she can drink the freshest water. Here are some classic trouble photos She loved boxes!!

She also loved sitting on things that were important and then scratching your face off when you tried to grab it.

She was named Trouble for a reason. She tormented the other cats so much. This picture is of her shadowing Crook so he knew who was in charge at every second. I'm sure the 4 outside cats are chanting "The wicked witch is dead" but she had her incredibly sweet moments.

Trouble, if any cat would get into heaven it wouldn't be you but we loved you anyway. Thank you for reminding us to protect our jugular at all times, and for loving us even though we swore we hated you when you made us bleed. Thanks for hours of fun watching you play with your stuffed animals. You will be missed sorely. I love you

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great time Sunday after church at the Kirks new house. Their backyard is incredible! Mae had a super duper meltdown on the way home and continued it the rest of the night.

Goofball Girl

Absolutely EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. She almost ate a dead dragonfly yesterday.

This picture is hilarious to me! She has the most fake smile I've ever seen on her.

Loving the crooked smile and that sweet outfit.

Walking down the hall to her bath in her "birthday suit".

I don't know why I never thought of putting her on a blanket outside until a few days ago but she loves it. We have been doing it every day now. She doesn't know what to think about grass yet.

This was such a fun night.

Ben makes the funniest faces. He is such a good boy. He didn't make a peep the whole night. Newborns are the best.

I LOVE this picture of Heather and Jude. It's just perfect.

Jake and Shawn were racing and whenever shawn would win it was just a "practice" round according to Jake. haha Shawn said sometimes he tried really hard to win and Jake still beat him. I guess Jake really is growing up!

Hats!

She looked so cute that day and KNEW it! I thought I would never ever say this but I love outfits that come with matching hats. It's so freaking adorable!

We were all dressed up because we were going out for a birthday lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in celebration of my mom. Mae did great which I'm sure was just to spite me since I've been telling my parents how horrible she's been at restaurants. All the waiters came over to sing happy birthday to my mom at the end of the meal. We were singing "Happy Birthday to You.. Hey!.. Happy birthday to you... Hey!.. Happy birthday dear Rene" and right after that line Mae let out the biggest shriek. She hadn't made any noise the whole time but it was like she knew there was something fun happening and she wanted to be a part of it. Everyone laughed and it was so sweet. She is a great girl. We are too blessed!

Best Buddies

90% of the time Jake is all boy. He loves to slip 'n slide and catch frogs and LOVES baseball (love is not an exaggeration in the least :) ). Then when a baby comes around he turns into the most gentle playmate. He came over the other day and kept asking when Mae was going to wake up. Once I brought her outside I didn't have to do anything else cause Jake just loved entertaining her. She was a little skeptical like she is with most kids but after a few minutes she was all about it and remembered who he was. He loves to hold her and talk to her and most of the time she loves him too. (at least when she doesn't have her cranky pants on!) Mae and Ben are lucky to have such a good big brother/cousin around

Jake was pulling her all around the drive way and she was having a blast.

How cute is Ben?! Oh my gosh, he feels like holding a little ball of feathers compared to Mae.

She was laying on him looking all cute for about .25 seconds which is how long she can sit still these days sadly.

!