Let the Count Down Begin...

We have started counting down...only 3 1/2 months to go before we get to meet Baby Gill! Joe and I are so excited and have really started trying to prepare for her as much as possible. We are beginning to get the nursery ready (a blog to follow) and REALLY talking about names. Joe is very picky and wants her to have the perfect name. I'm picky as well, but I've come to the point where I'm just ready to have a name to call her. People say we have a name and we are secretly keeping it to ourselves, I assure you this is not the case!!

Baby Gill at 20 Weeks

On August 11 Joe and I went for my 20 week appointment. This was the "big one" where they look at Baby Gill's development. She weighed in at 12 oz! She is a little smaller than what they predicted and pushed back how far along I am, but only by a few days.
As of now, Baby Gill is breached and tends to stay in a ball. During ultrasounds she tends to only like to stretch and suck her thumb. In fact, during my 20 week appointment I had to get up and walk around to get her to move. I hope this means she is going to be a calm, laid back baby! My sister did once tell me her most active child during pregnancy is her most active child...I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

The Bump at 23 Weeks

Ok...for all of you who keep asking here it is...the bump! Joe took this of me after church on Sunday so at this point I am actually 23 weeks! I am currently still wearing my normal clothes, except for jeans. I can fit in my jeans just not comfortably so I have been wearing maternity jeans. As for shorts, I can still wear mine just with a belly band. Lately I have just been pairing jeans with flowy tops and it seems to be doing just fine at this point that is. I keep waiting for the day when absolutely nothing in my closet fits, but thanks to some great friends and family they are helping to keep me stocked in maternity clothes.

Play Date

Sweet Bella came over to play on Friday. Joe got Bella when he was in college which explains why she now lives with Mr. Moe and Mrs. Gay. When Bella comes to Fleming she immediately runs over to our house and wants to visit with Sigsbee and Tyson. So on Friday when Bella got to town she came over for a few hours. I have to say that Bella is the sweetest, most well mannered dog I've been around in a long time. She reminds me of my sister's sweet golden retriever, Cason, that she had in college.

Sigsbee was so tired after her play day with Bella. They love to run and chase one another. Sigsbee is much faster than Bella and you can tell she takes great pride in being able to run circles around her. Joe was extra dirty when he came in from work so he let Sigsbee curl up in his lap for a little while.

Old Man Tyson loves to see Bella coming too, but she wears him out! Tyson starts off playing then ends up on the rug (my new rug) relaxing! Tyson has a few years on Sigsbee and Bella and you know what they say, "with age comes wisdom".

I love seeing these three play, but I also love seeing how worn-out they are after playing together. I am constantly trying to convince Mr. Moe and Mrs. Gay to let Bella come live with us, but I believe I'm just going to have to enjoy the play dates!

Let's Go Fishin'

As promised here is the update on Joe's fishing for the 2011 season thus far... Joe usually fishes on his families Onslow Bay, "Moe Money", but this year things were a little different. Since the Barnett's boat was being serviced in south Florida they had agreed to start the season on the Gill's Onslow Bay under the name "Meant 2B" and once the Barnett's Donzi was out of the shop the team would finish the season on the Donzi.

Hard at work! Joe fishes for fun, but it is hard, HOT work!
25th Annual Two Way Sportfishing Club's Kingfish Tournament

The Two Way Tournament started the 2011 season of the Southern Kingfish Association,SKA, for the Georgia Division, Division 4. "Meant 2B" weighed a 25.96 kingfish placing them 2nd in the Open Class (boats 24' and over) and 5th overall for the tournament.

St. Mary's Saltwater Classic

Joe was unable to fish in the St. Mary's tournament due to our cocktail party, but "Meant 2B" weighed in their biggest fish for the regular season. Weighing 40.47,"Meant 2B"won 2nd overall for the tournament and 2nd for the Open Class.

Captain Hap's Kingfish Bash on the Bluff

"Meant 2B" didn't have such good luck at this tournament and didn't weigh in a kingfish, but they did weigh in a dolphin. "Meant 2B" joins the side-pots at the tournaments and at this particular tournament dolphin was a side-pot they had joined. "Meant 2B" was the only boat weighing in a dolphin which meant their 2.2 pound dolphin earned them a little bit of cash!

Sapelo Open King Mackerel Tournament

I don't have any pictures from the Sapelo Tournament, but the tournament was held approximately 3 docks down from the Gill dock which was nice!"Meant 2B" didn't weigh in a fish, but because of the way the SKA point system works "Meant 2B" was still holding strong for their class.

Golden Isles Kingfish Classic

The last tournament of the regular season was a 2day tournament held in St. Simons. Joe was unable to fish Friday because of work, but was able to fish Saturday. The team weighed a 13 pound fish on Friday and hoped for good luck on Saturday. At this point "Meant 2B" needed a mid-twenty pound fish or larger to keep them in the standings. On Saturday, the team weighed a 26.4 pound fish!! This placed "Meant 2B" in first for the Open Class in Division 4 and First for Lady Angler for Division 4.

Southern Kingfish National Championship

So, what does 1st place mean for team "Meant 2B"? It means that "Meant 2B" Joe, Jay and Jack and Melissa Barnett, will be off to Biloxi, Mississippi for the Southern Kingfish National Championship. The tournament will be held November 7-12. Some of you may be thinking what I thought...my husband will be leaving me at home 8 months pregnant!! Not so fast...Joe, being the considerate husband he is, made sure I could make it to Biloxi with him minus the 10 hour road trip . The plan is we will be flying out together to enjoy a few days in Biloxi.

We are very excited about how the 2011 season has turned out for "Meant 2B". Everyone who fishes knows that you are never in it to win it, it's just fun and when you do win it makes it that much more fun! Even though I am so excited about how well they have done and Nationals, I will be glad for us to actually be home and to have Joe home with me on Saturdays.

Where We've Been...Where We're Goin'

We've been on the go this summer. Joe and I rented a place at "the coast" for May, June, and July. Sad to say, we weren't there much on the weekends, but it was fun while it lasted.

At the end of May, Nan rented Eagle Island. Eagle Island is a private island off the Georgia coast, only about 30 miles from Shellman Bluff. While we were there we were able to spend time on the beach, take lots of boat rides, and make some unforgettable memories.

We also headed to Disney World! I'm not sure who loved Disney World more, the kids or the adults. We were only there a few days, but we made the most of our short vacation by getting to the park at 8a.m. and leaving at 1a.m. The kids were such troopers while their parents played!!

Of course, St. George Island was a hit not once, but twice this summer! We have already booked the house for next year...let the count down begin!

Joe and I haven't been able to make it to the lake as much as we would have liked to this summer, but there is always next year!

Chandler on the ski trainer, he is so ready for the big skis!


Sibley's first time on the ski trainer! She woke up Saturday morning and declared she was skiing and she was going first... and that she did!

Gaitz on the big skis! Can you believe it, only 4 and already trying to go outside the wake? He is our little dare devil, he will try anything at least once!

Lanier likes to ski too, but she also loves to swim and ride in the boat. When it comes to skiing she seems to be a lot like me at age 4...she does it, but there are so many other things that catch her attention too.

This trip was exactly what we needed, to RELAX! It's always good to have a weekend where you never have to look at your watch and you don't check your cell phone until you're on your way home Sunday!

We are moving into our house, but still have a lot to do. This is the nursery, but there isn't any furniture! We are planning on using Joe's brass crib and I've been looking for a vintage dresser to use as a changing table. Joe wanted PINK walls for the nursery so that's what he got! This is called "tea party pink" and I love it! In person it is what I would call a vintage pink. And of course, every girl needs a chandelier!

We have an open floor plan. The den, dining room, and kitchen are all one big room which I love! This is looking from the kitchen at the dining room table.

I thought long and hard before I posted any pictures of our house because we still have things to do! I am very much that person that wants everything done at one time, but I figured I could up date the pictures as we make progress. We hope our other sofa will be in at the beginning of September and I'm planning on going rug shopping Thursday!

I have been looking all over for bedside tables and for fabric to have some throw pillows made. Not being from the area really hurts my ability to shop, I seem to go to 5 stores before I find 1 that I like!

Joe is fishing in the Golden Isles Fishing Tournament this weekend so we are headed to St. Simmons Island. This may be our last beach trip for the summer which makes me so sad, I always hate to see summer time go!

Hopefully, we will be making a trip to Manchester soon! I miss being in Manchester and seeing my family and friends, but I also miss going to work everyday at Mountain View! The faculty and students are like none I have ever worked around before. I have gotten text and phone calls from them giving me a play-by-play of the days activities since they started pre-planning. Today was the student's first day back so I hope everyone in Meriwether County had an excellent first day back and I can't wait to hear all about today!!!