Gentry's First Halloween

We had an exciting Halloween at the Guard household! We started the festivities on Friday by having our friend Lianne and her son, Evan, over to carve pumpkins. Gentry even had his own little pumpkin that Daddy carved for him.The boys pretty much just watched while we did all the work!

Patiently waiting for his pumpkin to be carved.

"What's this??"

"I think I'll taste it..."

Our pumpkin family: Daddy pumpkin, Mommy pumpkin, and baby pumpkin

The trick-or-treaters began flowing in about 5:30. We were all ready and set up in front of the house waiting to pass out the candy. Gentry was a lion, and if I do say so myself, he was the cutest darn lion I've ever seen! Okay, so I may be a little bias, but he was cute! He really enjoyed seeing all the different costumes the neighbors had. However, he got a little tired towards the end and decided to take a nap on Daddy.

All in all, it was a fun first Halloween. And we were surprised at how well Gentry handled being in his costume. He was in it from 5:30-8:00 and didn't mind at all :) Such a good boy!

Our little lion with Daddy's and Mommy's pumpkins.

Mommy and her lion cub :)

Lion cub with his Daddy :)

I think he's had enough Halloween...poor little guy was pooped!

This was the best picture I could get of the entire costume. Gentry is getting very squirmy!

Our friend Lianne's son, Evan, was a Pea in the Pod. Gentry looks huge next to him!

Bates Nut Farm- Pumpkin Patch

Though it was a cloudy and cool day, we decided to go to the pumpkin patch. It was about a 50 minute drive and thankfully, Gentry slept on the way there. It was a bit cooler than we thought it would be. It was very dreary and about 59 degrees. Good thing we all had our sweaters!
Gentry really seemed to enjoy riding along in the stroller and sitting among the pumpkins. Some of the pumpkins were HUGE! They called them "Big Macs." We decided just to get a Daddy pumpkin, a Mommy pumpkin, and a Baby pumpkin. Perfect for our little family.
There was a petting zoo, but we decided to view it from outside the fence. Next year Gentry will be at a better age for that adventure. However, we did see some ponies, geese, goats, ducks, pot belly pigs, donkeys and chickens.
All in all, it was a nice trip and a perfect fall day for pumpkin picking.


Gentry's ready to pick out his pumpkin!


There he is stickin' that tongue out again.


"What's all this orange stuff around me?"


"I think I can, I think I can..."


Such a happy little pumpkin.


Our little scarecrow :)


Some of the animals we saw..I'm assuming these are mountain goats since they liked to be on top of things.

First Taste of Food!

Since Gentry turned 5 months this week, we decided it was time for him to try his first "solids." He got his first taste of rice cereal Saturday morning. He actually did pretty well with it. He didn't really seem to notice it was anything different than what he usually gets.
We also went to a neighbor's 1st birthday party this weekend. Gentry really enjoyed watching all the kids run around. He seemed to think he was a big kid too. He kept squirming to get down and play.
He's really been sitting well by himself. We practice everyday. His new "trick" is sticking his tongue out. :) He does this little sucking thing with his tongue and it's super cute. I love his toothless grins!
We're planning to go to the pumpkin patch tomorrow so I'm hoping to get some cute pictures.


Excited to be trying rice cereal. Patiently waiting...

Down the hatch...

And back out!

Messy boy!!

Playing with the spoon and bowl.

All done!!

Gentry and Daddy at a neighbor's birthday party. It was Gentry's first time going to a birthday party.

Dressed in his "little man" outfit for church. So handsome!


Daddy and Gentry playing "runny feet".

Sitting Up

We've been practicing how to sit up by ourselves. We've also been working on understanding the meaning of "up." I clap my hands and say "up" and he has been lifting his arms. He also is learning how to give kisses. He loves to grab my face with his slobbery hands and come at me with an open mouth. Very cute, but very slobbery!

Here's Gentry at our friend Lianne's house last night.

Big boy sitting up all by himself!

"Oh no Mom! I'm falling over!"

Gentry and his friend Evan (6 weeks) in their matching pajamas.

We looked over and sure enough Gentry was holding Evan's hand! How cute is that!?

Happy Boy

Gentry is usually a pretty happy baby. For some reason, he was extra happy this morning. I could just look at him and he would start to laugh. This was the best I could get on video. He freezes up as soon as he sees the orange light on the camera.

I feel so blessed to have such a happy and healthy baby boy. He truly is the light of our lives.

Here's another one if him this morning. Look at those chubby cheeks!

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

So Gentry has finally rolled over! He rolled from his belly to his back 3 times on Monday, Sept. 14th. However, he's only done it once since then. Guess he decided it wasn't all it's chalked up to be.

I tried to catch him mid-roll, but this was all I got. As soon as I tried to video tape it, he just sat there smiling at me. Yay for rolling over!

In other news, we went to his 4 month check-up a couple weeks ago and here are his stats: he now weighs 14 lbs 5 oz and is 24.5 inches long. The doctor commented on how perfectly round his bald little head is! Still no signs of hair!

We are sure he is teething now, too. He is super drooly and very cranky. We are trying everything to try and find what comforts him best. Right now, it seems to be the frozen washcloth or his new soft teething ring I just bought.

Chewing on a frozen washcloth to soothe those achy gums.

What a ham!

We've still been going to playgroup every Wednesday morning. He really seems to enjoy watching the other babies. Today we actually went to the movies with a few friends. It's been awhile since I had been to the movie theater. He did really well and I enjoyed getting to see a new movie (Love Happens) and having some girl time.

Mitchell has been busy with work. They are preparing for their next field exercise; he'll be down in 29 Palms for 2 weeks in October. Other than that, not much else is new with us. Still waiting for the weather to cool off.

Hanging out at Daddy's softball game.

Happy Boy

So I know it's been a couple weeks since the last update...SORRY TRISH :) We have been pretty busy lately. We've been on "field-trips" with our playgroup friends, to playgroup and to other meetings with Momma. We've been trying to go to places that have AC since it's been in the 90's here and we don't have AC in our house. PHEW it's been HOT!
Gentry is really growing and learning so much each day. I am so amazed by him!
-He is almost rolling over.
-He can now reach for and grab a toy that you put in front of him.
-He is sitting very well with support.
-He loves to splash in his bathtub (which makes for a nice mess to clean up!).
-He is even giggling at Momma and Daddy. We've gotten a few laughs before, but now he does the full on laughing, which is super cute!
-He gets super excited when he sees one of us when he first wakes up.
We go for his 4 month check-up on Tuesday. I'm excited to see how much he weighs and how much he's grown. I'm also waiting to see if the Doctor will tell me it's time to start trying "solid" food.
The following pics are in no particular order, just some random pics I chose to share:

Such a drooly boy! I'm thinking he's beginning to teethe.

Gentry's friend Evan has finally arrived!! Many play-dates are in our future :)

Gentry is now reaching for and grabbing his toys. He loves his vibrating/singing cow. Unfortunately, he has almost figured out how to wiggle out of his Bumbo seat.

Someone has learned how to suck their thumb! This was taken in July. Fortunately, he no longer does this. However, it is so darn cute!

Gentry and Daddy hanging out at the pool.