Gentry's First Christmas

There are a TON of pictures, so BEWARE! We started our Christmas with Christmas Eve service at the chapel here on base.

Our first Christmas as a family of three :)

Gentry in his Christmas outfit.

Santa came!!

Breakfast on Christmas morning.

Gentry crawling to his presents...his picked the dog's present first.

Hangin' out in front some of his gifts.

Let the unwrapping begin!

"I can't get this paper off fast enough!"

"Wow! The move & crawl ball from Grandma & Grandpap! Thank you."

Opening his gift from Grammy.

A pair of pj's and an outfit. There was also a Baby's First Christmas ornament.

He chose this one next.

Daddy's got to help him get the paper off.

Still working on it...

"Yumm!! This paper is tasty!"

A turtle to hold all his bath toys.

I think he likes it.

Thank you Great-Gramma!

He loves the bows and ribbons best.

He got this one open all on his own.

"My first tool set! Thank you Great-Gramma."

He's excited to see what Santa brought him.

His first set of wooden blocks :) Santa picked them out all by himself, too.

He wanted to see what this big blue thing was...

"Thank you Grammy for my new swing!"

Daddy & Molly wanted to help Gentry unwrap this one.

"Yay! My first block/shape sorter. Thanks Grandma & Grandpap!"

This is after a little nap. There was so much going on he had to take a break.

"If I can only get little pieces off, this is going to take forever!"

Good thing Daddy was helping him.

"Thank you Aunt Laura & Uncle Matt!!"

Concentrating so hard.

He loves the ribbons.

Cheesin' for the camera.

Mommy wanted to help unwrap this one.

"Yay, a busy ball popper! Thank you Aunt Laura & Uncle Matt!"

Gentry checking out his new toy from Aunt Laura & Uncle Matt.

--We would like to thank everyone who sent Gentry a gift. It was so fun to see the joy on his face as he unwrapped each gift. We had an amazing Christmas and were blessed to be able to talk with both sides of the family. Though we weren't able to be there in person we thought about all of you and can't wait to see you next time we're home.

"I'm gonna get you Daddy!!"

The days leading up to Christmas...

Gentry opening his present from his friend Evan (and Lianne). He loves to chew on the wrapping paper and try to eat the bows. Yum!

"This paper is yummy! Thank you!"

"Woa, my very first Steelers t-shirt!" Molly wanted to join in the fun as well.


Look who's working on pulling up!

Even though we had already seen Santa when Grammy was here, we decided to see him again. Santa came to the clubhouse in our neighborhood and we got to have breakfast with him. Gentry wasn't as fond of this Santa as he was of the first one we saw.

Our little ham playing with his toys.

First video of Gentry crawling. He's pretty fast!

Caught him pulling up again.

We decided to surprise Daddy at work. Mommy and Gentry took Daddy his lunch. Gentry is sporting his new Steelers t-shirt and also it was his first time wearing his Nike tennis shoes from his Uncle Matt :)

He's getting around VERY quickly. Of course, his favorite thing to get in to is the basket of dog toys. As soon as we put him down on the floor, he heads right in that direction.

Many Adventures

So I haven't been very good about updating very frequently. I'm sorry! We've been so busy with all our company.
After my dad left, Mitchell's mom (Wanda) arrived on Wednesday. We had such a good visit. We didn't do much, but were happy just to be together. But of course we went shopping :) Gentry really enjoyed the extra attention. Mitchell and I were thankful she babysat Gentry so we could go to the Tran-Siberian Orchestra on Friday night. What a great show! I can't wait to let Gentry unwrap his gifts from his Grandma & Grandpap.
My mom arrived on Saturday, so Gentry was extra spoiled with BOTH Grandma's here! We went shopping, to the zoo, and baked cookies. I really enjoyed her being here. It's going to be tough being away from our families for the holidays. We're so thankful they made the trip out to see us. We're also thankful for the gifts they bought us and Gentry.
Wanda left last Monday and my mom left on Saturday, so our house is back to it's normal self. We sure to miss having them around! After we dropped Mom off at the airport, we decided to do something fun since we were all the way down in San Diego. Since it was raining, we couldn't go to the Historic Gas Lamp District, so we went and toured the USS Midway instead. We really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, we couldn't take the stroller so I wound up wearing Gentry the whole time...good workout for me! It was very interesting and a great way to spend a gloomy day. We probably spent about 4 or 5 hours just wandering the ship. It was nice to finally so something as a family. Gentry was so well-behaved throughout the whole trip. He's such a good baby.
For now, we're just gearing up for Christmas. I'm trying to make sure I got all the cards sent out, presents mailed, other presents wrapped and the house in order. We can't wait to see Gentry unwrap his gifts! However, I'm thinking we should have just gotten him a box since he seems so content with that. Silly boy!
Here are some pictures from the past few weeks:

I think this was his first taste of green beans...

I walked away for a second and came back to this...what a ham!

Munchin' away on cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes (not together).

After his "Thanksgiving" meal. Such a happy boy!

First taste of bananas (the store bought kind, not home-made).

At Seaport Village in San Diego with Grandma.

All dressed up for our date to go see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Yay! Gentry's first Christmas package! He couldn't wait to get into it!

"Yummm, this paper tastes great!"

"Who cares what's inside?! I have a box!"

Chari got him a lovey with his name embroidered on it. Now he has a lovey just like his Mommy did...okay, still does.

"Reading" the card from Chari.

Touring the USS Midway. Pardon the headphones, it was a self-guided audio tour.

View of the Coronado Bridge and Coronado Island from the flight deck.

Flight deck of the USS Midway.

Busy Boy

Grampa Genge was here this past week and Gentry absolutely LOVED the extra attention. We had a very nice visit and are so thankful he was able to be with us for a few days. Grandma Guard comes in a few days and so does Grammy Genge. Gentry is going to be one spoiled little boy!
We're still working our way through vegetables. He's doing great with them. He's gnawed on a carrot a few times with the mesh feeder. He's also had an apple in it. He seems to eat store-bought green beans better than the one I make him. I think it's due to the texture of mine that make him not keen on them. He's also had peas. So far, I haven't found anything he won't eat. We even gave him a little taste of lemon the other night and he had NO reaction to it! I was thinking he would make a horrible face, but nope, he continued sucking on it and even got upset when I took it away. It amazed us all.
Gentry is getting VERY close to crawling. This morning I caught him up on all fours and rocking back and forth. It'll be here before we know it! I'm just hoping he doesn't try to get into the Christmas tree!
Other than the new foods, Grampa's visit and almost crawling, not much has been going on. We try to stay busy to pass all the time that Daddy is at work. He's been at work from 6:00 this morning and it's now almost 11:00 at night and he's still not home :( Good think Gentry loves hanging out with his Mommy so much!
Here are the latest pictures:

First taste of the green beans Mommy made....

"Hey...these aren't too bad!"

"Okay, so they aren't that great either."

First taste of store-bought baby food (green beans).

"These are nastier than the ones Mommy makes!"

Gnawing on a carrot in his mesh feeder.

"Hmm...what is this green thing Mommy gave me??"


"Eww nasty! It's another veggie!"

First taste of celery. Not that is has much taste, I think it just felt weird to him.

Already 6 months...how time flies!

We can't believe Gentry is 6 months old already! Time has gone by so fast. So much has been going on: we went to his 6 month check-up on the 5th and here are his current stats, he weighs 15 lbs. 12 oz. and is in the 11th percentile for weight, he is 26.5 inches long and is in the 52nd percentile for height. He's a growing boy!
We have started him on a few solid foods. Surprisingly, I've decided to make all of his food myself. We started with sweet potatoes and he has also had acorn squash. I'm making some green beans tonight and some butternut squash later this week. I wanted to get him through some veggies before we started on the fruit.
He's still not showing any interest in crawling, but he's still pretty young. We're not worried about it. Personally, I like the fact that I can set him down and go do something and know that when I come back he will still be there. However, we're slowly beginning to baby-proof the house. I haven't quite gotten used to the cabinet locks...I think they are adult-proof too!
We're looking forward to the beginning of company coming out. My Dad comes in this coming Friday and will be here for a few days. Next comes, Grandma Guard the first week of December, and then comes Grammy Genge right after that. We're really sad we won't be back on the East Coast for the holidays, but are thankful that family is willing to make the trip out to see us. We can't wait to see everyone!
Oh, we also went to Sears on Friday and got Gentry's 6 month pictures done and they turned out VERY cute. However, we're waiting to share so you'll have to settle with what we put up on here :)

Splish, Splash, Gentry's takin' a bath!

He LOVES to splash in the tub.

This was the first time Gentry used his Mesh Feeder and I put a small piece of banana in it. At first he didn't seem to notice that there was any food in there, but then he got a big taste of it and made the most hilarious face! I wish I could have gotten it on camera.

"I see my hand, but I can't figure out how to get to it!"

Out to lunch with Mommy, Ms. Lianne, and Evan. Gentry kept himself entertained with this cup. It was quite entertaining for Mommy, too!

"Get those sweet potatoes away from me!!" This was Gentry's first taste of "real" food. We decided to start with sweet potatoes. He didn't seem to notice any difference between them and the rice cereal he's been getting.

"Okay, they weren't too bad, but I'm still not sure I like them."

After a few bites he did seem to notice a difference. However, he kept eating and finished it all! He's such a good eater!

Hanging out at Daddy's new office. Daddy had to take Gentry to work with him for a couple hours while Mommy was volunteering at the elementary school up the street. This looks like such a fake smile, let's try again...

I asked for a smile, and this is what I got. He looks like he's about to attack. I think he was just very excited. However, it makes me laugh every time I see it.

"Phew, it's been a rough day."

Snuggling with Daddy after a busy day. It's rough being a big boy now.

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!