The Gentry's Journey

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Houston Health Museum's Run for Your Life 5K

Yesterday morning, Josh, Lila, and I got up bright and early to head up to the Run for Your Life 5K race through the museum district of Houston. The race started at 8 a.m. which put us arriving at the Health Museum before the sun even came up (which is an hour I haven't had to experience since Lila was about 4 months old!). I was so excited because this was my first race since May 2009, just a few weeks before I found out that I was pregnant with Lila, and because this was the first time I could push her in our fancy jogging stroller in a competition (of course, with my little legs, running isn't much of a competitive sport but more like a leisurely activity). This was Josh's first race ever, so he was pretty excited too! We came in 155 (me) and 156 (Josh & Lila) out of ??, I didn't see how many, but we pretend that there were about 800...it was probably more like 300-400 people. We finished in 33 minutes, which we were excited about. Josh pushed the stroller the whole time, which was great because, man, does that stroller add some resistance when you're running!?! After the race we got to walk around and explore the Health Museum, which was really neat (I'm a nerd and love museums...although not too fond of the history ones-which happen to be Josh's favorites). We parked right by the Children's museum, but decided to wait until another time to take Lila there as we were tired and starving. I don't know about you, but food always wins out in this family! It was such a fun Saturday, and to make it even better, Auburn beat LSU!! War Eagle!

Me and baby girl ready to leave for the race

Josh and Lila on our way to the starting line

Making sure he is all stretched out before his first race

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Zoo Boo at the Houston Zoo

Yesterday, my friends, Kim and Ashley, and I took our babies to the Houston Zoo for a play date. We got there early, which was great because it was already pretty hot, and we got to see all of the animals out and about rather than napping inside like they do later in the day. We even got to see a couple of lion cubs playing which was really cute. There was a big pumpkin patch at the zoo with different areas set up for photo-ops and was perfect for us because we LOVE pictures of our little ones! We took several (...okay a TON) pictures, and each baby was allowed to take a pumpkin home with them. Of course, we had to pick the pumpkin out for them, but I think they had fun chewing on them once we did. We had a great time, and it was a beautiful day at the zoo!

3 babies all looking in the same direction...only happens once in a blue moon!

In deep thought about the pumpkin patch and all of the scarecrows around

Having a blast playing in the straw

The girls with our babies

Lion cubs playing

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Productive Morning

Lila has learned to stand all the way up in her crib...

Which lead us to finally...

Install our video monitor and...

Lower the crib mattress. :-(

I'm so short that it's really uncomfortable to put her in and out of her bed with it this low, but it had to be done for her safety, little stinker!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Nap Time

I just love when I hear Lila playing with her toys in her bed, followed by sweet silence! I go in to check on her and this is what I find...so sweet!

BTW, I don't know why her legs all of a sudden look so much longer to me!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Family Portraits in Our Home

http://blog.kathleenweibelphotography.com/

The link above is to a blog of a wonderful photographer here in League City, Texas. Her name is Kathleen Weibel, and if you're in the area, I would highly recommend her for your photography needs!! She is great with kids, and made Lila super comfortable with the big camera in her face! She was also VERY patient with our newly mobile Lila. It was so much easier to take Lila's picture a couple months ago before she started crawling! **The adorable baby in black-and-white at the top of the blog is the precious Karsyn, Lila's BFF :-) Isn't she the cutest?!?!**

Below is the link to our family portrait blog post sneak peak! I was so excited to get to see a few of the portraits that she took of us last Saturday. Josh was such a good sport about these pictures since they happened to be right during the Alabama-South Carolina game! Of course, I think I've got him trained well enough to where he doesn't mind taking pictures so much, or maybe he just loves me that much to where it doesn't matter, who knows?!? :-)

Our sneak peak:
http://blog.kathleenweibelphotography.com/2010/10/home-is-where-heart-is-league-city.html

I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures! Thanks so much, Kathleen!

Pumpkin Patch

Josh had the day off yesterday, so our little family decided to go to the pumpkin patch to pick up some fall decorations. The only fall decorations I previously had out was one measly little pumpkin candy bowl...so real pumpkins were a necessity to spruce up the place! Lila had a good time feeling all of the pumpkins, and the grass, and the scarecrow decorations. She even got to taste a stem of a pumpkin she picked out (sorry for all of you germ-a-phob moms-I'm just not one of those!). We bought a couple big pumpkins, several medium ones, and lots of little ones to use as decorations around the house. We spent way too much on pumpkins, but it went to the youth program at a Methodist church here in League City, so it was money well spent!

Our wagon filled with pumpkins

I love pumpkins for photo-ops because of their bright colors and texture!

taste test

Lovin' these pumpkins

Me and my sweet girl

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Feels Like Fall!

I'm SO glad that fall weather has made it's way down to Texas! Less humidity makes me very happy! We can now enjoy our backyard and neighborhood playground. Lila, Chevy, and I played outside the other day for a long while. Chevy loved running around like crazy, and Lila loved watching him. Of course, I couldn't resist snapping a few (...okay a TON) of pictures while we were playing :-)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

8-months Old! October 3, 2010

Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's time to write another monthly Lila update post! Where, oh where did September go?!?!?

Anyways, our little stinker is doing great and learning new things each and everyday! She conquered two big milestones this past month, crawling and the appearance of her first tooth. She is also able to stand up while holding onto things all by herself. She is getting so big and her personality is definitely shining through (as well as her cute little dimples!).

What's going on in your world, Lila:

*You weigh 18 1/2 pounds and I'm guessing your around 26 inches long...sorry, you're way too wiggly to get an accurate measurement!

*The mosquitoes here in Texas love you and leave their mark on your cheeks, legs, arms, and feet quite often :-(

*You are eating three big meals a day that consist of a lot of pureed baby food mixed with rice cereal or oatmeal. You LOVE your baby food! You drink breastmilk in between, about 4-6 ounces at a time (usually 3-4 times a day); although starting at the end of this month, only formula for you...it's time little lady!

*You love your snacks, especially Gerber puffs and dried fruits and are getting a little better at feeding yourself, although you'd much rather me do the work for you.

*Your pincer grasp is coming along, but we're still working on it.

*You LOVE playing and chewing on water bottles...and Chevy's bone...and pretty much anything that is NOT a baby toy!

*You are wonderful at entertaining yourself and will sit or crawl or roll around for hours playing with everything in your way.

*You are starting to crawl and you are getting really fast! You're curious about everything, and I've already had to move picture frames and my cute little seashell decorations from your reach!

*You love to stand up by yourself, and you do a pretty good job of holding onto things to help you for a long while.

*You have the best time playing peek-a-boo. You don't even need anyone to play with, just give you a burp cloth and you will go to town playing some peek-a-boo! It's so cute how you get so excited when you cover your face and kick like crazy.

*You love Chevy (as always), but you are starting to smile whenever you see him after being away from him for a while. He loves your smiles too...and your face after you've eaten!

*You are sleeping 11-12 hours every night! Hallelujah!!! We put you down between 7:45 and 9pm and you will sleep until around 7:30-8am. I can always tell when you wake up because you turn your music box on and gives me a sweet little musical wake up call.

*You still take 2 naps a day, but how long they are depends on where we are and what we are doing that day. Luckily, you are pretty flexible and don't need a strict nap schedule. We are usually out and about in the mornings so you sneak in a nap whenever you fall asleep. In the afternoons, you will sleep from about 2-3:30 until about 4:30-6 depending on when you fell asleep.

*Speaking of naps, your favorite place to fall asleep is your jumperoo. You love to rock yourself back and forth in it until you crash. It never gets old to find you asleep in there sitting straight up! So cute!

*You got your first tooth this past month, on September 11th, and your second one popped through on September 30th. You get a runny nose each time and look so pitiful! We are starting to be able to see your first tooth from far away now, no more gummy grin.

*You are starting to say more "words." "Dada" has been your favorite word for quite some time now, but you are currently saying "mama," "nana," as well as something that sounds VERY close to "Lila." Good thing your name isn't very long...although you're so smart, you'd probably be able to say it whatever it was :-)

*You've made some friends in Texas and love hanging out with your friend, Karsyn. You like to hold each other's hands and grab at each other's pretty bows.

*You love your music class and smile every time someone sings the "Welcome" song.

*You got to go on four more airplanes this month, and you enjoy meeting all of the people sitting around you. You're especially happy if you can climb all over the seat next to me or play on the floor of the plane.

*You went to your first major league baseball game this month...although you weren't cheering for the Braves, you cheered for the Astros.

Your dad and I love watching you grow and learn new things about the world around you. You are such a social butterfly and have such a fun personality. We love you baby Lila!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

A Wilmington Wedding

One of our good family friends, Katie Jones, got married this past weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina. Katie is my dad's college roommate's daughter (if you followed that). Their family had three girls all close in age to my sister and me; my poor little brother Phillip was the oddball of the group because he was a boy (obviously) and a lot younger than the rest of us. I have so many memories of childhood vacations with the Jones, and our families always have so much fun together. Katie is the middle daughter and is in between me and my sister's age. Growing up, we always thought the Jones's were our cousins and saw them about as much as well saw our real cousins!

We flew into Wilmington on Thursday night so that we could be there in time for the Bridesmaid's luncheon on Friday afternoon. We stayed at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort on Wrightsville Beach which was really nice and right next to the cottage where the Jones's were staying so we could walk back and forth. The Bridesmaid's luncheon was held there and was so lovely (hard not to read that word without a British accent). I enjoyed meeting Katie's grandparents, cousins, and friends, and the food was delicious. After the luncheon we went shopping at this really cute shopping center in Wilmington called Lumina. My dad walked Lila around the area while we went in the stores, and of course he was scoping the place out for ideas for his shopping centers! That night we took my good friend from high school, Kristin, out to dinner. I hardly see her since she lives in Wilmington and I live in Texas (1226 miles away-I know that from a sign at the wedding...pics are below) so it was so good to spend some time with her and to catch up. We ate at a really good restaurant right on the water. Wilmington is such a beautiful place, it was hard to find anything that wasn't really neat or pretty!

Saturday morning we decided to go on a walk and explore the beach area around the hotel. After our walk, we were going to try to find the Coast Guard station there because we knew it was somewhere close by. Well, we didn't plan it this way, but our walk dead-ended right into the station. I took some pictures while 4 cars full of Coast Guard guys came out the gate (embarrassing-slightly, but I didn't really care too much! I mean, hey, that could be Josh's future place of work one day!). The wedding was that evening at the Bellamy Mansion in Wilmington, and it was so gorgeous! Katie looked beautiful, as always, as well as her mom and sisters. It was such a fun party and we danced until they shut us down!...not really, but we danced as long as Lila would let us! Lila loved the live band and my dad loved dancing with all of "his girls." It was sad to leave the Jones' this morning, but it always feels great to be home! I will actually see my husband again on Tuesday (hopefully), can't wait!!!