Month 7!

It's been another month with no big trips, but still lots of exciting things happening here in Blacksburg!  

Now that she's 6 months old, Anna's hair has gotten so long that we put it in a pig-tail on top of her head to keep it out of her eyes. 

Virginia Tech's art center brought a really neat sculpture to campus.  It's a giant inflatable castle with multiple rooms that you can explore.  It's not a bouncy-house, but similar.  Notice the red, green, and blue towers.

Here we are in the yellow entrance 

And here's Anna in the red area.

 Then Green

 And Blue

 We also went swimming at the lake.  Anna had a good time playing in the water.

And she got to hang out with her buddy Lyle.

We also put her on a swing for the first time. It's hard to stay upright, especially when all you want to do is chew on the swing.

And of course, Anna has been eating a lot more solid foods. Here she is before lunch, in her Robot shirt.

And after some fruit smoothy...

How about some yogurt?

Finally, Anna's cousin Amy came to visit.  

Six months!

Anna is half a year old!

Anna's sixth month

This month was a little quieter - no big trips.  We did take Anna on a few hikes.  She's finally getting big enough to ride in the backpack.  Here we are with our friend Anne at Falls Ridge, a neat area with a limestone cave and a stream full of calcium deposits.  

Here's Anna sleeping in her crib.  She moves around a lot now, and seems to like to have her feet on the bars.

Anna is also getting better at sitting up.  So with a little help, she's able to sit in her high chair...

 And Eat!  Here's her first experience with oatmeal.

Sitting up also makes it easier for Anna to watch her favorite friend - The General!  He still likes to spend time with her, but likes to stay just out of reach...

Five Months!

At five months old, Anna is getting a lot more active, and as you can clearly see, stuffs everything in her mouth!  She can't crawl, but she sure can roll around.  Brian calls it her Brownian Motion technique - by wiggling around she moves from one place to another, finding fun things to grab and try to eat along the way.  The General (our cat) is fascinating, and she does her best to get closer to him whenever she can.

And yes, she chewed her "5 months" sign.

 

Anna is getting pretty good at sitting, as long as she has her hands to help prop herself up.

The fifth month

More pictures of Anna.  This month the main event was a July Fourth week-long trip to visit my and Brian's grandmothers.  Anna did well in the car and was all around a trooper.

Here's Anna in her carseat with Froggy.

To break up the trip, we stopped at a few spots along the way.  Here's a train outside an old coal mine in Pennsylvania.  Brian and Anna are driving the train.

 Anna got to visit with Brian's grandmother.

 And we went for a hike up Mt. Greylock with Brian's cousins.  Anna liked the fern.

Napping on the grass in the shade on a hot day.

We visited the old Burden Ironworks in Albany - during the Civil War most of the Union's horse shoes were made here!  They also made some giant bells (like the liberty bell) and a ton of railway spikes.

And finally, a picture of a girl and her cat.

Four Months!

Just keeps getting bigger! Anna can now roll stomach to back, and can almost roll back to stomach - she gets up on her side and stays there.  She wants to stuff everything she can get her hands on into her mouth, and is a very happy, smiley baby.

Pictures from Anna's Fourth Month

This month was a busy one.  The biggest event was a memorial service for my grandfather, Anna's great-grandfather Thurston, which was a sad, yet wonderful family gathering.  Also, with the start of warmer 

weather, there was camping, swimming, and lots of gardening.

Sleeping in the yard on a sunny but cool spring day.

 A camping trip!  Of course, we started out late, so it was getting dark by the time we got to the top of Rice's Field.

Our tent the next morning. Anna is a good camper.

The Appalachian Trail shelter at Rice's Fields

On the hike back down we found several mountain laurel trees.  Anna Laurel's name plant!

Anna's first river swim.  She didn't like it, so this is as wet as she got.  In her defense, the water was pretty cold.

Taking a nap while her parents pick raspberries and rhubarb.

Here's Anna's birthday message to Grandma Beth. 

Anna is getting good with her hands, and loves her "taggy" blanket.

In honor of my grandfather, we visited the local horticultural garden.

Here's Anna and Grandma Cal!

Grandpa Thurston's service.

 Four generations of women.

And here's the whole group outside in the garden.