Hiking today! Finally! More than a legstretcher!

We're planning on doing a short jaunt on the AT. We'll be parking in the parking area north of milemarker 10 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There's a spur trail to the AT in the back of the big loop there. We'll hike to the AT, then go north roughly a mile to some cliffs that overlook/face Wintergreen. It's somewhat strenuous for a short while.

We'll probably get up there no earlier than noon. We'll have our dog, who isn't leash friendly to other dogs. (Fine with people.) Predicted high for Cville is 70F, Afton is 62F. Trail will be somewhat sheltered partway, but layers would be good.

Ronan's tree rings

Rough measurements of Ronan just now, using my self-healing cutting mat and the antique baby scale:

25"
Just under 15#

Pretty cool. He's more than doubled his birth weight and he's grown 5-6 inches. I can't find my measuring tape, so we'll just have to believe that his head is big enough.

On the WHO growth charts, this puts right around the fifteenth percentile on both. His weight for length puts him in about the fiftieth percentile, which is amusing. He may be little, but he's perfectly chunky.

He only seems to speak in dolphin-speak. I need earplugs.

He's just under five months. So cool.

Hiking and nursing!

The heat of summer has left us (I'm sure it will return for one last hurrah) for a while. We took to the hills today for a nice hike. Roughly a mile on the Appalachian Trail (Virginia, Humpback Mountain) to some lovely cliffs. I wore Ronan in our Ergo. He nursed once we arrived at the cliffs.

In the future, I think I'll take along some trekking poles. This trail had some steep rocky bits. I couldn't quite see my feet, but I had good shoes, so I fared well and didn't ruin the baby's head, nor my ankles.

Pic links to a gallery, so you can see the actual fun shots. But this pic shows the expression I gave Tom upon realizing that he'd *just* taken a picture of my boob. No, you don't get to see that picture. ;)

( picture here )

Ronan bonan puddin' and pie.

	Newbie! Ronan in the onesie from bedbugsbite. (There's another one in the gallery that shows the shirt a bit better.)
	We finally got the sidecar arrangement done. Well, it's mostly done. We need to address some safety issues once he gets mobile. But for now, we've got him over there. Now I need to find someplace to keep my books, jeans, and pillows.