6 Months

Charlie turned 6 months old on Sunday.

Everyone says it but I can't believe how big he is getting and how fast 6 months went by.  Especially when I compare some of his early photos to his 6 month photos.

This month Charlie became an excellent traveller.  He learned to sleep, eat and have his diaper changed anywhere and everywhere!

Its been a very mild spring for Alabama but it was finally warm enough to break out the inflatable pool for the backyard.

Look how well we're sitting these days!

Charlie also tried his first solid foods.  So far he's had avocado, banana, carrots, and sweet potato.  Loves the banana, not a huge fan of the carrots.

I can do it myself mom!

He still enjoys being carried in the Moby Wrap and doesn't seem to mind a little rain.

He's also become very attached to Sophie, his giraffe.  This is the must have toy for babies these days and I finally understand why.  He loves it!

Seattle

On our last full day we headed to Seattle.  Most of the day we hung out in the Pike Place Market.  We also spent a little time at the REI Flagship store and did a drive by of the Space Needle.

Seattle Free Tours tour of the market.  Jake was awesome!

Oldest (not original) Starbucks.  

Plenty of seafood

and produce

Shyam got to catch a fish!

more produce and Lowell's our lunch stop on the left

lower levels of the market - who knew?

the gum wall - gross!

the backyard of our house in Olympia on our last morning

Portland

Saturday we headed to Portland.

We spent a lot of time checking out the Saturday market with tons of handmade crafts and all sorts of different kinds of food.

Charlie enjoyed all the attention.

He especially enjoyed Shyam's head :-)

We also stopped by Powell's Books, the largest independent book story in the world.

Funny coincidence - the guy at the register was from Maryland and went to Frederick High!

We stopped at Vodoo Donuts on the way home and tried some interesting combinations - oreo, fruit loops, coco puffs...

There were many beautiful murals.

Olympia and Mt. St. Helens

Thursday we arrived at our rental house in Olympia.  It was in a beautiful wooded location right on the sound.

Charlie and Mike hang out in our room

Friday morning we headed to the Olympia Farmers market.  It was a much smaller version of Pike Place Market in Seattle.  There was lots of fresh produce and handmade crafts.

We still had lots of daylight left so we decided to drive about an hour to Mt. St. Helens.  We stopped at a visitors center to learn all about the 1980 eruption.  It was a cloudy day so we decided to drive closer to see if we could get a better view.

group picture at an overlook along the way

Eventually it started to rain and we gave up getting a better view of the volcano.  We stopped at a visitor's lodge and enjoyed a nice view over lunch.