Leah meets world

With Leah's heart condition as serious as it is, we've been really careful about where we go and who can hold her. We've even steered clear of a few family reunions, social activities and church. So for the past few months, we basically only ventured outdoors for Leah's weekly doctor appointments and the occasional trip to visit family. We've felt silly a few times for being so overly cautious about Leah, but our doctors have told us that if she gets sick before her heart surgery, it could be really dangerous for her and she could end up back in the hospital. We definitely don't want to go through that again... or at least more than we already have to in the near future. :-)

It's been kinda hard to be inside all day, especially with the beautiful summer we've had but when I look at this adorable face, I know it's all worth it.

Isn't she so cute?!? She's getting so good at holding her head up!

 
We've already got a list of  things we want to do and places we want to take Leah next summer. And, with Leah's Down syndrome, we can get a Golden Pass that basically lets us get into any park for free or half off. Nice, huh? We definitely plan on making the most of that pass in the future.

But, we just couldn't let the summer go by without taking Leah on a few adventures. The past few weeks, we've taken Leah to my niece's baptism, jet skiing, fishing and hiking. It was fun to see most of my family at the baptism and it was fun to let Leah meet some of her cousins for the first time. And jet skiing was a blast. We put Leah in her playpen with a blanket over the top and she slept most of the time while David and I were able to go play on the jet skis. We really appreciate Deb and her family for letting us join their party. I don't have pictures of the baptism or jet skiing, but we did get some cute ones of Leah helping dad catch a fish and her first hike.

We went to Silver Lake with David's family on Labor day. Leah didn't like the sun in her eyes.

With her daddy's help, Leah caught her first fish while sleeping peacefully. Now that's talent!

Last weekend, we took Leah on her first hike to Stewart Falls in the Provo Canyon. It's a pretty easy hike of about 4 miles total with a really pretty waterfall. It was the same day as the BYU vs. Utah game so we wore our BYU shirts. Also, in this picture, some of my hair was getting in Leah's face so she's trying to grab it. She eventually got it and gave it a good yank. What a little stinker!

David sure loves his baby girl!

David's mom hiked with us. Leah loves spending time with her "MeeMaw"

We hiked to Stewart Falls the weekend before Leah was born. (I was trying to help induce labor and was curious to see if I could do the hike at 38 weeks.) It probably not my smartest move but it was fun. Also, my water broke a week early so it must have helped move things along quicker. I look like such a rolly-polly here.

So, of course, I had to pose on the same rock when we did the hike almost 3 months later. It was so much nicer to do this hike with Leah in a backpack than inside my stomach.

Next weekend, we're going to attempt hiking Timp again. I was in great shape when we hiked it last year, but this year I haven't exercised as well so I'm a little worried. But it should be way fun. But we plan on leaving Leah at home with her grandma while we attempt this hike. I don't think the altitude change will be good for her this year so she'll just have to wait till next year to hike to Timp with us. :-)