Leah currently weighs 22 1/2 pounds and is 32 1/2 inches tall. She is wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 4-5 shoes, and size 3 diapers. (This picture was taken after some tears as evidenced by the watery eyes, but this was the best of the bunch.)
Prior to our trip to Utah, Leah had two big firsts - first funnel cake and first pony tails! We went to our local carnival as a family, but Leah was just an inch shy of the height requirement to ride the rides. She won a little pink dolphin at a ducky game where she selected the duck on her own. We then shared a funnel cake that she devoured! What is there not to love about sweet, chewy, warm dough heavily dusted with powdered sugar!?
Leah's hair has continued to grow, so I decided to try to put in some pony tails. She was REALLY squirmy, but I distracted her with a bag full of rubber hair bands to play with. The end result wasn't too bad!
The plane trip out to Utah was a little more challenging than past trips. We used the backpack carrier to get through ticketing and security which freed up both of mommy's arms. After we got to the gate, I kept track of Leah at the airport with a leash book bag. At the gate, we were lucky enough to be able to greet 45 World War II vets that were coming into DC to see the memorial. Leah found her way to where all of the wheelchairs were parked with 90+ year old vets and started pushing them around. The vets and their helpers thought it was great and snapped lots of pictures. Mommy was too busy making sure that she didn't push any vets too hard to take any pictures!
Aunt Kierstan picked us up from the airport and we stopped at a Chick Filet to eat. Leah and her cousin Eva had a blast playing in the play place.
Our first stop during our trip in Utah was at Great Grandma and Grandpa R's house in Provo. While we were there, Leah started climbing. It started with just the chairs around the table and then onto the couch. She even attempted to climb the window shutters! She also was able to work all the doors except those going to the outside because of the design of the door handles at their house. While in Provo, we also got to visit BYU where mommy went to school and where Great Grandma R is a service missionary at the Family History Library! It was a great trip and Leah got some cool cougar gear!
We also got to hang out a bunch with Great Grandpa R. We went on two mile walks with him every morning. Leah liked to "help" grandpa with his yard work, but I think she enjoyed eating Oreos on the back deck with him more!
Great Grandpa R also filled up a baby pool for Leah to play in, but she was less than appreciative and didn't like the cool water (even though we let it warm up in the sun for several hours beforehand).
Leah also discovered the location of her belly button while we were staying with Great Grandma and Grandpa R. Whenever you ask her where her belly button is, she gets a big grin and lifts up her shirt to find it. It's a little more challenging in a dress, but she doesn't give up.
We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa R and can't wait to visit again at Christmastime!
Next on our vacation agenda was a trip up north to Grandma and Grandpa S's house! While there, Leah FINALLY started going down the stairs on her own. She's been going UP stairs for quite some time and she was going down on her belly, but she was too scared to START going down starting from the top of the stairs. Now that she can go up and down stairs as she pleases, it is more difficult to keep track of her! She has also started to try to WALK up and down the stairs instead of just crawling.
Leah still loves going on walks. While we were up north with Grandma and Grandpa S, we took morning walks with Max, their dog. Leah is very content being pushed in her stroller and sometimes starts her morning nap during our walks. She also liked holding Max's leash!
In play time, Leah continues to love the outdoors. While we were at Grandma and Grandpa S's, Leah and I swam in the pool just about every day. She LOVES the pool. Each time we got in the pool, she got a little more comfortable. She now puts her face in the water, blows bubbles in the water, and jumps in from the side of the pool. Leah loves the pool so much, she actually pulled a post off of the fence trying to get in!
When we are not swimming, she loves to feed the chickens, pick stuff from the garden, or play on the swing set. There is only a "big girl" swing at Grandma and Grandpa S's, but that doesn't deter Leah. She still runs over to it wanting to be pushed and balances pretty well. Now that we're home, she runs to the big swings at the neighborhood playground and tries to climb on them instead of going over to the baby swings.
When we are inside, Leah likes to tear things out of drawers and cabinets and get into the dishwasher and refrigerator. She also has a special talent for finding and getting into things that she shouldn't (like fragile objects or collectibles.) She like pushing the keys on the piano and interrupts Aunt Lexi during her piano practices. She doesn't play with actual toys very often, but when she does it is usually something that she can push or something that makes noise. She has fun playing with Aunt Lexi and likes that she can reach the light switch to the playhouse in Lexi's room.
A couple Sundays ago, Grandma S was playing the organ for sacrament meeting. After the meeting was over, Leah got her first "lesson" on the organ. She loved pushing the keys and hearing the organ's music fill the whole chapel. Unfortunately, the next Sunday when we were visiting Aunt Kierstan's ward for Cousin Jacob's baby blessing, the only place Leah wanted to be was ON THE STAND with the organ. Mommy spent the first part of sacrament meeting continually grabbing her right before she got up the stairs to the pulpit. I'm hoping this doesn't become a problem!
We also spent a day visiting the aquarium in Draper while up north with Grandma and Grandpa S. Leah loved looking at the colorful fish in the many different aquariums, petting stingrays, and seeing the otters play.
As far as talking, she has started to experiment a little more with some new words. She repeats her daddy trying new words more often then mommy. She is now regularly saying (in addition to mama and dada) "bye, bye," "kittyCAT," (she whispers the first part), "da" (dog), "ha" (hot), "no," "yah," "bubbles," and most recently "uh oh!" for just about everything.
It's amazing to see Leah turn into a little person. She is starting to communicate more and interact with those around her. My Leah is growing up so fast. I love you, my little Weeby!
