A summer of firsts

This has been a very busy summer for Hope. She has had many "firsts"....

HER FIRST VACATION/LONG CAR TRIP

A few weeks ago mommy, daddy and Hope packed up into the car and drove to North Carolina to see mommy's family. It was a 14 hour drive and it took two days to get there so Hope got to stay in a hotel and have a queen sized bed all to herself. This isn't her first stay in a hotel though (her first was last fall in Indianapolis). In North Carolina Hope got to see her cousins. She had met Cody and Allie before but she met Lily for the very first time. They were instant friends :)

Hope & Lily

Hope & Lily

Cody, Allie & Hope

Allie & Hope

She also spent some time with Uncle Corey, Aunt Kim and Grandpa & Grandma Holtz. It was a short visit but everyone had a wonderful time!

HER FIRST CAMPING TRIP

Just this past weekend Hope, mommy, daddy and Grandpa and Grandma Robinson all packed into the motorhome and went camping for the weekend at Mitchell State park in Cadillac. Hope got to ride around the park in her wagon and she watched people fishing and boating and swimming. She loved being outside so much!!

HER FIRST TIME IN THE SWIMMING POOL

While in North Carolina Hope got to put on her cute bathing suit (of course from Aunt Emily) and go into the big swimming pool. She stayed in the shallow end because she didn't want to get water in her trach but she loved floating and splashing in the water.

Splashing in the pool with mommy

Lounging by the pool after swimming

Hanging out by the pool with Grandpa and Cody

HER FIRST RIDE ON A CAROUSEL

One nice Saturday mommy and daddy had some errands to run so they took Hope along with them to the mall. While they were there Hope and daddy had a ride on the carousel. It was a lot of fun :)

Riding the carousel with daddy!

HER FIRST TIME ON REAL PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

While Hope was camping this weekend she rode past the playground many times. On the last day Hope and mommy decided to go down the slide..... let's just say it was a great idea.... in theory anyway. Mommy suddenly had a small fear of heights (yes the height of a playground slide) and couldn't figure out how to get seated with Hope in her lap.

Alright, we made it to the top, now how exactly to we do this? (Yes, that is grandpa peeking from behind. He climbed up to help. At one point daddy climbed up the front of the slide to help too.... that was a real kodak moment but the photo is on grandma's camera)

Whew, okay, we are ready to go!

Weeeeee - okay, maybe not as enthused as mommy expected
Oh well, mommy had fun :)

After the slide we spent some time on the swings but that was old news to Hope because this summer she got....

HER FIRST TREE SWING

Earlier this year Grandpa Robinson and daddy put a tree swing up for Hope. She loves it because she gets to be outside and swing much higher than in the little swing in her bedroom.

Playing with daddy in the tree swing

HER FIRST BIG-GIRL SHOWER

Up until this summer Hope took her baths in an infant bathtub that we filled with water and put on the floor of her bedroom. She had outgrown the tub for quite some time and she had taken a liking to splashing water all over the place so we had to line her floor with towels. As you can imagine this made bathing quite a task. This summer Hope got her very own bath chair. It fits into the bathtub and we can now give her a bath or attach the base to raise her up higher and give her a shower. Hope absolutely loves the feel of the shower water - she laughs and giggles the whole time!

And now.... one of the most exciting firsts of this summer is....

HER FIRST TIME USING HER VOICE

Because of the trach, Hope is unable to use her voice the way most people would. The trach allows her air to escape before it reaches her vocal chords. Well at the beginning of August Hope got a valve that we can put on her trach. This valve allows her to inhale regularly but then it closes when she exhales which forces the air up past her vocal chords and out of her mouth. It has been so wonderful to hear her start to learn to use her voice. Here is a video of Hope during one of therapy sessions :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QX-AS7pKFE&sns=em