The sun was out for us during our 6 day trip to Sun Valley. I flew over with Natalie and the girls on Tuesday while the boys flew over to meet us on Thursday. Natalie and I flew into Boise, rented a car, and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Sun Valley. We had the boys fly directly in and out of Hailey since their trip was shorter. We all had a blast. My parents rented a lovely condo in Elkhorn for a month and had invited us all to come stay with them. I don't think they had expected all of us to come AT THE SAME TIME, but it worked out great for everyone. Anya and Elin got to spend some quality time with both their grandparents and their aunt and uncle. Meanwhile we got to ski- oh glorious downhill skiing at Sun Valley. It really is the best skiing around. The conditions are almost always perfect- sunny, cold and groomed. That is how I like to ski at least.
The travelling part of the vacation went very well. Both girls had colds so I was concerned about the airplane ride but the take off and descent didn't even phase them on the way over. By the time they flew home however both girls complained of ear pain- Anya by asking me to kiss her ear and telling me it hurt- Elin by screaming for 20 minutes. Myles was a brave soul and with the help of my brother flew home with Elin while Natalie and I took Anya. It worked out well for everyone and I am very proud of my husband for being able to manage a 6 month old on a plane without the mom. Kudos to him!
While in Sun Valley we were able to get Anya up on skis for the first time. She LOVED it! Myles had a great time teaching her and Bobpop took her up to Dollar mountain one day too. She got to sled and snowshoe a bit as well. Since the weather was quite cold and Elin had a cold we kept her inside most the time. She had a lovely time spending time with everyone and relaxing by the fire.
Poor Elin though- she looks like a pirate for 2-3 hours a day. After her eye appointment the doctor recommended we have her wear a patch over her strong (left) eye to strengthen her right eye. She gets frustrated by having to wear the patch but generally goes along with the torture. Taking it off is another matter. Just think of taking a band-aid off the same part of your skin every day- especially the sensitive tender skin around your eye. We are gentle but it still pulls and hurts her.
She has been eating rice cereal and applesauce for a few weeks. We are going to start venturing into new foods now that we are home from vacation. (I didn't want to risk an allergic reaction right before we left or while we were gone). She still mushes it around in her mouth and spits it out but some of it makes it down I think. Our doctor told us it was very important for babies at 6 months to start learning to eat solid foods to get the tongue use to the swallowing motion. It helps with language development which is of course a top priority for us.
We have been working with Elin to get her to sit up more and spend more time on her tummy. I can get about 2-3 minutes of tummy time out of her before she starts crying. She still hates it- but I am trying to persevere in order to develop her neck muscles more. She is happiest sitting on your lap or laying on her back or side interacting with you or any inanimate object with a face.
