A side of avocado, please.

We started Sully on solid foods shortly after his 6 month birthday. We were excited at the new phase in his life, but sad that it meant he was actually growing up. We dove in, rice cereal first; we failed miserably. He hated it, we hated the mess. But we hung in there, I dug out my baby food maker and started, our freezer was full of veggies and fruits. My weekend ritual became steaming (and accidentally steaming off the finish of one of my cabinets, but Im saving so much money by making my own food... you get where I'm going with this) and processing baby food. Carrots, green beans, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, cantaloupe, peas, etc. I was on a roll, however, Sully hated everything we put into his mouth. Mealtime was a nightmare, Dave and I would divvy it up, not allowing the other to have to endure the tears more than once per day. I was insistent that Sully at lease sit in his chair for meals, three times per day, he needed to at least get the routine down. Some days we would manage a spoon tip full, other days (like his first intro to peaches) he would suck the spoon dry. Much to our dismay, the excitement of new food quickly wore off and the tears would come back.

One afternoon, I was pulling out more frozen foods (to basically waste after failed feeding attempts) and I saw an avocado hiding behind the peas and green beans. I thought, what the heck, maybe he will like it. I remembered reading about an avocado/banana concoction that babies sometimes liked, so I gave it a whirl. Im still excited by what followed. Sully ate and ate and ate. I had been so accustomed to him not eating and not wanting to waste, that his portion sizes were miniscule. I went back to the kitchen numerous times to get more.  He loved it. I started to mix avocado with everything, and it worked. Avocado/apple, avocado/squash, avocado/carrot, etc. We have finally started to wean him from avocado and get him to eat plain foods, but in my opinion, its a miracle food, and will definitely be a Sully staple.

Mmmm, more avocado, please! 

Post meal, pre tubby. 

Is there something on my face?

Brooking's Children's Museum

Sully and I tagged along with my mom, Maggie, Isaac, Anna and Hudson last Friday on a trip to The Children's Museum in Brookings. I didn't anticipate Sully getting a ton out of the trip due to his young age, but I was pleasantly proven wrong. He was an excellent traveler (he slept the entire hour to and from Brookings) and was his usual smiling self the entire time we were there. 

We spent the first hour in this huge open room, filled with a mock farm (chicken coop, corn stalks, a windmill, and all). We followed that up with lunch, and then a couple more hours of playing. All of the kids (and adults) had a great fun filled day. 

Some of Sully's highlights included chewing on toy corn cobs, chewing on fake flowers, and chewing on the life size light bright pieces. He left his fair share of drool behind, thanks to those fabulous teeth (numbers 7 and 8 arrived this weekend as well). He loved to watch his older cousins play, and couldn't get enough snuggles from Maggie and Grandma Banana. 

Below are a few photos from the day. 

Here piggy piggy!

Wagon rides with Anna. 

Light Bright. 

Sully and Isaac. 

Sully and Grandma Banana

Mama and Sully.

Old Dogs, New Tricks

We did it! We lasted an entire five days away from Sullivan. We were tempted at times to catch an earlier flight home to snuggle with our little buddy, but we refrained. I will admit, each day got a bit easier, but we didn't miss him any less. We would spend the last 30 minutes of each day looking through photos of Sully, then turn in to bed knowing we were one day closer to seeing him (and excited about another full night of sleep ahead of us).

We had a great time. We booked the trip with intentions of going to ski school, but when I woke up on Monday morning, I felt like I had been hit by a truck, a truck which contained very little oxygen. Turns out I had a touch of the old altitude flu and there was no way I was up for a day of skiing. So, we decided to look into "take it easy" alternatives. We settled on a drive to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO, about an hour and a half from Breckenridge. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was amazing. We pulled up to this little natural hot springs spot and Dave exited the car with his book in tow, "this isn't really for me, Suz, but you take your time." Two (plus) hours later, I was hinting that I was ready to go, and Dave was asking for five more minutes. It was an unexpected pleasant and relaxing day.

We went to ski school on Tuesday afternoon. We were both anxious about what the day would entail, it was technically Dave's first time skiing, and he was really nervous about broken bones or something worse. We had a really good and patient instructor by the name of Chris. He was just what we needed, Dave a bit more than me, but I definitely benefitted from the slow and cautious pace. We started out on the bunny hill and ended on the slopes. It was really nice to be beginners together, neither of us had our expectations set too high, and were very considerate of each other's concerns. Plus, it never hurts to have a built in cheerleader (even if the cheers come for something as simple as getting off the chair lift, or being able to take off your skis without a major tumble).

We woke up on Wednesday morning with much different attitudes, Dave was so excited to hit the slopes again. He was excited to practice what he had learned the previous day. We had a great second day, boarding and departing the ski lift with ease and gliding peacefully down the slopes (not flawless, and definitely not fast, but our butts remained snowless when we finished for the day) we considered it a success. It turns out you actually can teach a couple of old dogs a few new tricks! We stayed in on Wednesday evening and enjoyed hot tubbing, a light dinner, and a bottle of wine. While we were eating, Dave brought up the travel world that had just opened up for us, now that we ski and all ;). I responded with the obvious, "do you know how much it would cost to take an entire family skiing?". Dave didn't miss a beat and says "Suz, my entire life is about delayed gratification, so yes, I know how much it will cost, and it will be worth it." True that, Dave...I cant wait, we will be the slowest, but safest family on the slopes!

We got home on Thursday afternoon and had never been so excited to walk (jog) down the main terminal in Sioux Falls. We had strategized the day before about the fastest way to get home: Dave would go get the car while I waited for the luggage, we would be home in no time. Our homecoming was exactly what we had hoped, Sullivan looked from me to Dave, and back and forth again with loud giggles and screams. He was as happy to see us as we were to see him, what an incredible feeling.

Hot Sulphur Springs

At the top of Peak 8.

The only way down ;).

Dave mastering the permanent 'pizza slice.'

Weeee!

Ski lift ride. 

Baldy Bear with Baldy Dave.

Dave and I had been planning a get away for this particular week since shortly after Sullivan was born. We had high hopes of a big adventure to somewhere warm and tropical, surrounded by beautiful sand beaches. As the time neared, I found myself completely avoiding the trip topic altogether. It was a no brainer, I didn't want to leave Sully, especially to go somewhere as far as the Caribbean, which took a long time to get to, and a long time to get home from. So, we started looking at other options. We decided on Breckenridge, CO, and ski school. It was easy to get to, and in an emergency, we could get home within 12 hours.

The few days leading up to the trip were incredibly hard for me. I would be playing with Sully and start to think about having to say goodbye to him, and the tears would start. I would choke them back, move on to something else, a few hours later, the same emotions would take over. What a vicious cycle! Fast forward three days to departure day. Sonia and Amy came over to meet each other (as they are job sharing this week) and to run through a few things before we left. I caught myself stalling and wishing time would just hold still. Then we left, drove to the airport almost in silence as we both had tears streaming down our faces. We pulled it together and enjoyed a romantic airport lunch before boarding our plane to Denver. It felt like the airline had strategically placed babies in every row surrounding ours. Some well behaved ones and some not-so-well behaved ones, but none quite as adorable as our little Sullivan. It was a quick easy flight and we landed in Denver. As we were waiting for the tram to take us to baggage claim, Dave mentioned it. "Wow, there sure were a lot of kids on that flight, it sure makes me think of Sullivan, gosh I miss him." Followed by "well, at least there wont be any babies in Breckenridge." I smirk, and say "no babies in Breckenridge? Dream on!" We continue on, collect our luggage, find our rental car, and head towards the mountains. Its amazing how quickly everything seems to go, and how it feels to have a free hand, as opposed to traveling with a little one.

We settled in to our cabin (which is on Baldy Bear Mountain, about 10 minutes from Breckenridge), and set out on our quest for dinner (and the second half of the Super Bowl). We found a great little burger spot called Mother Load. As we were placing our order, we notice a cute trio walk in. A mother, father, and baby boy, about the exact same size as Sully, doing similar things: smiling, screeching, being carried around the restaurant by dad, then mom (while each of them take turns eating in solitude). We are both staring at separate times, avoiding that particular topic of conversation because we both know exactly what the other is thinking and how the other is feeling, and the gap in each other's heart. Finally, one of us breaks the ice. We spend the rest of the dinner talking and smiling about our favorite things about our little boy. On our way out, we stopped to ask the couple about their son and complimented them on how adorable he is. We snuck in a few details of our own adorable little guy, then left the restaurant with full bellies and happy hearts.

We are both feeling much better today. We had a good night's sleep and are enjoying a quite morning together in this darling little cabin. Although we miss our little buddy like crazy, we have some fun things planned and know we will be home before we know it. We are going to soak up every ounce of each other, and then get home and completely spoil Sully with all of the love and attention we have.

Our traditional tulip bouquet for the week.

Dave and I on the patio.

Baldy Dave & Baldy Bear Cabin.