More Skiing

It's been a busy few weeks in the Weatherwax household...not that there is ever a time that is not busy, just that some are even more busy than usual.  For the past 2 weekends we have headed up north to go skiing.  Last weekend we went to Bretton Woods for the "Ingalls family ski weekend," and this weekend it was up to Sugarloaf with the Coughlins.

Skiing has quickly become one my favorite family activities, and Mudgie's too. He has become an amazing little skier.  He's now doing all the green trails, and even some blue trails on "real" mountains (aka not Nashoba Valley).  His ability to maintain control is amazing, and he can go really fast down the mountain!  In fact, by the end of a run with Mudgie, my quads are burning.  He skied both mountains from the top, and while he fell a couple times (hey, I fell once too), he just gets right back up (with a little help) and is back on his way.  Both weekends he skied a full a day on Saturday, and would have kept going all day on Sunday too if we didn't have to go home.

Aaron loves skiing too!  He's been taking lessons, and he loves riding the magic carpet.  Both weekends he was in a full day lesson/daycare program on Saturday (with Tommy in daycare too) so Dave and I could ski with Mudgie.  But on the Sundays, Aaron and I skied together.  He loves taking the chair lift with me, and I love having time to focus on just Aaron.  He's great at standing up and going down the hill, but struggles with the small stuff...like turning and stopping!  That is likely because his skis are too long, so we'll get some smaller ones to start him in next year.  For now, I just hold on to him and do all the turning and stopping for both of us, and he doesn't seem to mind (or really even notice) as long as he has my full attention.

Tommy is learning new things every week, and will now say "dada."  Unfortunately for Dave, while he's making the sounds, I don't think they have a lot of real meaning to them yet, but that doesn't stop him from talking up a storm!  He's also really discovered his feet, so changing his diaper is now like fighting a contortionist who wants to eat you, eat his feet, and suck his thumb, all while flipping over! His pincer grasp is getting really good, so he can now eat puffs and mum mums by himself.  This is not to say that he still doesn't prefer to be fed like a king (who looks like a baby bird with his mouth open), but it does mean you can eat dinner too.  

Aaron is also learning some new skills.  Last week he decided he wanted to start wiping his own tush. While this sounds good in theory, his execution of this skill leaves something to be desired, and when he's done I just want to bath him, myself, and the bathroom in tub of cleaner.  Also, he has decided that he wants the kind of dress-up clothes he plays with at daycare at home too, so has started telling us he wants "girl dress-up clothes" for Christmas.  Are you listening, Santa?

As always, there are more hilarious conversations in this house than I can remember, but here are few recent ones:

Dave was getting the big boys ready for bed, helping with teeth brushing, flossing, etc.  Apparently, Mudgie was unhappy with how he was handling the situation.

Mudgie: "Daddy, stop micro-managing me!"

I was putting some ropes on Aaron's ski harness so I could let him ski out in front of me and practice turning and stopping without worrying about him not doing those things.  

Aaron: "What? What is this? Am I a dog?"