SKIING!!!

We went skiing last weekend (a week ago)!!  We took the kids to Mt Crescent, Iowa to a little ski resort that makes it's own snow.  It was just a short hour and 15 minute drive from home, northeast of Omaha.  Grandma and Grandpa Stohs came up to watch Emmett for the big day.  I have to say it was a little unusual to see this snowy hill in the middle of nowhere when there was no other snow in sight!  Garrett and Avery both had 1.5 hour private ski lessons.  The resort recommended private lessons only for their young ages and I have to say it was well worth the money.  They both had amazing ski instructors; probably better than the ones I had as a kid in Colorado!  Margot taught Avery and Hugh taught Garrett!  Greg and I took advantage of this time to whiz down the slopes while we were free of young kiddos.  The resort has 2 lifts, one which takes you to the main green run or the blues and blacks, but they did not have any snow pushed over to the blues and blacks.  The unusually warm weather was impacting their snow-making ability so only about 1/2 the runs were open.  There was only one black open which was probably more like a blue in Colorado.  But we didn't mind.  It just felt good to be on skis again.  Just the familiar click of my boots into my skis made me smile!

Since the resort was so small, we got to watch a lot of the kids' lessons.  Since Avery was so young, they took her straight to the ski lift and up the "mountain."  Learning by doing is the best at that age.  Garrett learned and practiced many skills on the gentle slope by the lodge before heading for the lift, halfway thru his lesson.  We were able to watch them frequently as the lifts run right by the main green run.  We could often see them going down as we were riding back up, then we would ski right past them and stop to snap their pictures!

After the kids' lessons, Greg and I got a quick lesson on how to continue helping them.  At this point, they were both skiing with someone just skiing next to them!  They also needed help on/off the lifts since they are so small.  We were amazed at their skiing ability!  Garrett would fall down occasionally and Avery only fell twice all afternoon.  Garrett already had great form, with his weight forward in his boots and Avery is fearless.  They would whiz down the slope and for the most part we would just ski down and hop right back in the lift line to go up again!  Avery needed a few reminders to slow down and stay in control!  They are both built for speed!  We were so proud of them and we had SO MUCH FUN!

The kids are already asking when we are going again!  They asked when they next lessons are (as if we would go weekly!).  We decided this will be an annual family event!!  On the way home I was chatting with my Dad on the phone.  He asked if we had as much fun as we would have at a resort in Colorado.  I said, "Absolutely!"  What a fun family activity and a great (and less expensive!) way for the kids to learn to ski so close to home!

School Stuff

I am amazed at what kindergarteners learn these days!  It is so much more than what I learned in kindergarten.  Garrett is bringing home math worksheets with addition and subtraction problems (with pics of course).  They are learning "number partners."  For example, the number partners for 8 could be 3 and 5 or 4 and 4 or 7 and 1.

He is also reading us books in his home reading bag which comes home at least weekly, sometimes more.  Last night's stories were something like:  The snowman wears mittens.  The puppy wears mittens.  The baby wears mittens.  And so on...  Pretty cool to have Garrett read to me instead of me reading to him!!

We received his 2nd quarter report card and have made a lot of gains this quarter!  We are so proud of him and he was very proud of himself too!

Here's a funny story:  We receive newsletters explaining what they will be learning each time they start a new theme.  We got one right before Christmas and I was reading it aloud.  In the reading curriculum, they learn words in families such as the -at family (cat, bat, sat, etc) and it said they would be learning the -it family.  Garrett chimes in, "Like shit, Mom?"  I said, "Yeah," trying not to smile or laugh.  I'm not sure if he realized this is a 'bad' word?  I couldn't tell.  I read a few more sentences until I could not hold it in any longer and started laughing!

Am I still a cool mom?

I asked Garrett two nights ago if I should come and eat lunch with him at school sometime.  I had a lot of fun the last two times and he did also!  He hesitated and said, "Well, I feel like I don't have much time when you come so maybe I'll just eat with you at home."  (sad face)  "Oh," I said, "what if I bring you McDonalds?" (bribery) Garrett hesitated again.  "Well, I DO like McDonalds...."

Emmett's Stats

Wishing you a belated Merry Christmas!  Someday I will post pics of Emmett's first Christmas, but the way things go around here, it might be springtime when that finally happens!

Emmett had his 6 month checkup (about 1 week before he actually hits the 6 month mark) and it turns out he is one solid boy, just as we suspected! 
Height: 27"
Weight: 17 lb 11 oz (holy cow)

Emmett is hitting some milestones too!  At 5 1/2 months he discovered that he can army crawl.  Now he is all over the living room floor.  He can move really fast if he is after something that motivates him, like the dog's Kong.  Greg discovered last night that if he says, "Come here, Emmett," that Emmett will army crawl over to him and up into his lap.  Pretty darn cute. 

His big accomplishment this week is spending a lot of time rocking back and forth on his hands and knees.  Shouldn't we figure out sitting before we start to crawl?  How can my baby be growing up so fast? 

Having a baby on the go makes me a little nervous this time around.  The kids have a lot of toys with little pieces and I am constantly finding small objects on the living room floor.  We'll have to keep working on that and keep a close eye on Emmett!