I a Skier!

Since Caden began walking, JZ has been dying to put him on skis.  I was able to hold him off until this year, but no more.  So a few weeks ago the three of us packed up and spent the night in Breckenridge in preparation for our big outing.  That morning JZ took C to a nearby ski shop to rent him some equipment.  I was lucky enough to avoid that outing - I was sure it was just going to be a disaster.  What two year old wants to try on ski boots and helmets?  Apparently this one!

Here he is growling at himself in the mirror because he's a tough guy. 

When they got home we let him go outside and try on the equipment.

After his nap we drove up to Breck and got there just in time for dinner.  The next morning we ventured out for our first attempt on the snow.  We had gotten some great hints from some friends with kids.  The big ones were to make it fun (even if that means you spend the entire time building a snowman), take lots of snacks, and quit early.  We decided not to put him in ski school because we figured he wouldn't last long and it's a ton of $$.  We decided we would just take him to the "magic carpet" and just work on balance and enjoying skiing.   I have to admit that I was prepared for the worst.  He's usually not a big fan of putting on the regular outside gear, I thought the extra ski gear would be even worse.  Mark it down, I was wrong.  He LOVED skiing.  He giggled and had an ear to ear smile the entire time we were out there.  I was on picture duty that day and I did my job well!  I took a million pics, and I promise these are just a few!

JZ got a lot of exercise that day.  It was his job to carry Caden up the hill over and over and over again.

It's hard to tell, but he's actually laying in the snow in this one

After about an hour we stopped for his snack of choice - water and fruit snacks.

Then he said, "I all done.  I got to Cay-Cay's home."  So we both pushed away the urge to say, "Let's try it one more time," and we packed up and went home.  After an hour of skiing this is what he looked like...

So we decided to take this super exhausted kid home for a nap.  But, not before he called Papa and told him, "Papa, I a skier!"  Yes you are sweet boy! 

And, just in case you were wondering, when we finally got home (after a celebratory lunch of "chicky nuggets") he took a four hour nap.  About a week later we got a BIG snow.  He looked out the window and said, "It's snowing.  I go skiing!"  So, we're already working on scheduling our next ski outing.  Hooray for our Colorado boy!