Freedom

John had to go to a Leadership Retreat with his Outing Club kids.  It was a nice day and I really wanted to get our for a ski with the kids.  My usual option is to pull both kids in the Chariot, but it doesn't give them much of a chance to ski (and it means I have to haul over 100 lbs up a mountain on my own).  Hazen has been "skiing" for more than a season, but he has yet to make a turn or stop on his own.  We used a ski leash with him.  I don't recommend it.  It definitely allowed him to follow his sister around and feel comfortable on his skis, but it didn't help him learn any skills (or establish healthy fears).  So, I decided to just go for it and bring both kids on my own to Cochrans.  I knew my friend Claire would be there and her kids ski well on their own, so I could use her help if I needed it......  Within a few runs, Cal was riding the tow rope like a champ and Hazen was skiing after her.  I let out the biggest sigh of relief.  It's been five years since we've had one of the other kid between our legs or sitting at the bottom of the mountain.  We officially have two little skiers.

And he's really good.  He turns and he knows how to stop when he needs to.  This is one proud mama.

Now he can ski on his own with goats at Medora and Spencers:



And Cally can do the ATV assist for the way up.



Exciting times around the corner.

Happy Birthday Mr. H

"They" tell you that your kids grow up quickly.... like a flash before your eyes.  The past five years haven't always seemed to fly by-- those two separate years of waking up sometimes several times a night to nurse babies or wishing that certain stages (potty training) would quickly run their course, but seemed to move like molasses.

Right now, these kids do seem to be growing up really quickly!  I love every minute of it, but before we know it these guys are going to be regular people who might not want to hang out with us as much as they do right now.  I just can't believe our baby really isn't even a toddler anymore!  He's turning into such a fun little dude.

We had a birthday celebration at home on his special day.  His big sister was so excited to help him open his presents.  He loves his sister in such a special way.  Every day, when John drops him off at Tammy's, he gets out of his car seat, walks over to Cally, gives her a kiss and a hug, and says he loves her.  And when we pick him up, he always asks her how her day was.

He's a total goofball and has started to show a very social side (no surprise there).  This year, he asked us if he could have "all" of his friends over for a party.  We decided to invite all our friends who had little ones that were his age for a dinner party.

And there were the older sisters, too.

Hazen had a ball.  He loved every minute of having people there to celebrate his birthday (including his Godparents Cara and Tom, Cynthia, and Scott)

There was impromptu costume time:

And general chumming around with friend.

We love this little dude more than you can know.  His randomly timed "I love you's" are the elixir to my soul.  He loves to snuggle and wrestle and laugh.  He knows how to be generous and kind, but he's boy all around.  I'm so glad he came into the world as quick as lightening on the morning of January 30th, 2011!

Look Who's 80

I can't think of a better reason to celebrate!  Peg has been asking Art for almost a year about how he would like to celebrate living on this planet for eight decades.  He kept putting her off, but when push came to shove, he agreed to have a party.  And what a party it was!  He was surrounded by 35 of his favorite people at a lovely restaurant near his home.  We were so happy to be a part of it!  I've never seen him so gregarious and happy!

As is always the case when we visit Nana and Grandpa, we all get spoiled.  The kids got hand made sweaters and outfits, John and I got to sleep in until 8am, John and I got to go on a date, and the kids got new crayons, pads, and coloring books.

And the kids were great little travelers.  It might have something to do with the new headphones and use of the iPad.  We are weak!

Old Man Winter

This year, the Cleary's didn't make a mastodon to burn to celebrate the Winter Solstice, they built "Old Man Winter".  It turns out, the old man didn't want to burn on the solstice because he brought forth a mighty ice storm and it didn't make sense to gather.  After the holidays, he delivered a "arctic front" that hung around for a while.  When the thermometers finally got into the positive double digets, the party was on!  And what a party it was!

There were at least 200 people in attendance and I had no idea what an amazing show we would experience.  The crowd was an eclectic collection of community members and fire fanatics.

First there was a "fire handlers".  It started out with low key dancers and culminated with truly amazing acts such as these:

Finally, Old man was ready to burn.  There were fireworks coming out of his crotch and eyes and it really was a spectacle.

We weren't sure how Hazey would do with this, as he hated fireworks this summer.

I feel so fortunate to be a part of such an artistic and creative community.  It really was a spectacular event.

Because the kids "fairy godparents" were traveling during the holidays, we decided to have delayed Christmas with them in early January.  Cara and Tom brought there new "mini pie maker" over to spoil us to tasty, cute berry pies.  And Scott and Cynthia delivered Hazen's new wagon and an amazing Animal Kingdom book for Cal.

With the temps finally "warming" we did make it to the slopes.  As you can see, Hazen's independence is apparent both on and off the slopes!  He's getting there.

And Cally had some major "breakthroughs" with her turns.  I think she's ready for poles!

Skiers

The crazy weather that we encountered before Christmas lent itself to some marginal skiing, at best.  So, we put in our time on the bunny slopes with the kids.

Hazen loves riding the lifts, but has little interest in learning to turn, snow plow, or stop.  We have taken to the harness and he can keep right up with his sister that way.

In order to get some exercise for ourselves, we did the Chariot shuttle to the top of Smugglers Notch.

 The kids ate maple glazed bacon donuts, while the parents burned off their donuts.

And we all skied down!

We did end up having to improvise with a few "assists"

And when we weren't tearing it down the slopes on skis, we were making tracks on the pasture next door.

For now, the kids are loving skiing.  We've been following their lead and making sure that they aren't feeling pressured or forced into our adventures.  It takes a lot to get this crew out of the house (without forgetting something), but when we get there, seeing those smiles and hearing the laughter is all worth it.

Christmas

The nice thing about the ice storm was that it made for terrible skiing conditions and allowed for lots of quality family time.  The kids love having family around..... they talk about their grandparents, cousins, second cousins, great aunts and uncles all the time.  I't s a lot of work to keep up with the energy that these two gingers maintain, but Bumpa and Grandma did it like professional grandparents.  They were here for five days and the kids loved every minute of it.  This is how they spent a lot of their time:

toe nail painting by Grandma

Bedtime books and pigpile

Needlepoint lessons 

 When the weather was really cold and windy, we had a great excuse to go skating as a family.  Just about everyone hit the ice:

Cally skating on her own!

We also found time to romp around with cousin Will:

and snuggle with Aunt Nif on the couch:

To prepare for Santa's arrival, on Christmas Eve the kids made cookies for Santa with Grandma

And wrote a big card with lots of pictures:

And we woke up on Christmas morning to the most beautiful snow covered icy wonderland!

The kids had a ball opening gifts and playing with new toys.

We even made it out for an F.F.O (and it was maybe 8 degrees above zero)

We are thankful for having so much love in our house this week.  Christmas with children really is amazing.  I saw this  Facebook post recently:

I whole heartedly agree with that sentiment.  There really was a little magic in our house and I'm so glad we got to share it with our extended family!