Liam's first ski

Liam had another exciting first experience today - downhill skiing! (on a first-time, toddler, scale of course). We spent the day at Hermon Mountain near Bangor. Mountain is being rather generous, it's a big hill with one lift, a t-bar and 7 or 8 trails. Not where you want to go for thrilling downhill, but great family skiing. Liam got a free ticket because of his age, and we rented him some tiny downhill skis. He seemed to do OK in the lodge while we worked on his boots, but for some reason, as soon as we went outside, it was an utter meltdown, which we're sure was boot related. So, off went the downhill ski boots and back on when his snow boots. Luckily, our friends brought a small pair of skis with a softer, strap-style, binding that worked well over his boots. That seemed to do the trick because we went right back outside and he commenced to 'ski' for a good couple of hours.

For a while, I just let him shuffle around in his skis so he could get the sensation of having them on his feet. Tara and I took turns hanging with Liam while the other did a couple runs, then we would swap. Both of us would fish-scale up a tiny grade, either holding Liam or pushing him up the hill. Then we would put him between our legs and ski back down to the bottom. Tara, who is the pro ski instructor for kids, skied backwards in front of him while he more or less skied down , facing Tara on his own power. The hill was so shallow and he's so light, that sometimes he needed a little push or tug to keep his momentum.

So, aside from the real ski equipment, he had a great time. It was a kick to get him out on skis. It was hard not to think about him becoming a confident little skier in just a few years, trying to keep up with his older cousins and friends and leaving his parents in the dust.

Little video below - you can hear Liam mistake the snowboard instructor for daddy.

Last Ski of the Season (we think)

Liam had another exciting weekend of indoor and outdoor fun. Friday night was his first wine tasting (and I think ours, too), as we tasted some possible wines for Chris(tine) and Joel's wedding. Liam did great and we he got to bedtime, we laid him down in spare bedroom at C and J's place and, go figure, he actually fell asleep. Allowing for a more indepth study of the wine. I think we concluded that more research would be necessary.

On Saturday, we ventured off at the crack of dawn to The Sunday River Inn with a group of our friends.
The weather was amazing and the skiing was pretty decent for the last weekend in March. We had to pick our way around some mud and water but a good number of the trails were very skiable. On Sunday we were able to ski in short sleeves. I believe we even managed to get the first sunburns of the season.
Two members of our group (Steve and Rich) made a last minute decision to enter the Inn's annual triathlon
Liam as always was great and seemed to have a lot of fun skiing and hanging out with the crew. He was very lucky to have two older friends (Eliza and Sammy) to entertain him on the car ride and for most of the weekend. Liam seems happiest when outside playing. He spent much time in the Bjorn skiing with Mike. He and I also took an early morning walk on Sunday while we were waiting for everyone else to wake up.
I am still in my splint so it was pretty interesting figuring out how to x-country ski without hurting my thumb. I had to be a bit more cautious then usual but I did mangage to make it through the weekend without anymore breaks.
We are so lucky to be surrounded by great people with whom we are able to share some really fun weekends. We are even more fortunate in that they all love Liam and seem to enjoy him as much as we do.

A few firsts

What, we haven't posted in over a week?! Lots to catch up on, then. It's been an exciting here during the last few days - Liam has had several exciting firsts which I'm pleased to report. Last Friday, Tara and I woke up around 6 am feeling remarkably refreshed, downright energized, even. We both knew what had just happened - Liam had slept through the night for the first time in his life. A full 11 hours of sleep from 7 pm to 6 am! I'm sure he woke up once or twice during the night, but his waking time must have been fleeting b/c neither of us heard a peep. He woke up naturally at 6 am, and had a really great and very happy day. We tried to figure out what we did the night before and nothing unusual popped out - other than I made what I thought was a radical and dicey choice - to put him down without the aid of his pacifier. It worked, he went down quietly, but I doubt that was the reason he slept all night. We didn't get our hopes up for a repeat performance, which is good, as he is now back to getting up once in the middle of the night and once ~4 am. Not to bad, considering other stories I've heard, but sleeping through the night felt REALLY good on Friday morning.

The other exciting first is Liam learning how to clap. T and I have been working on clapping for a while now, demonstrating and helping him move his hands in a clapping motion. Then out of the blue as I was getting him into his car seat on Friday morning, I thought I spotted a rough looking 'clap'. I stopped, clapped broadly, and he did it again once or twice. I called Tara down and we both tried to get him to clap a few more times, which he did with a big smile. It was a great way to start the day. We've been clapping all weekend - Tara and I will clap, we'll look at him and say 'your turn!', and then he'll clap 3 or 4 times. Sometimes he'll miss wildly, which is cute, but so far this seems to be the first discrete thing we've taught him - and, the 'your turn' command seems to be the first direct response he's made to a verbal command other than 'where's daddy', 'where's mommy'. The other cool interaction is when he's lying on his back and I put two fingers in front of his hands, he will grab my fingers and sit or stand up from lying flat (depending on how much I pull him).

The final big event of the last several days was a short XC ski trip yesterday afternoon. MDI finally got some decent snow this weekend, so T, Liam and I headed to Jordan Pond, which is one of our favorite places to XC ski. Before we left I had to apply some new kick wax appropriate to the temperature. People who have skied with us before will tell you that I have a bad track record in picking the right kick wax. Even with all the wax wizards and temperature guides, I always seem to pick the wrong one. ANYWAY, with the skis freshly waxed, we were on our way. Snow conditions weren't great so we picked short 1+ mile loop just to test things out. Given the Bjorn and the baby backpack, we picked the Bjorn for Liam, and I strapped him on my chest. Even as we set off, we knew the conditions weren't ideal. The snow was a little icy and it was wicked fast. Fast - like I wish my XC skis had metal edges and fixed heels fast. I think it was on the first decent - and this is a decent so gradual it would be pretty boring on sled - that I fell. I fell like I was sliding into home (but much less dramatic), and landed on my side cradling Liam into his Bjorn. So Liam was fine - he was very safe and didn't get upset at all - so we kept going. As it happens I fell like this three times in total, all on account of the fast icy snow, my skittishness with Liam, and the inability of my stupid skis to steer or stop like downhill skis. On the third fall, Liam started to cry, so I figured that was enough sking for one day. I walked back with Liam in his Bjorn and skis over my shoulder. The snow was so slick and my wax job so bad, that the pace of my walk was much faster than the pace of Tara on skis. So she walked too. We got back to the car, not willing to call it a day. We surveilled the local sledding hill, and ultimately decided on something a bit more mellow for a Sunday afternoon in February... Oh, and for future ski outing swith Liam (least XC skiing), we could really use one of these (the Chariot would be fine, thanks).