Skiing...finally!

Last weekend we went for our first and last ski trip of the year.  Despite a lot snow and cold this winter we didn't get motivated to ski - in part because my knee is still rehabing and Carlos thinks he broke his toe or tendon or...something.  And also we are still a couple of years away from being able to go as a family which puts a damper on ski plans.  But now I'm sad we didn't go more especially after seeing how much fun the kids had when we met the cousins in the Poconos last weekend.  In the 5 minutes before passing out on the car ride home Charlie pleaded that he wanted to come back to Blue Mountain every year. I'm guessing it was the fun of being with cousins and a house with an air hockey table rather than the radical vertical drop and pristine powder of the Poconos. The adults all vowed to go some place nice next year, or at least tolerable.

The kids did well by the end and Diego went from adamantly refusing to go skiing to skiing (somewhat) on his own. I was really proud of both of them.  It was a rocky start though. Carlos took both of them up a green run on Friday evening when we first arrived. Bad decision. Charlie hadn't skied in a year and Diego has always hated skiing.  Once off the chairlift Charlie decided he had forgotten how to ski and wanted Carlos to hold his hand while Diego skied in between Carlos' legs. The top of the green run turned out to be steep so everyone was miserable. All three were tethered together and, inevitably, all three fell down on top of each other. Charlie and Diego yelled at Carlos that this was all his fault.  I kindof agree. Who goes to the top of the mountain (even if it is in the Poconos) with two novice skiers and only 1 adult?! Nevertheless by the end of the weekend, neither Charlie nor Diego wanted to leave. Sofia and I shuffled people and things back and forth and watched everyone from a distance....Needless to say I'm looking forward to a healthy knee and when we can all go down the mountain together.

Here is Diego skiing towards the end of the weekend: 

I'm finally facing the weaning issue with Sofia....then again I'm also kindof backing down from my hard stop this month. Sofia turns two in April and I have a work trip coming up in a couple of weeks so it seemed like a good time to force the issue. Of course, I've only just now started to actually do anything to facilitate weaning...and it is not going well.  All the blogs tell me that I should be doing this over a matter of months and that a hard stop from a work trip is traumatic and mean to my child. I feel guilty and Sofia is miserable with out getting "mama."  Not a winning combination. As of now we are down to three times a day, but  weekends are especially hard because I'm around her all day so naturally she wants to nurse more. At one point she definitely tried to manipulate me with hugs and kisses before she dove for my chest requesting to nurse.  We'll see what happens after my trip!

Sofia has a favorite tune that gets altered slightly, but not by much. It goes like this: