Ice Skating 101

Actually, we went ice skating a couple of weeks ago, but I just downloaded the pictures. This was M's first time ice-skating and we were a bit worried. At least I was. You see, neither Chris nor I can skate very well. As often as we do it, it's a wonder we remember how to put the skates on.

I, for one, can skate forward and make gentle turns. I can also come to a full stop given enough time and clearance or a sturdy object to crash into. Chris is at about the same level. And now, I'm proud to say, so is M.

To our surprise, not only did he stand up on skates without any difficulty, but he took a few steps totally by himself without holding onto us, the wall, or any other support! Of course, at first we were holding him pretty tight. He did fall a few times, but found it hilarious.

We all got tired pretty fast though, especially M. My legs felt like Jello after less than an hour of skating! Awesome! And then, after watching the Zamboni machine, we all went to get ourselves a few treats for being such great skaters.

Our First Treehouse!

Yay, after almost three months the first tree house is ready. No, not the A-frame one, but the other one. Of course, the platform itself and the railing around it were ready back in September. Then we took a little break trying to figure out how to build the stairs or a ladder.

You see, this perch sits really high on the tree, more than 7ft above the ground. A vertical ladder of some sort wouldn't be safe enough for the little ones. Even dumping a truck-full of sand there wouldn't make it much safer as there are lots of tree roots sticking out here and there.

Then my dad visited (in October, around the NC State Fair time) and came up with an idea of a proper staircase with landings and all. So he and Chris got to work and got it mostly done. Then we took another break because of the weather and not having enough hours in the day.

Finally, the railing was done and Chris primed the super-structure. Now, priming and painting this monster is really the most tedious and time-consuming job we've done so far. And by "we" I mean Chris. I did help him just a bit, but mostly I ended up entertaining M and chasing him away from the paint can and the brushes (we'll do some awesome painting project with the leftover paint though). So here it is, the super-duper tree house! Ta-da!

First Poem

Big, HUGE update - tonight M recited an entire little nursery rhyme. Here we go:



In case you're wondering, the little rhyme goes like this:

Маленькая мышка по городу бежит,
Глядит во все окошки
И пальчиком грозит.
А кто не лег в кроватку?
А кто не хочет спать?
Такого непослушного я буду щекотать!