Jadon has jumped leaps and bounds this holiday season. He actually WANTED to see Santa Claus this year. We’ve skipped the Santa visit at the mall for the last couple of years because Jadon freaked out the first couple of times he went and then refused to see Santa after waiting in line his third Christmas. He did get to visit the Santa at the tree lot last year and he loved it. It was the first time he actually talked to Santa and he loved the one on one time he had with him. This year, while we were making his list (he glued pictures from the ads onto a piece of paper and then slipped it inside of an envelope) he decided that he wanted to give the letter to Santa. He was so excited to give it to Santa that he made me, Andrew, and Isabelle also make up lists so that we could all present them to Santa at the same time. Our first try at visiting Santa didn’t go too well though because he went on break (45 minute break! –Andrew likes to complain about that one.) just as we got into line. I had to get to a test for one of my classes, so we had to leave and explain to him that we would come back later. He didn’t like that idea much. The second time coming back was a horribly long wait but our kids were pretty good for the most part and they did great with Santa. Isabelle wasn’t sure what was going on but she let Santa hold her and take some pictures. Jadon had a great discussion with Santa, where Santa told him to listen to mommy and daddy so that he would get some toys for Christmas. It worked wonderfully immediately afterward when we needed to leave and get some dinner but Jadon wanted to ride the train. He began to whine and all Andrew had to say was, “What did Santa say?” And Jadon went completely silent and sat down peacefully in the stroller.

Jadon went skiing. Wait, Jadon went SKIING!?!? Yup. Andrew and I were just as surprised as you might be right about now. Jadon has always been interested in skiing, ever since he watched Curious George ski in one of the episodes. He has always chosen to ski over boarding partly because he wants to use the ski poles. This year, as the annual tradition goes on my side of the family, Andrew and I took Jadon skiing along with a bunch of my cousins. We usually have lots of family visiting from out of state at this time of year, so it’s lots of fun to all go together. I’ve missed out the past few years, but was finally able to get back on a board this year and I have to say that it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t get any major injuries and it was a blast, even though I was so tired out. Andrew sadly enough wasn’t able to get any runs in because he was dealing with Jadon most of the time.

Jadon decided that he wanted to come with us that morning rather than go to my parents’ house with Isabelle. He really wanted to ski, but Andrew and I decided that skiing while we’re boarding isn’t exactly easy to do, so we convinced him to try out boarding. He agreed since he wanted to do what most others were doing. Then we got to the ski rental shop and found out that they don’t have boarding gear for that small of a kid. Darn. We rented him skis instead. Once we got there, we put on his skis and tried to teach him the “pizza” so he knew how to stop. He did it just fine without the skis, but didn’t want to do it so much with the skis on. The biggest problem was that he didn’t want to stop, he kept telling us he wanted to learn how to go. He didn’t want a teacher, which is the problem with a lot of things he wants to do. He doesn’t realize that he needs to take the time to learn before being able to do it. Anyway, he refused to listen to us so we attempted to get him a parent/child lesson. Andrew and the instructor spent 30 minutes trying to get him to put on his skis. In the end, the instructor got a tip and we were refunded for the lesson. While Andrew and Jadon were waiting for me to come back from my runs so that I could switch off with Andrew, Jadon decided he wanted to go skiing with us. So we took him to the bunny hill and he took a few runs. He did so wonderfully! He didn’t freak out on the lift getting on or off, which helped because Andrew basically had to pull him on and help him off. Towards the end of our time there, he was able to somewhat stop when he wanted to and he didn’t panic much when he picked up more speed than usual. I think he really could pick up skiing if we went more often before the end of this season. He loved it and we’ll probably try to go back some more this season. It’s not easy to be a boarder and try to teach your kid to ski though. Andrew hasn’t skied since he was 5 and I only ever went skiing once in my life and it was a very traumatic experience for me. After going with Jadon and basically walking down the bunny hill helping Jadon, Andrew has decided that he wants to learn to ski again so that he can teach Jadon and Isabelle how to ski. He says that he remembers it not being too hard when he was younger, so we’ll see how that goes. It’s nice to be able to have a potential family activity that we all can be involved in doing.

The next day, I took Isabelle and Jadon skiing along with Selina, Jake, and Melody while Ben and Andrew stayed home for some male bonding time (video games and movies). I didn’t skate and watched Isabelle instead, while Selina, Jake, and Melody were nice enough to take Jadon around the rink. This was another first for Jadon and he was awesome about the whole thing. Even when he accidentally slipped on his butt from putting one skate on the ice and when his pants fell down while he was about to get off the ice, he was a trooper and was only in a bad mood for a little while before wanting to get back on the ice. He took a break after each lap while the others took a lap on their own which worked our nicely. He began stepping and gliding a little bit too. I saw several strollers on the rink with toddlers inside being pushed around by their parents. If I had known that was acceptable (really, how the heck would I have known this?), I would’ve taken Isabelle and skated too. I’m not a great skater though so I would be terrified to do so, but it’s nice to know that I can. Isabelle was able to get carried around the ice by Melody for a little bit before they were busted, because it was against the rules to carry around a baby, but she loved it while it lasted. Maybe I’ll convince Andrew to skate some time. He’s all for family activities (i.e. learning to ski for the kids).

Check back later for some more posts about Christmas and the holidays this year. I’ll try to post more often. Also check out the pics on Facebook once I post them.