On Skis at 3

I didn’t learn to ski until I was about 10 years old. At that time, my mom put my brothers and me in lessons and it was a family activity every year thereafter.

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to ski in Colorado a handful of times, which… if you’ve ever skied out west, you know that there is not much that compares to that quality of skiing. It’s so amazing. I can’t wait go back some day, and bring my little family with me.

So Michael is practicing his skiing. It was never something that he really got into, but he has interest now. My mom, on the other hand, is still an avid skier—a season pass holder at one of our nearby resorts—and she was chomping at the bit to get Nora and Hunter out on skis this year. Particularly because she could add them to her season pass for free.

My mom took Nora up to the mountain one day while we were at work. She went and picked her up early at Mary’s and took her for her very first runs on the bunny hill. We weren’t sure how she would do, but apparently she loved it…. even if she did only go down twice. At the time, my mom sent me this pic, and I was so proud!

That was the week before Christmas.

Then, when we were all off of work for Christmas and my dad was up to visit, we decided to all take a ride to the mountain and take both Hunter and Nora to ski. It was the day after Christmas, actually. It was our first opportunity to see her in action. SO CUTE.

My mom bought them their own helmets and goggles for Christmas. I love the tiny ski gear!

My mom, Hunter, and Nora were the only ones who actually skied. The rest of us—Michael, Trevor, my dad, and myself (I even had Vivienne strapped to the front of me in the Ergo!)—just walked around with them on the bunny hill. At first, we walked beside Nora and tried to keep her upright (her instinct was to lean backward too far). It was so hard! Eventually we figured out that it’s actually much easier if you do ski with them, so my mom took the lead. We were having great luck with Nora skiing beside her, holding onto her poles. And that was when Nora really fell in love with it all. She was having a blast!

It was a great day. It was so fun to see my baby girl on skis.

Then, last month, we all went skiing together one Saturday night. Michael and I hadn’t been in a couple of years. We also invested in the Lucky Bums ski harnesses for the kids, so we could take them up on a couple of the actual beginner slopes. The harnesses are so, so great. I skied with Nora kind of in between my legs the whole time, keeping her skis in between mine. I kept her on a real short “leash” with the harness so that when she lost her balance or slipped, I was able to keep her upright. As she gets stronger and more skilled at doing this herself, I’ll give her some more slack and let her ski out more in front of me. But man, what a workout; I had to ski in the “pizza wedge” the whole time and it was KILLER on my knees, thighs, and hips. Holy moly! My legs were jello by the end of the night!

Oh, and the harness was absolutely KEY to getting her on and off of the chair lift safely. It has a handle on the back so you can basically grab the handle and lift them onto the chair lift with you using only one hand. I still had a minor heart attack one time when I had trouble getting her up all of the way onto the seat, but I had a tight grip on her the entire time and did get her up where she belonged after a few long seconds. And as it turns out, riding the chair lift is her favorite part of skiing now. Go figure. :)

Nora absolutely loved going down the real slopes and doing it all “by herself.” After this outing, we actually decided to go ahead and buy the girl her own skis! We found a good deal and they are a size she should be able to use for next year, too. And the boots are ADJUSTABLE (so cool!) for up to six sizes, so she should get a few years out of them, too. Not to mention we have a second child who will be able to get use out of this stuff, too. Beats paying $15-30/pop for rentals every time… and saves us the hassle of waiting in the rental lines every time, too!

We’ve been trying to get back out to the slopes for a few weeks now but weather (bitter cold temperatures) and sickness (stomach bug, ick!) have gotten in the way. Fingers crossed for better luck this weekend!

Maybe we have a future Olympian on our hands? :)