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| Carvin' up the Hood |
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| Dad and the girls-&Fenway |
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| Apres Ski lunch |
Hi Shira,
Let's talk skiing first. Your first day on skis was at Mt. Bachelor during the winter break. We had only recently found some skis and boots for you. I went to the mountain that day with you expecting nothing or anything. I didn't know if you would last five hours or five minutes. As it turned out, after five minutes you asked if you could go up the chairlift. So we did. Twice. It was an easy lift, but fairly long for you. We went down with you snowplowing while I held your tips together while going backwards and looking between my legs to navigate. You had a good time and I decided that two runs was plenty. I think you liked the lift ride as much as the skiing.
We went skiing again a month or two later. We went to Timberline with the whole family. Your mom had a sore knee and had to watch from the sidelines. Luckily, your sister was ready to go on her own on the beginner lift. We took a few runs on that lift and I did the same as before holding your skis for you.
This last Sunday we went to Timberline again. You and I stuck on Bruno, the bunny lift, while your mom and sis went off to the bigger lift. We had borrowed a harness so that I could ski behind you and give you support rather than holding your skis. But soon it became apparent that we wouldn't really need it. You became much more confident and I could just stay in front of you going backwards and coach your movements. You're really good at stopping using your snow plow. You haven't quite got turning down yet. You have trouble unweighting the ski you're on to turn the other way. But, I picked up an idea that will help with that by overhearing an instructor with his student. We will try that next time and I'll bet that will help you make progress on your turns. You lasted about 45 minutes which I thought was pretty good for your third time out. After two lift rides you told me I didn't have to lift you up onto the chair any more. You did well loading the chair after that but I still held on to you for the unloading since you were going to stand up before your feet hit the ground.
During our winter break we had a trip to Sunriver which is how you had your first ski day at Mt. Bachelor. We stayed there with the Cohens of Eagle Creek and the Cohens of Sharon. That means Uncle Aaron and Aunt Deb, cousin Rachel, Uncle David and Aunt Jane. While we were there you also got a chance to ice skate. The rink had device that looked like a walker to help kids your age learn to skate. You loved it. You quickly began skating very fast and became confident in your ability. The video shown here is one where you skated without the 'walker' a little bit. You could go without it quite well but I think you liked using it because you could go faster with it and still feel safe. Next year you probably won't need it at all.
You are starting to read! We have had a few books from the library that were at a level that you could read. So far, you are reading two or three word sentences that you can memorize or decipher from the accompanying pictures. What I love it that you take it pretty seriously, calling it 'homework' and being very careful about pronouncing everything. That's why I included the video of you reading from the Kindle. You do have a soft voice so viewers will have to listen carefully. A lot of the reading you've done has been from the Kindle. I worry about that a little. I want you to develop a love of any book, paper or electronic. The app on the Kindle has stories that are too hard for you to read yet that seem almost like a movie. I don't want you to get hooked on that.
You're a gymnast! You go to gym on Saturday's with some other girls your age. You get to practice on the beam, show off your bridge, and go in the "Pit." The Pit is a structure filled with foam chunks. There are several ways of jumping into it. I think the teachers use that as the reward for a good session. It seems like it's the highlight of your visit.
You're also a dancer! You've been going to Kinder dance on Thursdays. I think you really like it and your mom says you are pretty good. However, last Thursday you didn't want to go and it took your big sister participating in the class to get you to go.
The new bigger bike is a hand me down from your sister. It only took a minute for you to get used to it. You can come closer to keeping up with your sister with it, so I think you like it. It's a good thing, because we just donated your smaller one to a place that will give it to a needy family. Maybe a bigger milestone is that you took your first ride on the trail a bike that connects to my bike. You were psyched to do it and I don't think I scared you too much so you will be willing to try it again. Soon, a good long family bike ride will be had!
Oh yes, Frozen. You and your sister are obsessed! We've had the movie on my Kindle for a while but we recently got the soundtrack CD and the movie on DVD. By now, your sister knows the words to all the songs and you aren't far behind. Here's a story that shows the depth of your obsession. You've been getting close to being able to sleep without a pullup. On a recent night when you were sleeping without one I got you up to go to the bathroom about 11pm. As I was lifting you over your sister you said, "dad, I want ice powers."
Well, that's all the news for now,
Love, Aba
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