Our little winter enthusiast

So now that winter is clearly OVAH (insert Queens accent here), I figured I'd post about our little winter enthusiast. As many of you know Dada is a HUGE winter enthusiast. He gets enthused about winter because the snow means he can snowboard. We both like winter because of snowshoeing and, since we bought our winter hiking boots last year, we also like winter because we can still go hiking in the snow. But there wasn't much snow this year, and this winter has been the mildest anyone can remember. I mean we're living right now in May weather. It's been in the 60s for the past two weeks and some days the temperature goes up to 70. Absolutely insane for March and for what's still supposed to be WINTER until next week. But I'm not complaining, really. I mean the only snow day our district used was for the freak snow storm back on Halloween. So we're getting 4 days back as a result.  And they're giving them to us in April and May, when the weather will hopefully be just as nice.

But back to our little winter enthusiast. As you know, we (particularly I) love to hike. And back in the fall we didn't want a little cold weather or snow to deter us from doing that at least a few times throughout the winter. So we bought Cole a pair of awesome insulated and water proof hiking boots. We also bought him a pair of snow boots from Children's Place, which - while they weren't as awesome - did the job when Cole played in the snow in the backward (Cole's new word for backyard).

Here's what Cole likes to do in the snow: hike, look at branches, pick up sticks, eat the snow, and - you guessed it - snowboard!

Here are the details:
1) Cole hiked a mile with Keith at Mohonk recently. A freaking mile. There was no carrying or baby wearing involved whatsoever. Just Keith and Cole walking to streams, along paths, on wooden boards that crossed muddy areas. We think if this is possible at 21 months, imagine what he will be capable of in a year or two. Maybe one day we could even go on a backpacking trip with him. That would be so awesome.

Come on, Dada!

Apparently, the only way to get away from one stream was to tell him there was another stream coming up.

2) Keith and I went on a hike with Cole after it snowed and Cole would have been able to walk the whole  way if he had not been so distracted by the snow. So in order for us to get moving, Mama did some baby wearing.

"I want Mama stick?"

Mmmm, snow.

3) Keith bought Cole a snowboard about a month ago. He took him around in it in whatever little amount of snow we had left in our yard. He even practiced with him (on a rug) in the house when there was no snow at all. Then we got another small snow storm and he took him for a ride down a little makeshift hill in our front yard. The boys loved it.

Again? Again?

Again? Again?

Not sure which I like better, snowboarding or sledding.

4) We went to Belleayre Mountain last weekend and took Cole snowboarding at the base of the lower mountain, using a pulley Keith had installed on the snowboard. Cole was obviously the youngest and cutest snowboarder there. He was so enthusiastic about snowboarding that he squealed with glee pretty much the entire time he was on the snowboard. We are planning another trip to Hunter Mountain tomorrow.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

"OH! He so cute!!!!" (yes, that's my son, the ham.)