Bambi on Ice...

OK. Maybe not Bambi, but definitely Zach on ice. Just a month shy of his 3rd birthday, I finally convinced Wayne that it was a good idea to take Zach ice skating. You see, I might have tried to take him myself before, but I can't ice skate at all. I've tried three times in my life, and although I can somewhat stay up, I am not sure footed enough to teach anyone else how to skate. Wayne on the other hand has been ice skating since he was six, and actually knows how to handle himself on the ice. Neither of us knew if it was going to be a disaster, or a great experience, but we gave it a try.

The most trying part of the process was getting the skates, and then getting them on. Zach was excited to get out there the moment we walked in the door, so anxious he kept pulling his foot out of the skates, which almost led to Wayne pulling his own hair out. By the end of the process, which took at least 10 minutes, Zach was pretty moody. He couldn't understand all the waiting:

I would have loved to be more of a help in the putting on the skates process, but I had my hands full, either with literally holding Matt or chasing him. He thought the ice rink was the coolest place we've ever been...no pun intended: This picture is blurred because Matt is literally running!

Zach did pretty well balancing and walking on the skates on the ground, but when he got out on the actually ice. He looked like a deer in headlights:

I would love to tell you he glide out on the ice like it was the most natural thing in the world to him, but that didn't happen. He was stumbling all over the place, and had Wayne not been holding him up, he would have spent at least 13 of the 15 minutes he was out there on his butt in the ice. He was not a virtuoso at skating, but he was very brave, and he took the whole thing in stride. I am so glad he wasn't like a 6 yr old boy I saw, father clutching him to hold him up, forcing him to skate, tears streaming down the kids' eyes, because he didn't want to be there.

Instead the experience was priceless.

It was wonder,

Apprehension,

Frustration,

Laughter,

Falling,

Learning,

and most of all fun!

I am so proud of my new little skater:

And his first skating teacher, his Dad:

They both showed such patience and perseverance. Which is a good thing, because based on the twinkle in his eye, this little one isn't going to be happy to watch from the sidelines, much longer!

I can't wait to go back, and laugh at my boys, all three of them! Maybe, just maybe it might be as early as this coming weekend. We'll just let Zach decide.