Watch out Apolo Ohno!

I will always remember this winter as the one when Benjamin learned to ice skate! What great memories we have of our little speed skater and how quickly he moved through the evolution of double blades to a single blade and skating aides to free skating! He's quite the little skater now, even attempting turns, spins and more speed of course! What a fun adventure this has been for us all! The following pictures take us through the process that covers 3 different outings (so far)... the first at the Strasbourg Christmas market, the second at the Kaiserslautern rink downtown and the third at the Olympic Stadium in Garmisch!

The first time, with all the proper protection and tools :)

Catching the skating-bug, this is really fun mom!

Showing daddy our new skills when he returned from a flying trip.

He had moved on to single blades this day.

Getting a ride every few laps for fun!

From mommy too!

This little guy can't wait to get out there himself!

And then at Garmisch, warming up.

And quickly deciding he wanted to try without the aide.

I think mommy's mad skills were an inspiration :)

Getting braver and showing his amazing balance... the tongue helps!

B and M

Omi appreciated Benjamin giving up the penguin :)

Aunt DD in a spin!

Our little pro!!!

And his biggest fans from the sidelines...

You'll be out there before we know it little one!

And he'll be skating circles around mommy and daddy in a blink of an eye! These boys grow up so quickly, good thing it's so much fun!