In the midwest when it is officially spring (March 21) but only 41 degrees outside we all flock outside like we might never see the sun again. In this particular case it is a good thing we did, because the next day (Palm Sunday) we had 6 inches of snow! Last week when we had a warmish day the neighbor kids were out playing and riding their bikes. A few days later Elizabeth asked if she could try again without training wheels. We had tried late last fall, but were not successful and she asked to have them put back on. This time around she was a bit more determined..."none of my friends have training wheels on" she said. So on this warm ~40 degree day I got out the wrench and took the training wheels off. I volunteered to work with her because it is a long way for Brandon to bend over and run beside her (obviously I am a little tougher ;) After five minutes I really didn't think we were going to have much success. There was a lot of gawking and not a lot of pedaling or concentration. Then a few kids came out and once she had an audience she got a little more motivated. I held onto her seat and ran with her and she took off. She got her balance and she pedaled her little heart out. She couldn't get started by herself so we kept giving her a little push. Brandon got in the game too and helped her get started. The problem is we only have so much room to ride and she hadn't mastered turning yet, so we loaded up and went to my parent's house so she had plenty of room with no traffic. After about 20 minutes she was practicing turns and able to ride in a circle. We were very proud of her. We actually had to drag her inside because it was so cold, but she would have stayed outside forever! The other thing about being so bundled up is she was well protected from any falls, which were only minor. Her legs are long enough that she was able to catch herself before hitting the pavement. My favorite part is when she would say "don't let go until I say ready" and she would say "ready" 5 seconds after we had already let go! In one of the videos she even looks back to see if we are still holding onto her. Her smile when she stopped and knew she had nailed it was priceless! Then again I am a little partial to her smile :)
The next day we really did have 6 inches of snow. It was so cold and windy we didn't even let the kids play outside. The next day we went out to play and we tried to build a snowman but the snow wasn't wet enough. The next day it gotten warm enough that it had started to melt and the snow would pack. Instead of a snowman we made a snow bunny.
The next day there was still snow on the ground, but it was melting. The snow bunny looks like the leaning Tower of Pisa! It won't be long before it falls! Again it was above 40, apparently that is our threshold for playing outside. Elizabeth really wanted to ride her bike again. It is true, "once you learn to ride a bike, you don't forget!" Today we worked on her starting by herself. The neighbor came out to cheer her on and reminded me that when her daughter started to pedal by herself she had started at the top of our slightly sloped driveway. Sure enough she glided down the driveway and starting pedaling on her own! She even got started a few times on the flat street, but it is easier at the top of the drive. She is going to have a lot of fun this summer! Maybe this year I will be able to start running again and she can pedal alongside (or way in front!) of me!
Here is the link for the video:
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