Andrew learned to ride a bike. Out of habit I want to say ride a bike with no training wheels, but he never had one of those. We do have 2 bikes with training wheels that were given to us, but the tires are busted so they have never been ride-able. We keep meaning to get them fixed, but...ya. So Andrew has always ridden on one of our many (I mean many) toddler, 3 wheeler type bikes we have. If we ventured on a big bike ride or family ride then we'd pull him in the bike trailer. I have been a little less inclined to do that lately because as much as I enjoy a workout, Andrew is a nice solid boy. Pulling around 60, almost 70 extra pounds is not always ideal. (Note: Andrew himself doesn't weigh that much, I was adding his weight AND Carmen's together since she too rides in the trailer.)
About 6 weeks or so ago someone offered us some free bikes. (Thank you Robbins family)! Even though we already have a dozen (no joke) or so bikes of various shapes, sizes & condition I never pass up an offer on something free that we can use. We like having extra bikes for when friends/family come over & play at our house. I half heartily worked with Andrew on this little bike right away, but then just encouraged him to figure it out/practice on his own.
That was 6 weeks ago (or so). Yesterday out of the blue I was outside grilling supper and Andrew is talking away about riding his bike so on a whim I say, ok let's work on this. We started in the back by the garage and was having slight success, like 2-3 seconds of me letting go & him not falling. Part of the problem was not having enough space so we moved out into the street and by then we were not having much success at all. After about 5 min, my back was hurting so I went back to grilling supper and encouraged Andrew to keep working on this skill.
About 5 minutes later I came out to check on the grill again and Andrew says "I can ride my bike now". I thought, yeah....ok maybe short little stints of 2 - 3 seconds, but I wanted to encourage him & be proud so I grabbed the camera & followed him outside. First time (still being a little skeptical) I just took a picture. I took this while I watched him bike the length of the garage:
When I realized he really did have it I turned the camera.
Then we ventured out into the street & I hollered inside for the family to come out & watch.
So there you have it. Another Peterson milestone!!!! I am so happy & proud of my Andrew boy. Yeah, I helped & encouraged him, but when I gave up he persisted and kept trying until he got it. First thing he said this morning was "can I go ride my bike?!?!?!" and he's been outside ever since.
Since I have you here I thought I'd show you a little funny. This caught my eye as I strolled through the house. I have no idea how or why this baby is up here. But she was. My guess is baby Carmen, who knows what the girl is thinking most of the time. I just checked and that baby is STILL there. (Ignore the crooked curtain, the nail fell out & I haven't fixed it yet. Wonder how long that will sit like that too?!?!?)
You just never know what you'll find at the zoo!
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