Off On His Own Two Wheels

My son, my three year old son, has learned how to ride his two wheel bike with out training wheels today. What? I was ready for at least another year of me walking briskly behind him as he rattles his way down the road, his training wheels helping to support that huge noggin of his. But nope, that is not to be. Now I have to RUN in order to keep up!

My father-in-law found a balance bike at a garage sale recently and let us borrow it on Monday. Gav took a few tries on it that evening and wasn't too impressed with the lack of pedals or by the overwhelming strength of gravity. On Tuesday, he wanted to ride it home from preschool. I was sure I'd be carrying both the bike and the boy after a couple of minutes but that wasn't to be. He hopped right on and figured it out. Stopping was an issue, but after he hit that first stop sign, he figured out how to drag his feet:) He rode the balance bike a bit more today and then asked when we could take off his training wheels on his real bike.

So we did. We took those training wheels off as soon as Chad got home from work and set off for the park.

Little did we know that we weren't really needed:) We got him all set up, helmet on, explained how Daddy was going to run behind him and help him keep upright. Yeah, Chad can't run that fast:) Chad gave a push and that boy was off! No wobbles, no wiggles, just sweet, sweet riding! Here we were, all ready for running back and forth across the park, bending at weird and painful angles, bloody knees and tears and all we got was instant success. Where is the memory making parenting there?

Daddy helped start him off.

And when Daddy wasn't close enough, sister jumped in and helped out. And then chased behind him just waiting to be needed:)

He still needs to work on stopping. He He!

Way to go Little Man! Welcome to the world of two wheels!

Oh, lonely little training wheels. Don't worry, we'll find you a good home with a truly appreciative little kid who will need to use you for longer that half a year!