Milestone met!

So, for the first 3.5 years of Anna's life, she didn't get much outside time.  We didn't live in a house.  We lived the second story of an apartment and didn't have a yard.  We had a balcony.  Downstairs folks, they had yards. It was MAINE (read freaking cold and snow everywhere!).  So, outdoor play was not a priority unless you count sledding.  Yep, she went sledding when everyone else was practicing the skills it takes to ride a bike.  When we moved home, we got her a bike.  But, we don't live on a very kid friendly street so it wasn't used often.  She did figure it out...finally after having it over a year and she was a speed demon...as long as there were training wheels.  Well, then she got scared to ride it and had NO desire to learn.  I mean NONE.  So, what were we to do?  So, we sort of dropped it.  She got a razor scooter and did fairly well on that.  She would scoot when everyone else would ride. 

But, then she turned 8.  I remember Reed saying that he couldn't believe she'd turned 8 and didn't know how to ride a bike.  He vowed to teach her before she turned 9.  Then, as per the norm, Reed got busy with work, my surgery, deployments, oh and living in San Diego so bike riding went on the back burner.  After he left, I met Robert and Ashley through my community group at church.  I decorated/planned their wedding this past May and while working on wedding stuff, it came up that Anna didn't know how to ride a bike.  Robert offered to teach her.  He even researched it and asked the guys at work how they taught their kids to ride bikes.  I told him that if Reed couldn't come home and if Reed didn't teach her while he was home, he could teach her.  I didn't want to hurt Reed's feelings by giving that job to someone else.  The week he was home just so happened to be the week before her ballet recital so I wouldn't let Reed work with her until AFTER her dance.  I could just see her breaking her arm.  Her middle name may be Grace but she's kind of a klutz!  Her bike is at this point way too small.  I think it was a 16 inch?  So, we went to Tab's house after church to borrow Brayden's.  So, he got to work with her for a couple of hours...in the 98* heat...wearing jeans.  It didn't go well.  Nope.  Not well at all!  Both were HOT and Reed wouldn't let go of the bike which I don't think was helping her balance at all.  Finally, I remembered a tip Robert had given me that he discovered from a coworker while doing bike riding research.  He said "Take the pedals off.  It helps teach balance."  With new wave of determination, Reed went out and tried this.  She got MUCH better (and partly because Reed LET GO).  *side note* Sometimes, as parents, we have to let our kids go a little if we expect them to succeed.  It just hit me that this is a perfect example of this being true.  And of course its age appropriate letting go that we need to practice.  We just have to be able either keep them from falling to hard or pick them up when they do.  *back on track* So, Reed left.  I told Robert he was up but we had to borrow Brayden's bike for lessons that day and that lessons would have to wait till she got a new bike.  So I waited till pay day to buy her a new one.  Pay day was today.  So, Anna, as promised, got a new bike (and the bargain hunter in me needs to brag that I got it for $30 because it was a return and had obviously been ridden).  So, all through Walmart, Anna is riding the bike just like she did without the pedals on at Tab's house.  No pedaling.  Just using her feet.  I thought we might get kicked out because she was going pretty fast but apparently, no one cares in the Hampton Walmart (which may be my favorite Walmart at the moment). I also had no where to put the bike.  I have a TON of clothes that are all TOO big that need to go to Goodwill right in front of the garage door.  So, I told her, I would go through them and get them ready for Goodwill while she practiced in the grass in the front yard.  When the clothes were out of the way, we'd have a place for the bike.  She started practicing.  I went in to go to the bathroom and came out to find her sitting on the ground with her head down and her bike laying it the grass.  She said she fell and looked so disappointed!  I told her to keep trying.  Then my neighbor came over to catch up and while we were talking Anna got it.  She started riding in short spurts.  3 feet here.  4 feet there.  I was watching her out of the corner of my eye the whole time.  Next thing I know, she's riding like 10 feet.  And it reminded me of when a baby takes its first couple of steps and gets excited and falls.  That's basically what Anna did.  She'd stop and look at me because she was so excited.  Soon, she was riding across the whole yard!  My neighbor finally went home and shortly after, Anna is riding from one neighbor's yard to the next neighbor's yard.  Wowza!  After watching her do several good trips, videoing it, taking pictures and sending them to Reed, I decide that its time to hit the street.  We walked her bike around the corner were its much safer and she took off!  I only had on flip flops because I wasn't expecting her to take off like that.  I had no idea I'd have to run after her!  I was worried she'd hit a car.  She didn't know how to stop yet OR turn yet!  We worked on those 2 things.  She mastered both in a matter of minutes!  That girl taught herself to ride a bike.  She's pretty amazing, right?

Pictures:

And here's the video.  Sorry its at a weird angle.  I wasn't really thinking about anything but getting it recorded!