Last night after dinner we took the kids outside to ride their bikes. While it is a new world for us living in suburbia without the comforts of our huge gated driveway and free-roaming gardens like we had in the Azores, we do live on a great street here which offers two different cul-de-sacs that allow the kiddos to ride pretty safely.
Sidge has been riding his two-wheeler like a crazy person. He has it down and can ride along with me when I go for jogs with ease.
Isaac totally knows how to ride, but has been digging his heels in. If he is burned by something, it will take a long time to regain his trust, and his brilliant Mommy let him ride the first time here in Tennessee down a hill that really spooked him. Not a good start. He is the type of kid that just needs to get over the hump. As soon as he has confidence, he will embrace something whole-heartedly. And I zapped his confidence with choosing his first try on a slope.
So last night, JB and I decided to bribe him with pennies. (The boys are saving pennies for some lego sets they want.) We threw out an amount of pennies he just could NOT say no to. All he had do was ride around the cul-de-sac one time. We knew he could totally do it. He just had to remember, that he could. He was doing it regularly in the Azores and needed to experience it without fear.
He rode around that cul-de-sac without any problem. He did it on the very first try. And in fact, he was begging us to stay out longer so he could do it just a few more times. By the time we went in, he and Sidge were having races!
Oh and Abigail. That little chick figured out that she could ride her three-wheeler down a sloped sidewalk and just glide all the way down. She must have done it a dozen times -- belly laughing the entire way down each time. I was a little spooked because I don't have a helmet for her. It's in our shipment that is STILL nowhere to be found. But she didn't have a single fall. Thank goodness.
Here's a few more pictures of our post-dinner fun!
Hannah eating the grass.
Hannah rejecting the stroller idea.
Isaac on his blue bike.
(We totally forgot to get a pic of Sidge!)
3 comments:
Your kids are adorable, Coach K!
Good for Issac! Your encouragement was perfect! He reminds me of our oldest (now 28) who went for a ride w/daddy & ended up in the small creek just off the path. He wouldn't ride again for a couple if years! Talk about stubborn! Now...he's a pro-rated cyclist who has racing in his blood & loves the races that take him through steep mountain roads! Lynda
Fun! Kaia is riding a two wheeler now, too, and it is so fun! I was just thinking that I should bring her with on a shorter run since she is definitely fast enough to keep up! Love biking riding on summer evenings! Way to go to your boys!
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