Monday, June 7, 2010

Two Wheels!

My evening didn't turn out as planned...which turned out to be a good thing.
No one showed up to play volleyball, so I ran and then headed home with the idea that I would teach Char to ride without training wheels.
We (I mostly mean Justin) attempted this one day for a very short time a couple of months ago. Charlee is kind of a little chicken. She gets scared easier than her sisters and didn't like the idea of falling off her bike. The first attempt was a HUGE failure, and Justin thought it would be a long time before she really could do it.

I knew tonight would be different because, well let's face it, Justin is a big softy and I am a little... ummm...more persistent? Yes, that sounds right. Charlee whined and whimpered that we were going too fast...I was only walking...and that I wasn't holding her tight enough. I stopped and gave her a little lecture on how being scared of everything was going to keep her from having fun riding her bike...then I let go and let her fall (softly) to show her that even if she fell, it didn't hurt and she would be ok.

The first time I let her go and she took off, she made whimpering noises the whole 50 yards or so. When I caught and stopped her, and she felt more confident, the whining stopped. After she saw that she was doing it herself, she didn't want me to help her anymore...she kept telling me to let go.

She crashed a couple of times...mostly ran into curbs because she couldn't turn or stop, but she had fun and is excited to try again tomorrow.
Justee putted around on Syd's scooter...

Sydnee even gave her some faster rides.

It ended up being a great night and Char is so proud of herself...She can't wait to show Daddy!

3 comments:

Stacey said...

I love the concentration looks on Charlee's face! I bet Justin will be very proud!

Carola said...

Tell Charlee, 'Good job!' from Grandma.
I remember when you learned to ride a bike. We lived in Green River and had a church next door to us. You took your bike to the parking lot and just got on your bike and started riding it...you did not want or need help, you knew you could do it and you did.

Michelle Thompson said...

I still remember teaching our kids. Another milestone and then they seem even more grown up. Congrats Char!