We've been after her all summer, gently of course. If you know this girl of mine, you know that it has to be her idea.
On Tuesday, we delivered Dada's bike to the bike shop for repairs. We browsed around for a bit and there she spotted it. A shiny pink bike with a white basket, pink streamers, pink bows...the works. She wanted it. Dada told her she could have it once she could ride with no training wheels.
See that proud smile in the pic above? It was totally her idea, with a full 24 hour notice to us, that she would try out riding with no training wheels tomorrow. And she meant it.
We headed to our beloved NN Park with its ample 'walking' paths... and, um, easy distractions for her sisters with clear views for her photographing mama!
She and Dada did an awesome job on day 1. He's good at knowing just what she needs. I would've started off running, let her go, then kicked myself for overdoing it while picking her up crying. But not him. He took it slow, mostly walking along side her, holding on 100%.
Before too long, he was letting go (while telling her he was still holding on;D). She would proudly stop, realizing he wasn't holding on, and look to me to know if she had really done it all on her own. It was a great confidence building kind of first attempt.
And all the while, this little sister of her's made my heart smile with her little 'performances.' Dancing, twirling, bowing...singing something about friends and Care Bears. She can completely melt your heart...and she's mostly oblivious. It still makes me smile (I'm typing this quite a bit after the fact, despite fudging the date) that I was able to capture this little series. It is just so very Camilly.
Day 2 went a little differently than day 1. Thankfully (and definitely grace from the Holy Spirit) I've managed to gather a bit of motherly wisdom, and I was more or less prepared.
All of that confidence built up over night.
She assumed she would just jump on her bike and ride off into the sunset.
While the above pic looks like a happy one, 2 seconds later she careened off into the grass and fell over. (I'm so glad it was the grass!) Tears and stomping and 'I quit' ensued. We let it pass.
Later that day they returned to the bike shop to pick up/return some part. She saw that shiny pink bike again. Dada let her pick out a new pink bell since she couldn't have the bike.
He affixed the bell to her old bike that evening. She couldn't resist trying again.
I was in the kitchen and realized it was growing dark and they had been out for quite a while. I wandered out and found this occurring!
She declared the bell a magic one. :)
It was such a proud moment. For everyone. It's akin to a baby walking for the first time... except this time she participated in the joy and pride of the moment. Oh it was magical! Such freedom! So. much. fun.
She had one last ride on her trusty Hello Kitty bike before turning it over to Camille. Then it was off with no looking back... on her shiny new pink bike....with a basket and pink streamers.
She made a special drawing for her best friend, Alex. Then put it in her basket (along with her cohort, Martha) and rode over to deliver it! Oh happy girl!
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