No More Training Wheels

Sweet Pea is 6 now. Last year she briefly expressed the wish to take her training wheels off of her bicycle, so we tried it. It didn't work out so well (despite putting extra knee, wrist, and elbow pads on her, lot's of encouragement, etc.), so we put them back on.

This year she decided that she wanted to try again. So about 6 weeks ago I lowered her seat all the way down, and helped her glide down the incline on the cul-de-sac next to our home, with her feet out to the sides to keep her balance/keep her from falling. We did that for two weeks, then I bribed her to put her feet up on the pedals while I started her off and had her glide down the incline.

Well, one thing's led to another, and after two trips to a local parking lot with an ever so slight incline to it, I can say that those training wheels are off for good.

Sweet Pea still doesn't have quite enough control for a trail or a sidewalk, but she can start herself, turn, and control her bike better every time. Her confidence (fashion sense?) is such that she refuses the extra protective pads, and her competitive nature on the last outing had her complaining that Buddy Boy was pedaling faster than she was.

Buddy Boy, for his part, was being a great older brother. He demonstrated various things to her (like how to keep your pedals level while you're turning so they don't catch the pavement and dump you on the ground) and did a good job of keeping far enough away from her so that she didn't feel like she was going to crash into him. I also took the time with Buddy Boy in the parking lot to work on such skills as looking before you turn, signaling, and pedaling while standing up.

I must admit to feeling a bit of a pang during our last outing. My baby girl is growing up, and we'll never raise a baby again. Soon she will tire completely of her parents, and be primarily involved with her peers instead of us. While I have some inner trepidation that Buddy Boy will not be able to live independently, I also fear that Sweet Pea will grow up too fast, and leave too soon. She already pushes limits constantly, considers herself the center of the universe, and can pout and throw a fit like the hardest core 'tweens around.



Meanwhile, summer carries on, with the kids going to day camps and us going to festivals and carnivals. Life is good. Soon we will depart on our annual vacation (holiday). It's really a shame that kids don't realize how good they have it. What I wouldn't give to have a summer filled with playing outside, going to camp, ice cream, and no school or work.

Just a Nice Day

We Love Fountains

It's been a hectic couple of weeks around the clubhouse lately. We had an incident almost two weeks ago that scared us, and I still can't write about it (maybe later). Let's just say for now that sleep (and the lack of it) has been a major factor in all of our lives lately. This has left us on edge while we prepare for an upcoming IEP meeting. Buddy Boy's days have been up and down, and all of our nerves have been on edge.

I took a bike ride this morning (I often go out on Sunday mornings-it's kind of like rolling meditation for me). Then I took the kids on a ride when I got back. We went to the park on our bikes, and it worked out fairly well. Buddy Boy rolled off the sidewalk a few times and crashed on the way to and from the park (the sidewalk's fairly narrow), but he didn't have any escalating meltdowns (just a couple of short easily controlled ones) and we all had fun.

After we got back and cleaned up Liz suggested we all go to the local botannical garden for a walk. It was a beautiful day in the land of Club 166. It was in the low 80's F (28-29 C), not too humid, and sunny. A bit warmer than usual for this time of year, but a great day for a walk.



There's just something about a walk in a garden that just helps lift burdens from your shoulders. It's really hard to be upset when you're surrounded by such beauty. There were a lot of nice azaleas blooming, although there were also quite a few that had suffered in a late freeze that we had a few weeks ago. But the blooming ones made up for those that had their flowers damaged.



Buddy Boy said he liked the flowers when asked, but spent most of his attention on the fountains, water lines, and rocks. He has always loved fountains. About the only thing he likes better than a functioning fountain is one that has been drained, so that he can see all the pipes and nozzles and such that are usually underwater.



We walked thru the Japanese garden, and the kids (and I) fed the koi. The kids knelt down at the water's edge and fed the fish, and didn't even fall in. Truly a success! Sweet Pea complained some about being tired of walking, but managed to do alright. She's the toe walker in the family. She's worn splints and had her legs casted for 6 weeks last year (she was also the only 3 year old I know of to get Botox injections), but still has to be reminded to pick up her toes and walk on her heels. She's also just not as much an outdoors person as Buddy Boy is. He'll hike all day (although he likes to stop a lot and dig and such-but hey, that's what hiking in the outdoors is all about, right?). But Sweet Pea balks at walking any more than around a mall. She'll be a perfect teenager.

The $8 admission for Liz and I (kids are free) was cheap therapy. We spent a couple of hours surrounded by beauty, with a soft breeze, sunny skies, and the sounds of running water. Who could ask for more. The kids were fairly well behaved (for siblings), and both had a good time. Just the bit of respite that we needed.

It's Spring!

photo credits-my cell phone during my bike ride

What a great weekend it was in the middle of the US. Sure, there were some showers, but it was warm, occasionally sunny, and flowers and trees are blooming all over the place.

A great time for playing outdoors. We practiced throwing a baseball and long jumping (events that Buddy Boy's class will participate in in Special Olympics), and I got out on the bike myself, as well as with the kids.

When I went out with the kids, we did something new. Sweet Pea has outgrown the trailer I used to pull her in, so she has graduated to the "tag along" bike that hooks up to my seatpost. She says "I don't get enough air in the trailer". Of course what she really means is "Now that I've gotten a taste of riding out in the elements like this, like a big girl, you're never going to stuff me back in that trailer again!" Fortunately, Buddy Boy has gotten more confident on riding his two wheeler without the training wheels.



So we did a new thing yesterday. Instead of me throwing their two bikes in the car, takeing them to the park, then having them ride while I walked, we all rode to the park. I hooked the tag along bike to mine, and rode in the street pulling Sweet Pea behind me while Buddy Boy rode on the sidewalk the half mile to the park, where we rode on the trail that circles the park. This was significant, as Buddy Boy has never ridden on anything as narrow as the sidewalk before. I thought he was up to it, and he was the one who suggested we do it this way (I think he gets tired of waiting for me to catch up to them walking while they ride). Buddy Boy did pretty well. He veered off into the grass once on the way there, and bumped into two obstacles (a fence post and a telephone pole) on the way back.

Because it was the end of the ride (and we had also spent a good deal of free time on the playground equipment) Buddy Boy decompensated a bit when he bumped the obstacles. But he managed to get it back together in a few minutes, and we carried on back home.

It was great to get out and celebrate the start of a new season. Spring always feels so fresh and new, and the color that is dappled all over the place by nature is simply spectacular.

Happy Spring, everyone!

Joe is 210

Rolling onward

Spring came to the middle of the US in full force this weekend. It was such a beautiful day that we had to go out to the park. It seemed our whole town was out there today.

We took the bikes with us for the first official ride of the season. Our park has a paved path that loops around the outside of the park. When I announced we were going to the park to ride bikes, Buddy Boy initially didn't want to go. Inertia is always a force to be overcome, and he was involved in watching some cartoon he had just turned on. But I just told him we were going in 5 minutes, and he didn't put up any resistance when it was time to go (probably mostly because he really does like to ride his bike).

I'm really glad that Buddy Boy has gotten the hang of riding a bike. I'm a somewhat dedicated amateur rider (not nearly as dedicated as I used to be), and riding serves as moving meditation to me. The rhythm of the wheels and the pedals, the wind in my face, and the motion all combine to make a sensory experience that soothes my soul. It's been something that I wanted to share with Buddy Boy, and it's a good feeling knowing that he likes it, too. Last year when he finally got the knack of riding without the training wheels he was so proud of himself he just glowed. He knew he had accomplished something hard. And it made me feel so good to see him so proud of himself.

While loading the bikes in the car, Buddy Boy tells me he wants to take his safety gear (elbow and knee pads). By the end of last season (his first season riding without training wheels) he was declining to wear the gear, having built up confidence in his riding ability. I sense a bit of anxiety on his part that he'll still be able to ride.

Liz is also a bit anxious about his riding ability. She remembers how long it took us to lose the training wheels, and knows that it was only towards the end of the season last year that he was really getting it. "Perhaps you should take him to an open parking lot first to practice?" I declined, knowing (hoping?) in my heart that riding his bike would be to Buddy Boy like, well, riding a bike (something never forgotten once learned).

It went just fine. One push to get him going up the first little hill, and he was off, followed close behind by Sweet Pea, who is always trying to keep up/beat her brother who is 2 years older than she. Buddy Boy quickly regained his confidence, even becoming a bit overconfident and running off the path almost into a bush. He was a little upset, but quickly recovered. He's done a lot better over the last year in terms of being able to regain his equilibrium.

After two times around the park the kids wanted to go play on the playground equipment. I got pushed into duty for one of their favorite games, where daddy plays the troll, and they try to escape (basically a game of "chase me"). I also spot another kid who is probably on the spectrum, there with his dad. I debate whether to approach to make conversation. I look in their direction, wondering if he's noticed us. He hasn't, and he moves on.

An hour later and its off to home again. It's great that Spring is coming, and it's great to be rolling along again.

Joe is 210