Monday, July 20, 2009

I never thought this day would come...

Last night, we experienced a family first: taking a bike ride as a family, with only one child on the back of a bike!

Jack got a smokin' hot new mountain bike for his 6th birthday. I swear, his bike is nicer than my everyday bike. Leave it to Steve to pick out the coolest, fastest, bike available in Jack's size!



Anyway, he's been practicing on our street, riding in circles for hours. Last night, we put the skills to the test, and rode around the neighborhood as a family after dinner. We live at the top of a rather steep hill, so braking ability is a necessity to make it down alive. Jack and Olivia opted to walk their bikes down the street to flatter ground.

We only had a few mishaps—while Jack is awesome at balancing, he's not completely proficient at steering or turning yet, and he doesn't always pay close attention to where he's going. He is easily distracted by his surroundings. He hasn't figured out that it's best to slow down before turning a corner, so there were a few wipeouts. He caught his handlebars on a post at one point and his bike stopped but he didn't...thank goodness for knee and elbow pads, gloves and a helmet!

As we were riding through the neighborhoods, I was reflecting on the past 10 years as a "family". We've been in the "baby" stage for a very long time. Now, we've reached the "kid" stage, where we can begin to do activities together that don't require a stroller, diaper bag, breast pump and bottles. Honestly, I wasn't sure we'd ever get to this stage. Now that it's here, I'm looking to the many adventures that lie ahead!

2 comments:

The DeVito's said...

I'm waiting for those days too! Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

It's the best stage of all (I remember when it was just Kate and Jane and then I decided to have another baby after 8 years - what was I thinking!!!)