Alice would randomly ask to have the training wheels taken off her bike for the last couple of weekends, but always at the wrong time (as we were going in) and when Zac wasn't around to actually do it. So finally, on this lovely Sunday morning, I remembered to tell Zac that Alice wanted to try and ride her bike without training wheels. He took them off and we went to the perfectly flat, not-crowded greenway right by our house. We took turns hunting for bugs with Simon and running and pushing Alice on her bike. Within a half hour she had it down pat, and was even able to start herself. The secret to getting a kid to ride a bike is to have the bike be way too small for them, that way they can touch the ground easily. Alice only crashed once or twice, because she could just put her feet down. Also, the bike can't go very fast, so she couldn't lose control.
I can remember learning to ride a bike, on a bike that was too big and I remember getting going finally and then having trouble stopping and just turning up someone's driveway and crashing. It's weird to think that I can remember parts of life that Alice is now experiencing herself (as opposed to the baby years which nobody remembers). Everything is on the permanent record from here on out.
It was so exciting to watch her reach this milestone! She was all smiles the whole time.
