Tour de Will

A few months ago I wrote about Will's progress in the bike-riding department. With a good shove-off from Tom, Will rode on his own - without training wheels - for about 10 yards. We were thrilled, and so very proud of him.

But after that day, the progress stopped. Completely. Will begged us to put the training wheels back on his bike, and when we refused to do so, he refused to ride. The one time we convinced him to try again he could barely go five feet without falling off the bike and bursting into tears.

We were all frustrated, so we just backed off, at least temporarily.

A few weeks later we were over at Natalie and Caroline's house and I saw the girls riding a glider/balance bike. I asked their mom, Erin, about the bike and she gave it rave reviews; apparently it had helped Natalie graduate from her training wheels in just a couple of months. And since Natalie and Caroline had really already figured out the bike-riding thing, Erin offered to let us borrow the bike.

When Will - and Hallie, for that matter - first gave the glider a try it was clear they both had zero balance after years of riding tricycles and two-wheelers with training wheels. It was kind of ridiculous, actually, how unsteady they were - they looked like newborn foals, attempting to balance on their own for the very first time. But both Will and Hallie kept riding the bike, and they LOVED it. So much so that the fights they've had over who gets to ride it and when will most certainly go down as some of their most vicious.

Grandpa Paul and Grandma Brenda came to visit when Will had been riding the glider for about five weeks. Grandpa mentioned he'd never seen Will ride his bike, so Will, Tom, and Grandpa headed to the park to give the bike a try. (Will was reluctant and less-than-enthusiastic but willing because he didn't want to let his grandpa down.) About 15 minutes later there was an urgent banging at the front door. It was Grandpa, and all he said was, "GET YOUR CAMERA AND COME OUTSIDE!".

When I reached the street I didn't see anything worth taking a picture of, that is until Grandpa pointed up the street and then waved his arms in a "ready, set, go" motion. At that point Will started down the three block-long hill leading to our house...without training wheels. Tom ran - actually he had to sprint to keep up - beside Will, shouting words of encouragement and making sure Will remembered to use his brakes. It was amazing. Absolutely amazing. And terrifying, seeing as Will was really cruising and wasn't yet an expert at using the brakes.

The view from our house to the top of the hill.  Will started
biking on the near side of the farthest telephone pole in the
center of the shot.

Tom can't quite keep up on the steepest part of the hill.

Here they come!

"Don't forget to use your brakes, Will!"

Almost there...

Look at that smile!

Three days later Will learned how to start off on his own, and two days after that he learned how to stop without falling off. This video was taken at the park in Lincoln, Nebraska, just two days after Will truly learned how to ride.



This weekend we went on two family bike rides - each at least four miles long - with Will riding his own bike and Tom towing only Hallie. Tom said the rides felt leisurely, what with 45 fewer pounds to tow. Our second family bike ride took us past the skate park, and now Will has decided he can do tricks as well.





We still have a ways to go as far as bike safety and the rules of the road are concerned, but there's no going back now. Will is officially a bike rider and I am officially the biggest balance bike supporter around. (Hallie's still riding the balance bike, and has gotten to the point where she can coast downhill without putting her feet down for 5-7 yards at a time. Her improvement is impressive.)

He rides! And this time it's for real.

The Birthday Boy Turns 7!

The birthday boy rose bright and early, styled his hair into a mohawk (which I then sprayed with a boatload of hairspray so it would stay "up" throughout the day), and put on his birthday badge. "Someone" had a difficult time accepting that it wasn't also her birthday, so after breakfast she put on her birthday badge as well. I didn't fight it.

In keeping with our "cookies for school, cupcakes at home, and cake for party" tradition, Will brought these fabulous karate ninja cookies - courtesy of Sugar: Cookies, Cakes, and More - to school for snack.

Meanwhile, I spent all of Will's birthday (while he was at school) working on his cake and cupcakes. I kept both the cake and cupcakes simpler this year, primarily because I wanted to try working with fondant for the first time. Thankfully Will loved the finished products and I now feel considerably less intimidated by fondant.

Tom had been out of town the entire week leading up to Will's birthday, but he arrived home shortly after Will's school day and in plenty of time to share in the festivities. Both kids were thrilled to see their daddy, but I think Will's excitement when Tom walked through the door had more to do with finally being allowed to open presents (I must have said, "you have to wait until Daddy gets home to open these!" 25 times that morning) than it did missing his daddy.

Will's birthday happened to fall on his elementary school's Family Movie Night, so after school we enjoyed dinner and a movie with a couple hundred of his closest friends and their families. The highlight - at least for Tom and me - was watching Will do push-ups in the gym to impress a girl.

After Family Movie Night we headed home for cupcakes and candles.

On Saturday morning Tom assembled Will's biggest present...a brand-new bike with gears! Will looked as huge on his first bike as he looks tiny on this bike, even with the bike in it's "smallest" position. Tom had to teach Will how to start riding from a standing position (Will can't touch the ground if his bottom is on the seat), and though Will crashed a few times at first, eventually he got the hang of it and can now ride the new bike like a pro. And because he's too smart for his own good, Will also now seems to understand gears better than I do.

Just for fun, here's a look back at the day Will finally learned how to ride his first bike without training wheels.

We held Will's party at the same location as we did Hallie's birthday party: Hallie's gymnastics gym. All the kids - and the grown-ups - had a great time.

And here's a link to Will's birthday post, which I put up on Chasing Roots.

Happy 7th birthday, Will!

Will the Conquerer

Will takes after his mama when it comes to change (he doesn’t like it) and learning new things (he doesn’t like to). Last summer, however, Will conquered swimming and soccer (if you define “conquered swimming” as is no longer afraid of the water and makes forward progress with dog paddle motions and face in water and “conquered soccer” as participates in practice and games instead of screaming bloody murder on the sideline). This summer, we’re working on bike riding.

Will was very nervous on his bike. He wouldn’t ride up hills. He wouldn’t ride down hills. He wouldn’t ride around sharp corners. He wouldn’t ride on grass or gravel or over bumps in the sidewalk. So basically he wouldn’t ride.

And then I mentioned to Will that perhaps his preschool might hold a trike-a-thon. Will’s preschool in AA held a trike-a-thon last year, and preparing for the event was the push Will needed to learn to confidently ride his tricycle. I have absolutely no idea whether or not Will’s preschool here will hold a trike-a-thon, but I figured that preparing for the event, should it come up, might help Will learn to confidently ride his bike.

We started out going around the block v..e..r..y s..l..o..w..l..y. Will got off his bike and walked it around corners, over manhole covers, and around a basketball hoop that partially blocked the sidewalk. He also came to a complete stop at every single driveway, not because he was being safe, but because heaven forbid his bike reach speeds beyond ¼ of a mile per hour. After a week or so, Will graduated to riding around the block without stopping, and after another week Tom, Will, and I biked (Princess Hallie rode in the Chariot) around a small, paved loop at a nearby park. Just last week Will finally rode his bike to our neighborhood playground about a ¼ of a mile from our house. Success!



Trying to keep up.


But bike riding success brought about a new problem – I can’t keep up with my little speedster. What’s a mom to do when one child won’t stop…



…and one child won’t go?



Sit down and take pictures, that's what.

He Rides!

Bike riding started off much like swimming and soccer did for Will: tears, tears, and more tears.  Will never wanted to ride, and when I WAS able to convince him to pull out his bike he would only ride in slow circles on the back patio.

Will overcame his aversions to swimming and soccer very, very S..L..O..W..L..Y.   I required him to continue participating, and with each new day I pushed him just a little further than I'd pushed him the day before.  (For example: swimming day #1 = sit on side of pool; swimming day #2 = put feet in water; swimming day #3 = walk in water up to knees.)  As I'm sure you imagine, it took a very long time for Will to get to where he is now with both swimming and soccer.

Will wasn't making any bike-riding progress, even with training wheels, so one day I decided it was time to say goodbye to the training wheel safety net.  I knew Will could and would eventually learn how to ride a bike if I opted for the slow-and-steady forward progress method we'd used in the past.  But to be honest, I can't stand that method and wanted to see if just jumping in feet first would work.

Both Tom and I doubted it would, but I stuck to my guns, and that weekend we went to the park (the sidewalks in our neighborhood would be terrible for learning to ride a bike) to give bike riding - without training wheels - a try.

Yes, there were tears.  I knew there would be.  At one point both Tom and Will wanted to pack it in for the day, but drill sargeant mom made them keep trying, and you what?  He did it.  Just for a moment or two, but in that moment I saw him realize that bike riding was something at which he could succeed.

The next day we went back to the park, and he did this:



And this:



If you listen carefully to the end of the first video you can hear me start to cry as Tom lets go of the bike and Will takes off.

There are times when slow and steady wins the race, but there are also times when it pays off to just take a deep breath, say a little prayer, and jump.