Riding and Shoveling

As far as January weather usually goes, we've had a mild one!! We've been in the 50s and even 60s somedays! Granted, lots of those days, the wind is just about as strong as the temperatures, but we've managed to sneak outside to play every now and again! One afternoon, the boys got to playing and it made me so happy to see them entertained and playing together so nicely! We've been cooped up inside so often, they haven't been playing together as well. I don't know why...but this day seemed to be the perfect recipe for them to play outside!!!

The started off by riding bikes and scooters....

And then headed onto digging in the dirt. Actually, they said they were gold mining. Grant has watched Gold Rush with Levi and I a few times, so they got into a good game of that!! They were so funny!! They'd shout to each other, "I got a thirteen ouncer over here!" "We need twenty hundred ounces more!" Funny guys!

It will be a sad day when we move away and have to leave all this wonderful land and red dirt behind!! Now, we are counting down the days til spring!! Although a good snow at some point would be really nice too!!

Big Bike Rider, Part 2

Ok, so not even two hours after I just posted about Wyatt being "a little scared" to ride his big boy bike, he was just outside riding his big boy bike!! He just took off and wasn't scared one bit!! I can't believe it happened so quickly! You could see how proud he was of himself! He loved it! I loved it!! I'm so proud of my little big man!

Big Bike Rider

I can't believe August is halfway over and these are the first pictures I've taken this month. Shame on me! I always feel terrible about ignoring my blog, but what can ya do?! Crazy time in life right now...crazy!! 

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Grant learned how to ride his bike when he was 3.5, while we lived in Texas. It's so hard to believe Wyatt is now that same age. I always think back to that time and Grant just seems so much older then than Wyatt is now. Actually, I know he was physically bigger because we've had a hard time even finding a bike for Wyatt to ride because he's so tiny!! Grant had to start on a 14" bike because the beginners bikes were too small!

But, Wyatt LOVES his balance bike. LOVES it! Every chance he gets, he's on that bike. When we're going to get in the car to go somewhere, he has to ride his bike around the driveway "really quick." And when we get home before he goes inside, he makes a spin around the culdesac. He just can't get enough!

 And he learned how to ride it quickly! Too quickly, because when the time came to buy him a big kid bike, we couldn't find one that fits! Most kids start on a 12" bike but Wyatt's feet were nowhere close to touching the ground. But after some searching, we found a perfect extra small 12" bike. And he can ride it all by himself- but, "its a little scary" says Wyatt. The first time he got on it, Levi was holding on to him and then Wyatt just took off. He looked back and realized Levi wasn't holding on and he started crying, even though he was riding it all by himself! 

So for now, he's sticking to the balance bike until Daddy gets a good stretch of time to get Wyatt comfortable. But I have a feeling, in no time, he'll be zooming down the street with Grant! I'm so proud of my little little guy!

 This is his favorite move, he calls "The Ninja." One foot forward and one foot backward, balancing the whole way down the driveway! He also has the "No Feet" move, where he brings in his feet and rests them on the bar in the middle. He also likes to "pop wheelies." 

And speaking of Grant, he now has a new addition to his bike. Something that kind of made Levi cringe as he was adding it on, but seeing Grant's face light up, it was totally worth it!

Yep, a basket, just for Cuddles! At least its not girly and has flowers and streamers!! Grant, I just love how you love Cuddles!!

Grant on Wheels

It's been about 2 months in the making, but he made it! Grant can officially ride a two-wheeler with no assistance from Daddy (well, once he actually gets on the bike!). It's totally awesome watching him just take off and keep going!  He still needs to work on his steering, but for the most part, he's an independent rider! I'm so proud of him for not giving up! He is so proud of himself!! And that makes me a proud Mommy!!

Practice Makes Perfect

Grant got a new bike today. He got a trike for his 2nd Christmas. He got a balance bike this past spring. He's been doing pretty good on his balance bike, so we thought we'd try a "big boy" bike. We found a great one at Toys R Us. After test driving some at the store, we thought that a 14" bike would be perfect for Grant. He can touch the ground easily, but still has plenty of room to grow. Since he's been practicing on his balance bike, which helps learn balance over pedaling, we thought he might pick it up pretty quickly. We were wrong. Grant is so "la-te-dah" as he's riding around. He watches his feet pedal, he looks for his shadow, he watches the wheels spin- all of which make for a bad combinations. So we will definitely be needing more practice. (And his previous helmet is too small, which is why he isn't wearing one. We're currently searching for a new one!)  

I know most kids learn to ride with training wheels, but we were hoping to teach Grant to ride without them. He knows how to ride a bike with training wheels already, but we really just want him to learn to ride and not rely on them. I have a feeling it won't take too long though. After all, practice does make perfect!! And I have a feeling, a "little shadow" will be ready to ride in no time as well!