Sunday, September 22, 2013

And then this happened...

sep22a

sep22b

Rich mentioned teaching Emily and Allie how to ride their bikes without training wheels here and there throughout summer.  I balked, imagining injuries and tears.  A few weeks ago, Rich tested the waters and I have to say that I was impressed with how cautious he was but also with how quickly they seemed to catch on.  Saturday afternoon, they progressed to Rich running next to them "just in case."  They practiced riding in a straight line at first and then moved up to turning.  This afternoon, they were able to cruise around all by themselves.

sep22c

sep22d

A few times, we've had strangers ask if we plan on trying for a boy, not knowing or understanding what we went through in order to have our girls.  Not having a son has come up in conversations and Rich knows that he'll have moments with his daughters just as he would have had moments with a son.  This weekend was a perfect example of that.  He taught his girls how to ride their bikes in a way that I couldn't have, in a way that only a father could.

sep22e

6 comments:

Penny said...

When my husband and I got married, we had five daughters from our first marriages.. Two years later, we added our daughter. Six girls! My hubby is the only son of an only son so naturally he would have liked to have had a son. Well, we now have five grandsons that were worth the wait. ;) your girls are gorgeous! :)

Anonymous said...

I am sitting here with a big ole grin on my face - love their big smiles too as they learned to ride without training wheels - makes me remember back to when my sister taught me how to ride my bike. Pure happiness.

Katlyn

Anonymous said...

That's awesome! They just need bigger bikes..probably the 16" size...:)

Sarah said...

I like the tiny bikes - lol. Bike riding season is almost over here. We delayed getting bigger bikes until next year for a few reasons.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you Sarah - I love their bikes just as they are - especially when they are just learning without training wheels - easier to put their feet down to catch them on the bikes they are on.

Katlyn

Tinkerbellemommy said...

We're the parents of three girls too, though they're way more stretched out in ages than yours, 21,16 & 8, and we always get the "when are you trying for a boy?". Ugh. My husband isn't bothered at all by the lack of a son, he's actually proud of it. He's said all along some men are destined to be the daddy of little girls, and he's glad to be one of them. And he's awesome at it...complete with playing tea party, Barbie dolls and hair in a bun for ballet class. We're blessed to have married such men, don't you think?

And I agree, little bikes for learning are great. They're easy to sell at a yard sale and start over with bigger ones next year.