Every year, the school does the trike-a-thon through St. Jude's in which you pledge a bit of money to go toward a good cause and the little ones learn about bicycle safety and then ride back and forth on the sidewalk repeatedly. It is a big deal.
These two events merged together for good this year and we decided to buy her a bike. Last year, as I was packing up the van on a preschool day, suddenly remembering it was trike-a-thon day, I grabbed a helmet and one of the kids' tricycles (seemed appropriate) and headed off to school. Little did I know that this was a bigger deal than I thought, with all the kids and their big-kid bikes (shoot, I just didn't think about the fact that she was probably old enough for one of those!) and cute little princess or spiderman helmets and a big hoopla.
I swore that next year I would make a bigger deal of it so she could feel excited and festive. And maybe have a big girl bike.
SO, we decided to get her a big girl bike for her birthday, but just a little early. JC was still without a job at this point, so one morning we just up and decided to make a trip to Target and see what we could find. Now, keep in mind that our children all think they are exactly the same age and get all the same privileges at all the same times. So, at times like birthdays and other special circumstances, they get really confused.
You can imagine what this was like, trying to let Bethany pick out a bike (which she was ecstatic about) with two little brothers who don't understand why in the world she would get one and they wouldn't. Now, there are times to enforce this kind of thing and birthdays are definitely it. But...after watching all their little faces just light up with all the fun options in front of them...we decided pretty quickly that they would all get bikes for their birthdays...just early. :) Then, when the actual birthday came around they would get just a small present to celebrate.
With all the figuring out and decision making done, we ended up heading back home with a princess bike, a spiderman bike, and a smaller toy story bike.
SO cute.
JC set to work on putting them all together. Little did we know this turned out to be a bigger deal than anticipated (as was the whole morning it turns out) and it all became quite hectic. It was quite the morning!
Finishing touches on the princess bike!
While James grows quite restless waiting for his turn...
Scout makes himself comfortable inside the box previously occupied by a bike.
Bethany is so prepared with her lovely little helmet!
And James takes matters into his own hands with the opening of the box!
(This is where I start thinking that I sure hope that we don't end up having to return it!
JC plays biking coach while I play photographer.
And off she goes!
Woohoo! She's a natural!
After much laboring, the spiderman bike appears nearly ready to go!
And James gives it a try.
And then throws himself on the pavement purposely in an effort to express his frustration that he can't quite work it.
(This is where I start thinking...hmmm...we might end up returning that one.)
Ben helps with oystrybike (His pronunciation of Toy Story bike) assembly.
Then, gives it a shot.
Looks adorable.
Can't quite work it.
Doesn't care all that much.
(This is where I start thinking...maybe they are both going back...)
But, with this kind of good time, 1 out of 3 is not a bad result!
Then, a week later, it was Trike-A-Thon Time! Bethany had practiced and practiced and we were all excited to see her participate!
She leads the line of preschoolers! All in their school shirts! Cute!
So sweet.
After her much practiced and perfectly mastered bike riding, she was rewarded with her very own water bottle and some treats.
Which led the boys to believe it was okay to try to raid the treat basket.
It was, however, not really.
Therefore...
Able to ignore the fact that her brothers were melting down just feet away, Bethany enjoyed the rest time with her friends after the big "race."
And her bike rested amongst all the others.
Sad that it only got to participate in one trike-a-thon. Because, alas, the end of preschool is coming near for our little girl.
But, do not fret, little bike friend, kindergarten is within riding distance. :)
2 comments:
Bethany is SO freakin' cute in those boots. I die every time I see pics of her in them. Sassy little sistah-friend! Uh... This reminded me of when we lived in Desoto and Androo got to take the training wheels off his bike and i DEMANDED that i get to do the same. And then figured out that the best way to stop the bike was to run into the nearest tree. Hey, it worked...
Word: ullino. Hmm, pretty sure one of those obscure instruments from the Bible.
do you realize how close you are to taking those training wheels off? like, less than a couple of years! good choice in bike size for little miss. james will get the hang of that big bike - in his own time i'm sure. :)
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