Resilient

What a hot day today. Vanessa came home with the urge to use her new pedal skills.  We got the girls bikes and helmets out and were ready. Vanessa got to the top of our street and decided it was too steep. She walked the bike down to our house to try the less steep section got on and rode off. Since it's a very new skill,  had her try her brake. Check! She kept going down the hill and started to panic an kareen down the hill with her legs flailing.  We screamed to break but she couldn't. She got to the bottom,  crossed the street and ran into the grass. 
I ran down to her and she was really shaken.  Her chain had falled off! Since she back pedals to break... Surprisingly, she had only a few scrapes so I cleand her shin and put on a band-aid. She  cooled down on the swing.
Grandpa heard her story and came to the rescue.  He fixed the bike by moving her wheel back which tightened the chain.
Vanessa got right back on and rode down and back up the hill like a champ.  She's inspiring.

Spring has sprung

This morning Eric got up and decided it was time for the gazebo to go up. He was determined. He enlisted Vanessa to help him out. She did a great job and it went up without any issues. Hailey and I milled around. She played and I cleaned and made lunch.

After lunch Hailey attempted a nap and she tried but she just wasn’t settling down. Who could blame her? It was gorgeous outside and Vanessa and Daddy were home. I got her up and she went out to also find Grandma and Grandpa getting out the summer tires. Eric got Hailey and Vanessa’s pedal bikes all set up with the seats adjusted and the training wheels off. The girls both have balance bikes. Instead of pedals they just scoot along with their feet. Hailey is a pro on her bike and goes as fast as it will let her. Vanessa was ready to try a traditional pedal bike. We went down to the track in the middle of the town to try it out.

While getting everything out and setting them up with knee pads and helmets, Vanessa just got on her bike and just started pedalling. It was as if she’d been riding all summer. It was so effortless that  I missed it. She was so proud of herself as you can imagine. We did a couple of laps and went to MJ and Ron to show off. Grandma, Grandpa, Christina and Pamela were also there to cheer her on.

She was so smug when I pointed out that others were on the track practicing and she said,”but they have training wheels”.

This is great for everyone. More bike rides to the park and less in the car. I can’t wait to tell her we’ll ride to Sparks.

 

Vanessa, the teacher’s aid

Yesterday, Vanessa had the day off. We had planned to drop Hailey off at pre-school and head to get our hair cut. When we got there Vanessa helped Hailey settle in, not that she needs help, and took off her own jacket. Hailey’s teacher saw that and assumed Vanessa was staying for the morning. She asked where Vanessa’s lunch was. At first Vanessa was too shy to stay, but I knew that she would love to be the big girl on campus for the morning. I convinced her to stay and she shared Hailey’s snack and lunch. Hailey was thrilled to have her big sister around. Vanessa’s already talking about doing it again.
We went home and Hailey had a good nap while Vanessa hung out. We had dinner and went to the park. We love spring and can’t wait to bring our dinner to the park.