Afterward the boys were looking forward to going to Nannie & Papa's house to ride their John Deere bicycles. As they were doing that, I was inside looking for a few things when I heard one of the boys crying. I slowly made my way outside, thinking one of the boys must have fallen off their bike and onto the concrete, but that was not the case. Instead, when I got outside and asked what was wrong, I was told nothing, just that Trey had taken the training wheels off Thomas' bike. He was not amused.
After assuring him that we would not let him fall, he finally agreed to try riding his bike without training wheels, but he would not stop whimpering and crying. It was a pretty pathetic sight. He was doing okay at first, but he did manage to fall a few times and that just made him all the more upset (not that he was hurt, but that his training wheels weren't there). He finally managed a few smiles (and by then, I had my camera):
We did have to keep reminding him to keep his eyes in front of him!
Still, he was not convinced. He begged and pleaded for his training wheels but his Daddy stood firm. I was ready to put the things on myself (for fear that he would no longer want to come to his grandparents' house). After a little break (and some time riding his brother's bike) he went up to his bike again. He immediately fell (before he even got going) and was initially ready to quit. But then he decided to give it one more try. And sure enough, the boy found some confidence and he started to really have fun. He even told his Daddy to "Please let go and let me go!"
Turns were a little tricky at first, but straight paths were no problem!
Stopping proved to be the most difficult, but when he fell, he got up smiling.
He needs a little help to get going (just a quick push) but then he can go just fine (until he has to stop!).
I tried to teach him how to come forward off his seat when he stops to keep the bike from falling over and he finally started to get the hang of that, too.
In the end, he had a ball and his Daddy was right. He was ready after all! :) He just came up to me as I write this and asked, "When can I go to Nannie's house and do it again." I guess we'll have to take the training wheels off his bike here at home soon also. But since we don't have a large grassy yard here, we might have to get some knee and elbow pads first! :) it's hard to believe our little boy is growing up so much!
2 comments:
Good work Thomas! Now can you come teach Lily to ride hers WITH the training wheels.
Looking good. By the way - on the action shots, test out AF-C mode, as it tends to work better at keeping a moving target in focus. Lock it in the middle and just let it move with him.
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