Andy Grew His Tail

This story begins with a book written by my Aunt Micaela. It's called, "Sparky." For the purpose of this post, the only part of the story you need to understand is that the dragons have to grow their tails before they can breathe fire.

You also need to understand Andy's love of bikes, scooters, motorcycles, snowboards (which he calls, "ice boards") and anything similar. Ever since Andy could look out our front window he has been watching the neighborhood kids cruise around on their bikes and scooters. 'Bike' was one of Andy's first words when he really started to talk. It probably helps that Brig rides his bike to work everyday. He kind of idolizes his father.

Well, a couple months ago we were at R.E.I. as a family and they had the little balance bikes out on display. Andy kept asking to ride it so we put him on the seat. He was too short for the brand they carry at their store so we told him he had to "grow his tail" before he could get a bike.

Almost every day since then Andy has mentioned his tail and talked about his tail growing.

Brig and I decided to get a bike for him and call it an early birthday present. His birthday is in December so it's a really early b'day present. But a bike wouldn't really do him any good during the Winter, and Brig will be gone for a year come August, so we went ahead with the plan.

We got him a Strider balance bike. For those that haven't heard about the balance bikes, the theory behind them is really cool. It's basically a mini bike with no pedals so the child can learn to balance first instead of focusing on pedaling. There is no need for training wheels. The transition from a balance bike to a pedal bike is smooth.

Anyway... the bike got here on Monday and I was SO excited about it. It felt like Christmas.

I put it together while Andy was down for his nap and then anxiously awaited his awakening. Here is the video of him coming upstairs and finding his surprise. Notice that he says, "Bike! Grow tail!" right at the beginning. The battery died on the camera, and right after it did Andy said, "Thank you mommy!!" It was so cute.

He rode the bike around upstairs until Brig got home.

He tried to hold the bike up to the window so Brig could see it. Then we all went outside for his first real go on the bike. Even Ezra.

It was so fun to sit and watch him walk around with it. He isn't gliding yet, but I'm sure he'll pick it up fast. He went back out after dinner with Brig for a bit and then rode it today as well. He woke up from his nap crying to go out and ride his bike.

So far it's been a great investment, and I have a feeling that we'll be using it with Ezra too.