Let's go ride a bike

I guess our neighbors were tired of watching Pearl pedal over to the park on her too-small tricycle because they went out and bought her an early birthday present.

And yes, they are still giving her a present on her actual birthday. Can you say SPOILED?!

Of course, it is bright pink! And it's not your run-of-the-mill Walmart brand either. No, it's a REAL bike with a REAL brand. Just like Jeff's. Ok, so Jeff's road bike doesn't have training wheels... anymore.Cole was more interested in making a break for the park. He was adamant about getting to the swings, with or without us. He is going to drive us nuts with those swings!Pearl was so excited! She's been wanting a new bike forever (how ever long that possibly is for a three-year-old). And it was the perfect color, exactly what she would have picked out herself. Now she insists that she needs a new pink camouflaged helmet. Or an Aggie blue one, depending on the moment. She was a bit hesitant about the actual riding part. It's going to take some practice before she learns how to brake and doesn't panic when it wobbles back and forth. Neither Jeff or I had training wheels to help us learn how to ride a bike. This resulted in two very, very nasty falls for me. One in a gravel pit which left me covered in road rash from head to foot. And one in a barbed wire fence because I couldn't brake yet and flew off a small embankment. But I learned to keep my balance pretty quick after that!

It was too bad it was so windy and cold the night she got it or else we would have strapped on our helmets and gone for a ride together. We did go to the school the next day and practice. By the time she got there, she was doing a lot better. Still not quite sure how to brake - she brakes just fine when you don't want her to stop and panics when she needs to stop and forgets how - but at least she is building her confidence on it.I keep thinking Pearl is way too young to have a real bike. But I guess I learned how to ride one in kindergarten myself and whether I like it or not, Pearl is almost four... going on 16.I sure hope Fern likes pink someday.