Noah is ‘talon’ted
Noah made a Bald Eagle out of Trio Blocks. I like to memorialize these things by taking pictures before they get torn down.
After taking Noah’s picture, Desi hopped in, like it was only natural that he was next.
It would appear he’s a little self conscious about his height.
this could be habit forming
Noah and I went out for another bike ride this morning, thanks to Teresa being canceled for work today. That’s 2 rides in 2 weeks. That’s a tradition I wouldn’t mind starting.
Noah rode 6.33 miles this time around. Up from 4.5 last time. He claims he can do 8 miles next time, but I think his bravado may get the best of him, leaving me stranded on the greenway with a sobbing, tired child.
As if riding with Noah wasn’t fun enough, we also discovered that RAMBO has another set of single track trails towards the opposite end of the Roswell-Alpharetta Greenway from the Big Creek Trails. The sign listed them as beginner and a little more advanced, which to me says “Perfect for going fast on your cyclocross bike.” Which means, maybe next time (next year?) I get to go for a ride by myself, maybe I’ll check that out rather than the Big Creek trails. Noah and I rode on them for a little bit, but they got kind over his head pretty quickly, and he had already ridden 3 miles at that point, so I didn’t want to tire him out for the ride back. Maybe next time we’ll drop into the Greenway closer to those trails and give them a good try.
I’m babbling. Here’s a picture of Noah looking cute and awesome at the same time:
He loves riding on dirt. Gonna have to get him out there on more of it.
2 more weeks and Desi will be old enough for a helmet, which Teresa deems the right time for him to start accompanying Noah and me. Upside, family rides, and probably “Daddy and the boys” rides every Saturday. Downside, Tree will probably frown on me taking Desi on that new found single track.
Either way, it’s more bike riding, and that makes me happy.
the bullard boys enjoy their wheels
Desi does this any time he’s in a highchair with wheels. He’ll do it through the whole meal.
Meanwhile, Noah is honing his bike skills.
out for a ride.
Tree took Desi out for a drive/nap, so Noah and I decided to try his new bike out on the greenway. 4.6 miles.
noah learns to ride a bike
Disclaimer: This footage is not doctored. There was no digital retouching done to take out training wheels.
5 Minutes. That’s all it took. Don’t believe me? Here’s an extended” grandma” edition that’s 10 minutes long. I push him maybe 3 or four times, and then he’s off on his own.
I had read in the past that there’s no statistical evidence that push bikes get kids riding real bikes sooner, but I call BS. Noah has been riding his for just over a year, and he took to the pedal bike like a fish to water. Seriously, in the extended video, I shot video for the entire “lesson.”
And he’s already a pro. He rides now like he’s been doing it forever. On occasion he’ll get flustered because he tries to start out by pushing the pedal backwards, and the brake stop him, but other than that, he just hops on and goes.
Later in the afternoon we went to a park so he could ride some more, and the combination of heat, hills, and time of day got the best of him.
He had lost it. His mind was trying to hold two opposing thoughts at once. At one point he said he wanted to go home and take a nap, then the next that he wanted to keep riding. Then he asked for a blanket and his “bobby” so he could just nap on the bench there. I told him we could go home, and he responded with “But I wanna ride my bike! I don’t like it anymore. My legs hurt! I don’t want to nap!” Just a stream of nonsensical consciousness that would have put Alanis Morrisette to shame.
Today he got some time to ride around in our driveway, but that’s hard since it’s basically just a hill. I’m counting down the days until Desi’s 1 Year birthday so Tree will let me get him in the kid’s bike seat and the whole family can finally go for a bike ride again.
She wonders why I don’t want to have another kid…it’s cause I don’t want to take another 18 month hiatus from family bike rides.
where i’d rather be
I’ve posted extensively about the whole Facebook Depression thing here already, so consider this a reverse of that. This is me, posting an idealized memeory of my own life, wishing I was living it right now, rather than sitting inside working on a perfectly beautiful day.
either way, it’s true
I was planning on referring back to how I’ve said before that Noah is a manipulative sociopath, but it turns out that was said in a draft post that I never published. None the less, the sentiment rings true.
This morning Teresa took Noah to school. Today will be his 3rd day. The school uses a drop-off system where you drive up, a teacher opens the car door and pulls your kid out, and then you drive away. It’s the fastest, simplest way to get the kids into the school.
Noah, of course, doesn’t want to participate in this system. He’d rather Teresa park the car, pull him and Desi out, and walking him into class.
So what does he do right as Teresa pulls up to the teacher waiting to pull him out? He locks the door.
© 2009 tonybullard.com
