Bike Stunts, Blood, and Band Aids

Last night was monumental at our house!

1. Collin tried to ride his bicycle without using his hands ~ Crash #1. He got up laughing and proudly showed his bloody elbow to his friends, who had (very cutely) gathered around to see if he was ok (and to check out the blood!). He then went inside, washed his injury himself (oh my! he's getting so big!), and came back outside, psyched and ready to try again ...

2. ... Crash #2. This time he was NOT laughing. I was at the top of the cul-de-sac, and he had disappear around the slight bend into the opposing cul-de-sac. Suddenly, I saw him walking hand-in-hand back up the street with our neighbor Nick, who was pushing Collin's bike with his free hand. Collin couldn't talk for the embarrassment and pain. Five minutes of snuggle time and lots of cajoling later ... "I don't know what happened, Mom! I was riding and suddenly my bike jumped out and got on top of me!" He has a (bloody) cut down the bridge of his nose, nearly black eyes, a scrap on his back, and a second bloodied elbow to prove it.

3. You may remember that Owen initially charged Collin's bike quest by asking if he could try to ride without training wheels. Owen learned that night that although he could do it, he wasn't quite confident enough to ditch the training wheels. On the other hand, Collin discovered that his fear had been holding him back, and he's been on cloud nine "with just two wheels!" ever since. In fact, in the past month, nearly all the neighbors have joined the "two wheeler" club, and Owen has been watching them. He purposefully would NOT ride his bike with training wheels; he rode his scooter exclusively ... until last night. "Mom, can I try again without my training wheels?" I panicked inside and thought: "Oh no! Tonight? He's asking and I want to help, but I'm out here with three kids (one clutching to me and snuggling because it's nearly bedtime), no tools, and no Kevin." But then, he asked again. The mom in me shouted at my "other self" ~ "Find a way!" So we did. We borrowed Natalie's old bike, which already had the training wheels off, passed Kate to Katie, brought Collin along to cheer (he was still mildly weeping his crashes), and .... Owen took off! I held the bike for a second, and he was off! I ran along side of him. He turned the loop in the cul-de-sac without hesitation, kept peddling, and I kept running. He stopped with his brake, put his foot down, and BEAMED. I am telling you it was the biggest BEAM I have ever seen! He was the proudest little boy in the whole world last night! He showed everyone, riding up to them, circling around, beaming so great that I thought my heart would melt in the abundance of joy. He rode and rode and rode!

4. ... which seemed to make Collin ever so slightly jealous. He wanted to accomplish a great stunt too. And he wanted to try Natalie's old bike. For half and hour, I explained to him all the reasons why the bike was not a good fit for him. I wish I'd have really realized that I was making sense. It really was too small of a bike for his ever-extending legs ... Crash #3. Lots of crying.

By the end of the"adventurous" bike night, Collin felt like he'd tackled some good challenges ~ and gained a few prized battle scars. It was the first time my kids have seen injury worthy of a band aid, and Collin was proud to receive three!

Owen was just plain proud!

And I was thrilled ~ that they had survived (and so had I). In the end, what a fun, exciting night!!

And wouldn't you know that in the midst of all that, I wasn't able to run into the house for my camera?! "Darn it!" as Owen would say.

BTW - Kevin was out doing adventurous bike stunts last night too! Apparently he and Steve rode some pretty serious trails, and Kevin went over (literal drops) some technical terrain that challenged his skill and left him - thankfully unscathed - and also very proud. :-)