May

The best packing snow we got this year came on May 1st.  We finally got to build a big, decent snowman.

And since it wasn't too cold, the boys didn't mind spending an extended time outside to do it

Robin made a good chunk of Frosty's head all by himself

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After completing the snowman, we proceeded to make another snowball, to see just how big we could get it.

Dean came out to help us

Robin on the giant ball

The ball was getting very hard to push.  Technically, we could've made it bigger, but the boys were finally getting cold and tired.

Frosty had slumped over quite a bit by late the next morning.  I was amazed that he stayed up at all, considering this angle.  He fell over by the afternoon.  And because it was so warm, all the snow but Frosty and the snowball melted by early afternoon, too.

We brought in a little of the remaining snow for Liam to play with.  He insisted on having his napkin with him.

Yee-haw!  Here's the cowboy riding his Grandpa steed!

Look at that cutie!

Rockin' the Spiderman jacket

Liam the elephant

Liam giving Robin a ride

The boys getting a wagon ride at their Grandparents old house, as we all helped pull down a dead tree (and celebrated by birthday while we were at it.)

Robin managed to commandeer the camera toward the end of the day, and took some portraits of the family

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And that brings us to Mother's Day, when the non-moms cooked for the moms!

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Here are the mamas

Okay, that's probably enough.  May will have to be two installments, because I've still got a lot of pictures.  Stay tuned for next time!

More biking

Today, the day after Robin got his new bike, Englewood had a bike rodeo--basically an obstacle course with firemen there to help teach about safety.

When we arrived, Robin was a little intimidated by the sharp turns and precision aim he needed, so he ran it a few times like a balance bike, and a few more times with me or Dean holding the back of his seat for balance (though he did fine when we had to let go for space reasons.)

Liam ran the course several times too, on the balance bike he got for his birthday.

He's riding with his friend behind him, also on her balance bike.

Liam has already gotten so fast on this thing, and he's only had it a month.  If he decides he wants to go fast, we have to jog to keep up.

Then Robin abandoned the course for a while, and just biked around the big open space adjacent to the rodeo, accompanied by his friends.

He got his feet back under him again, and started going really fast.

After a while, I suggested that he try the course again, this time using the pedals since he'd gotten used to them again.  He did, and succeeded, and was absolutely ecstatic.  He ran that course three million times throughout the morning.  And he rode around in circles a bunch more, too.

And yes, it would be accurate to say that I'm proud of him.  And impressed.  It's one thing to hear about kids transitioning from balance bikes to pedal bikes in a day, and quite another to see your own kid do it.  My four-year-old is riding a bike without training wheels!  Whoo!!!  (He's proud of himself, too.)

A fire truck came by to visit, so the boys spent a little time exploring the inside.

There were also safety stations, so Robin learned a little about calling 911 and what to do if there's a fire.

The boys successfully wore themselves out.  It was a good day!

Big Boy Bike

Robin got a big boy bike--a 16 inch pedal bicycle--from his Grammy and Grandpa as an early birthday gift.  Grandpa has been working a lot this summer, but he happened to have today off so today was the day that Robin got his gift.

First, he hid from the bike.  He said he was scared, something about Humpty Dumpty (I interpreted this to mean he was afraid of falling off.)  He resisted a bit at first, and only rode it as we pushed him around and held on.  Then we removed the back reflector, which meant we could lower the seat a bit more, and we lowered the handlebars, and we added all the accessories from his old balance bike (bell, water bottle holder, "Robin" license plate.)

He was then willing to ride it around with his feet on the ground, like his balance bike.  We rode in that manner to the neighboring alternative high school, to use their empty parking lot.  Once there, he was willing to coast and pedal a bit after getting a push, while alternately still using it like a balance bike.

Then he walked it up a slight rise and coasted down, and I told him to put his feet on the pedals, he was doing it already, just put his feet on them.  And he did, and then we all told him to pedal, he was doing great, pedal pedal pedal!  And he did!  And the lightbulb went off, and he was smiling and laughing and shrieking and having a grand old time.  We spent quite a bit of time at that parking lot.  I finally

decided that we needed to leave before he got too tired and fell, because that would've taken the wind out of his sails.  We stopped for a brief play at a nearby playground, and then Robin biked most of the way home (he still used it like a balance bike for some of the uphill parts.)  Whoo hoo!!!!  My kid is riding a pedal bike, and training wheels?  Nah, who needs 'em?