She's Off!

Seriously one of the best things ever is teaching the kiddos to ride a bike.  I loved those first screams she yelled out as she coasted down the tiny incline on our street.  And how she said how she loved going fast down the hill (of course, her speed is definitely that of a cautious little girl - not a thrill seeking boy like her brother!).  She started up the first part of June and has been picking up more leg strength in and around the neighborhood ever since.  She works her hardest to catch up to her brother.  Sometimes it looks like those little legs are going to spin off the pedals from working so fast.  

While she hasn't had any serious wrecks yet, I still hold my breath every time she bikes by one of the storm drains here.  They are SO big and don't have covers here, I feel like she could just slide right through one, bike and all.  Plenty of close calls, so it's only a matter of time.

Max was ready for a geared bike (more on that later), and she's had her eye on this pink one for quite some time - this pic below was her in Minnesota trying to convince us to get it for her a year and a half ago!  We'd forgotten about it until Mike was going through some old photos and found her on it (at least she's consistent!).