The Training Wheels Come Off

Today, Hoby got Rory's bike out and realized that Rory had grown so much since summer time (almost TWO WHOLE INCHES!! Yikes!) that he needed to raise the bike seat as far as it could go. "He's almost outgrown his birthday bike already," Hoby said shaking his head "and we haven't even taken the training wheels off yet." We both sort of looked at each other and so I said, "What the heck? Why not try taking them off now?"

So out came the tools - which of course instantly got Rory excited (he's such a BOY!) - and before we knew it, he was ready to jump on and give it shot.





I thought for sure that this would be an all day affair. The two of us would probably be running up and down the street behind Rory's bike for hours, right? I held my breath, preparing myself for what was sure to be some major wipe outs, and hoped I was stocked up on my Superman band-aids. Then before I knew it, they were off!

The first try looked a little something like this:


Okay, not too bad for his first attempt! I was impressed... and I couldn't help saying a quick prayer of thanks that my kid is obviously much more coordinated than I am. Then after a few more tries, he did this:



HOLY COW! Did he just DO that?! ALREADY?!

And just like that, he was off and riding on his own:



Not only are we positively BURSTING with parental pride, but Rory is obviously so totally proud of himself. He has the most amazing smile on his face... his BIG BOY FACE. I don't know exactly when it happened, but suddenly it's very clear that my baby is not a baby anymore... and it kind of takes my breath away.

Way to go, kiddo - we're SO proud of you!