Reni's arrival into our family has shown us something new about our daughter... she apparently has a very competitive streak buried deep inside of her! It was first manifested in the form of 'competitions' at dinner time. While we love to hear our daughter talk, we didn't appreciate that she often wouldn't start eating her food until the rest of us were well done with ours. We made the innocent (?) comment one night, "Look! Reni is beating you at eating his ___________ (fill in the blank)." Now we have to remind her that it's not important if she finishes first, that it's not a race, and stuffing your mouth to overflowing isn't healthy, safe or attractive. But, it has led her to eat foods that previously she wouldn't touch (like her fruits and veggies), so she can 'beat' her brother.
Fast forward to the last several days since Nathan has returned from Japan. Our evening routine has turned into eat, clean up supper, then head outside for a walk with Reni riding his new trike. It didn't take too many nights before Ellie decided she couldn't be outdone by her little brother and that her bike (which has been sitting in the garage for a few years) was due for a dusting off. Here are pics from about a week ago when she took it on her inaugural ride outside of our driveway. Note the small size of the helmet -- we have been waiting a long time for her to overcome her anxiety! A new, properly fitting helmet has since been purchased. And Reni now has a helmet too. UH-dorable. We are so proud of our kids, but especially of Ellie for overcoming this fear and finding joy and freedom in this activity.
Enjoy these pics of the kids riding in the empty campus parking lot. We also take spins around the campus sidewalks -- a child bike rider's paradise!
A very quick, but related sidenote: this morning Ellie had her 6-year check up with Dr. Taylor. When it was finished (and she had cooperated quite well), she asked, "Did I beat the other patients?" Yes, she is competitive!
And since some readers were unsure of how Reni's tricycle works, here is a brief cell phone video of him demonstrating the "hand" pedals:
2 comments:
So fun! Siblings are the best!
We call that the healthy peer pressure..the kind that gets our kids motivate in the right things! Good for her jumping on that bike. What a fun summer she will have biking.
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