riding a bicycle

Our neighbors from our old apartment lent us a bike for as long as they where not using it. It has been gathering dust in our backyard for months until a few weeks ago when Lydia decided to try riding it. She would get excited about it and ask us for help. We would try to explain to her how to pedal. The task seemed too daunting and she would lose interest quickly. But when Lydia saw someone else ride a bicycle she would proudly announce that she too had a bike.

Well, a couple of weeks ago our neighbors finally requested their bike back. So we returned it one evening and wondered how Lydia would react when she found it was missing. She asked about it, but did not seem to be too upset. Since then she has taken a liking to bikes. Outside, she would find anything resembling a bike and try to ride it, often just sitting on it and moving her feet. But yesterday, at her little preschool group, she was not playing with her friends much. Once again Lydia found a bike and was diligently trying to perfect her riding skills. The reason I say perfect is because she just sat down and started pedaling. She covered quite a bit of distance during the hour we were outside.

Today Lydia was at it again. She sat and pedaled any bike that appeared remotely usable. Our sidewalks are so rough that she would get stuck a lot. To resolve that Lydia would either ask for help or use her legs to move herself forward. Watching her struggle, I decided to borrow a better bike from our other neighbors. Lydia loved riding it on a path surrounding our playground and she did it for quite a while. It was so fun to watch her. She is growing up so quickly and it is such a joy to have her in our family.