sweet ride.

Clara got a new bike about a month ago.  She adores it!  It is called a strider and it is a balance bike!  There are no pedals, and only two wheels.  Toddlers learn balance while they park their bum on the seat and scoot with their legs.  She was able to hop right on it in the store and move around, which is why I thought it would be a great purchase.  Since then, she's increased her speed and is able to actually glide with the bike instead of just walk.  The hope is that the transition to a two-wheeler with pedals is much easier if toddlers use a balance bike first, because balance is usually the trickiest part of learning to ride a bike!

Here she is enjoying her new, sweet ride!  She obviously loves it!

And here she is on another day, helmet on and all.  We strolled through Kathryn Albertson Park to look for baby ducks.  Bikes aren't allowed, but at that point, she was seriously slower on her strider than walking.  So I made the executive decision to break the rules (something I'm not usually comfortable with!).  There was bird poop everywhere, and she wouldn't allow herself to roll over even one little turd!  Kinda reminds me of myself when I was little, except for me, it was worms...I would NOT roll over worms!

 Sweet helmet!  She didn't like me pressing the helmet down on her little head, which is what you have to do to get this one to fit!  So she wore the helmet like a crown...oh well!

 Silly little girl.  My mom and I carried the bike for most of our stroll.  Oh, and we didn't see a single baby duck or goose!  What?  They were all across the street at Ann Morrison Park!

We're all so happy bike riding season is upon us!