Park!

We've been encouraging Megan to practice riding her tricycle in preparation for getting her a new bike. I want her to be able to go on bike rides with our family. It is amazing what you can learn about a person when you get them to try something new. Or, at least recognize in your child. Megan is very cautious. She doesn't like to go fast, or rush into things. She's not as adventurous when it comes to height, speed, or action. She wants to go slow and stead and get there in her own time. Oh, and she'll argue with you the whole way.

On Saturday (and I didn't get pictures, you'll understand why in a minute), we went for a walk/ride to Keller Park, a very small park with not a lot of equipment but has a small slide and some swings that is about a mile from our house. Zoë wanted to ride her bike, but I knew that she'd ditch us and be bored waiting for me to push the stroller, and then I'd end up dragging Megan along with us. Not a pleasant prospect. So, I asked Zoë if she'd like to roller skate to the park. Yes!

Well, we have really HORRIBLE sidewalks here in South Bend. There are days where I wonder why we have them at all and wouldn't the road almost be safer (but I don't really believe that). There are cracks, but there's also upheaval from the treeroots, and lots of empty houses that don't care for the sidewalk (so there's sand/trash/sticks/rocks/glass/broken toys/etc.) This makes it difficult to ride a tricycle, but even harder for rollerskating. I had Miranda in the stroller, Megan on her tricycle, and Zoë hanging on to the handlebar of the stroller as I pushed both girls along, giving a kick every few sidewalk squares to Megan. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the park. UGH! But, the girls were all troopers, and we all had lots of fun going, staying and returning home.

I decided to try again, and see if I couldn't get Megan used to going a little faster- did I mention she was also easily distracted and would stop of her own volition to look around, in addition to going cautiously slow?

We made the trip again, and it only took 30 min over and 20 min back- but I ended up using my stroller to "push" her most of the way. She was still peddaling, but I was helping her go a little faster (so every bump didn't make her stop, and she had to concentrate more on where she was going so she wasn't as distracted). She was a champ! So was Miranda for not kicking her the whole way (she wanted to- Megan's seat was just where Miranda could tap her with her shoes!)

Of course, the highlight of the trip was the actual park- or was it drinking out of unusual cups? Megan got the bottle. But, she'd packed a doll's sippy cup in her little purse that she brought with her. Miranda used that (and managed to stay mostly dry). They both had so much fun drinking the water!

Of course, the slide was a major hit. Megan has no fear of this one now. I guess she got used to the height/speed of the contraption. Miranda loves it, but isn't so sure about speeding down it by herself. She's super confident about going UP (the slide or the ladder!). She even counts as she goes up each step... "won, woo, rhee, fo', fiive.. Go!" She isn't sure how to sit down on this slide since there isn't a good spot to rest and gather yourself before you're hurtling down the slide to the bottom. Still, she loved it! (even in the video you'll see... she didn't cry, but she was a little surprised about the landing)

They also went on the swings. Miranda LOVES to swing. Megan does NOT love to swing. I don't think she likes the way it makes her tummy feel, and she freaks out if she goes "too fast" (which is anything more than slower than a baby swing on medium speed).

We were all hungry and happy when we got home. It was a great trip. Now, we just need to get that bike, get Megan comfortable on that, and head out to the lake at Notre Dame!

Megan on her tricycle as we left the park. She was more interested in "spraying her hair" with her duck than riding her bike, but she was managing both rather well- she didn't crash!

Megan and Miranda on the slide. Miranda says
"too, rheee" and then "stop!" to her big sister..

Miranda makes it down up and down the slide by herself. She didn't even cry when she landed so hard!