Reeves' New Bike

For his second birthday, I asked my parents to get him a Radio Flyer tricycle. He still can't reach the pedals. He does love climbing on it and pushing it around, but as far as transportation goes, it's a bust for at least another 6 months, depending on growth spurts. Friday, they stopped by the house and dropped off this "new to him" bicycle. We weren't home at the time and didn't return till that evening, so it wasn't until almost bedtime that Reeves even saw it. When he did, it was all he saw or wanted. His other toys meant nothing to him at that point. Of course, we had to tell him that he couldn't ride it that night, but the next day, Saturday, he could ride it all he wanted. Unfortunately, we woke up to a cold and rainy Saturday - that lasted roughly 24 hours. Poor Reeves! The bicycle was on the back porch. Everytime we absentmindedly opened the back door, there he was, running between our legs to sit on his soaking wet "new bike". We felt so bad for him because we knew there was no chance he was getting on that thing that day.

Finally, with the help of his "artwork" and a little Mary Poppins, we were able to make it through that rainy Saturday. When we got back from church and lunch on Sunday, he jumped out of the car and ran to his bicycle. It fits him perfectly. Even the pedals are within his reach. The joy this recycled toy has brought into my son's life is amazing. He still doesn't quite grasp the concept of moving his feet in forward circles to get it to go, but I know it will only take a few more practice runs, and he'll be doing laps around us. Here I am trying to get him to understand that he must transfer pressure from his bottom foot to his top foot. (Next we're working on the theory of relativity.) I might have confused him even more by using my hands instead of my feet to do this.

Thanks, Gammy and Pops, for the wonderful surprise. He loves it, and the fact that it's blue (his favorite color) makes it even that much more special.