Bike Ride

When Eric was home he bought a bike seat and helmet for Maddie. She LOVED the helmet the first time he put it on her, then he had to tighten the chip strap so it fit snuggly and we pinched her chin while snapping it...needless to say, she wasn't a big fan of the helmet since then! We still put it on her and he took her for a few bike rides because once she got going she was happy and forgot about the helmet. Well, I told Eric I wouldn't take Maddie on bike rides because I feel like sometimes I still need training wheels...I'm not really sure of myself on a bike so I would be really nervous to take Maddie for a ride. And to make matters even worse I don't even have my own bike! Even if I did, the bike seat is mounted to Eric's anyway. I'm able to ride his bike, but the seat is mounted too high for me so when I stop I have to hop off the seat in order to get my foot to touch the ground.
The past few days when Maddie and I have gone out to the garage to go get the mail (we go that way so I can put her in the stroller to walk to the mailbox...yes, it's that far) she's said "hat" and did sign language for "hat". So I've been putting her helmet on her and she's really happy :) I was thinking how nice it was going to be when Eric came home again in October, she'll really be ready to go for rides again! Well, today we went out to get the mail (with her in the Baby Bjorn...she's about too heavy for that!) and she wanted to wear the helmet again. I put it on her, told her how pretty she was and all that stuff and then took it off of her. She started to cry!! So I put it back on her and walked inside to show her herself in the mirror. She laughed and was really happy, saying "hat" the whole time. But...she STILL wouldn't let me take it off of her! She wouldn't even let me put her on the floor (I wanted to take a picture of her walking around inside the house with it on). I finally got her convinced that if I put her down I would put on my shoes and socks and we would go for a bike ride. That made her happy! Oh boy...now I have to go against what I told Eric, and go out of my comfort zone, and subject both me and Maddie to a bike wreck...Ahhh, the things we'll do to make our kids happy, right? We went for a short bike ride, only about 10 minutes or so. I chose roads where there isn't a lot of traffic. Also, it was just after 4pm so there's not too much traffic at that time anyway. We did fine and only had one minor close-call :) Maddie was kicking my butt the whole time, something Eric hadn't mentioned so maybe she didn't do it to him...mommy's butt is much more "bouncy" than daddy's afterall :) Then toward the end she leaned forward enough and grabbed on to the bottom of my shirt and held on for a while. Maybe I didn't have her strapped in tight enough...I'll check that out next time!
So, we had a nice time out riding the bike together. I'm glad I did it. It feels good when I get out and do something active and outdoorsy with Maddie because I really want that to be a part of our every day life when she's older, so why not start now? I would just like to wait for another bike ride when it's cooler...