When Elizabeth was little, maybe between the years of one and two, we would ask her, "Elizabeth, how big are you?" She would throw her hands into the air and remark,"So big!"
She has always seemed big to me because I want her to stay little. But she has never seemed as big as she already has this summer.
Over the last week of school, Elizabeth was determined to ride her bike without training wheels. We told her that if she could learn do ride, she would be able to ride her bike down to the pool this summer, beginning on the day that it opened.
On Monday we took her training wheels off and took her up the street to Peabody. Elizabeth was confident but couldn't quite keep her balance. Nathan ran beside her and would let go once in a while. By the end of the night, Elizabeth set a goal of being able to make the whole stretch of track with only a starting push.
On Tuesday, Elizabeth achieved her goal! She was officially riding her bike without training wheels and it only took her about an hour of practice!
On Friday, Elizabeth and Nathan rode their bikes down to the pool for opening day (pictured above)!
Elizabeth set mini-goals over the next two weeks. She can get going on her own, she can control her speed, she can make a turn and she's learning to pop up on and off the sidewalk!
But wait...that's not all!
Since the end of the last summer, Elizabeth wanted to be able to dive off of the diving board and swim to the other end. On opening day, Elizabeth practiced her swimming and got comfortable with the pool again. The very next day, she was confident and took the big dive!
She dove, popped up, and swam to the side!
Our girls are both very brave, determined, and strong-willed. These two "milestones" have reminded me that if you have confidence in your children, they can accomplish just about anything! I can't say that I was comfortable with bike riding or the diving board. I set my fears to the side and it allowed Elizabeth to flourish!
Elizabeth, I'm proud of you! I'm excited to see what the rest of the summer will bring!
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