Makenna rides her bike!

Like I mentioned in an earlier blog submission, we taught Makenna to ride her bike without training wheels and she's doing great now. Too bad it's too hot to be outside half the time in Georgia!

Shane's been doing great with potty training and it looks like it's finally sinking in. Jennah has been an all-star for bringing him to the bathroom 15 times a day!

First week of school

The first week of school came and went, and it went great! I just had to post this end of week progress report of Shane's, because I'm so proud that he recieved an "outstanding" for treating others with respect! It's extremely important to me to treat others with respect! I'm so proud of Shane! Makenna did great too- she was on green (good) everyday this week!

1st Day of the 1st Grade! and... Preschool

Today was the first day of school... for both Makenna AND Shane! There was a lot of confusion about Shane's first day- I thought he started in September, but I guess it was just the regular preschool class that was starting later- luckily, I wasn't the only confused parent!

Makenna had a GREAT first day! Her teacher seems really nice, and she had a green circle today! Shane also had a great first day! I was really worried he'd cry from separation anxiety like he did last year, but he seemed really happy to be back!

These pictures don't really show it, but they really WERE happy today!

Sunset Beach

Jennah's Post

It has been such a crazy summer, I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like. Thankfully Mike has been able to post some updates too. Here we are at Sunset Beach, Oahu, on the 3rd of July. My high school friend and classmate Pinky took these family photos of us!

Look Ma, no training wheels! Makenna learns to ride a bike...

Yesterday, Makenna learned to ride her bike without training wheels, after three short days of trying about 45 min per day. She was nowhere close before that. I went and bought her a 16inch bike, assembled it minus the petals for the first two days.

I read about a method the New York City Bike Club used: I watched a video on Youtube where the instructors removed the bike petals at first and lowered the bike seats, then had the kids walk the bike along and coast by lifting their legs. Quickly, the coasting time would get more and more as each kid found his or her balance.

So I tried this with Makenna and once she could coast for about 12 seconds, I had her try her bike with pedals, and she was up and pedaling like a natural in about 60 seconds! The method basically teaches the kids balance, which is the most important aspect of learning to ride a bike. Makenna learned without falling one single time!

Well, here's that video for those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7HsWf8cbI