New toys.

Z's Christmas wish was a new bike. I'm not sure where she got the idea, but every time we asked her what she wanted for christmas we got the same response. And so we did what most parents do. We had her write a letter to Santa and on Christmas morning her bike was under the tree.

To be honest, I was real hesitant about getting her a bike. Why? Because I wasn't sure where she was going to ride it. It's not like we live in suburbia where kids ride their bikes up and down their streets or in their culdesac. We have hills everywhere. Our neighborhood sits up to two major freeways and there are cars everywhere. Our parks don't have pavement to ride on and if I let her ride around the lake I'm afraid she'll ride into the lake. The list could go on, but in the end, we couldn't let Santa disappoint her, so we caved in. I was curious how she would respond on Christmas day seeing how we'd be at my in-laws home where the neighborhood is more safe to ride a bike and where a park and school are at the end of the street with lots of open pavement. But then it rained on Christmas day. She did, however, ride for a little while after the rain subsided, but just for a little bit.

A couple of days after Christmas we went back to my in-laws home and Z was able to ride her bike over at the school, on open pavement. It was so much fun to watch her ride round and round in circles with a huge smile on her face, or puckered lips as in the picture below.

The challenge we now face is where to ride the bike while at our house. Well we've come to the greatest conclusion of riding in the garage. While most of the tenants work during the day, we have more open space to ride around. Plus the cement is so smooth. It's even a bonus when it's raining because we stay dry, but are still able to get out of the house and play. We have taken the bike out of the garage area and for the first time today, Z rode her bike to the park. She even rode it along the lake and didn't fall in! I'm assuming it's because of all the practice she's had in the garage. We still figure we'll have to pack up the bike and take it to parks out of the area that have riding room. And that's okay for now. It's what we do when we live in the city and I'm okay with that. I've been really happy with how much she's wanted to ride and how much she still enjoys it. She seems so much more independent now riding a bike and it just affirms how much she is growing and soon will be 4. Oh my.

Our second favorite toy is the ripstik. It's like a skateboard, but with only two wheels. Our nephew received one on Christmas morning and we spent all day in the garage (remember it was raining) trying it out. Papa J got so addicted to it, he found one on craigslist the next day and snagged it up. Now while Z rides her bike, both Papa J and I take turns on the ripstik. We're so hip.