I Could Do This All Day!

| April 12, 2017

Since Sam is on spring break this week and has no homework, Mark took her out to practice bike riding some more. She is getting to be such a little expert! He took her over to Scenic Hills’s parking lot so she had a lot of space to move around without crashing into anything. He even brought her cones to give her some practice maneuvering. They were there for a while and she was doing so incredibly well that when he texted me to come over when I was done my errands, I just had to. I couldn’t believe how well she was tooling around! You can tell from her smile that she is proud of herself too.

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It is really cute to watch her face sometimes. She concentrates so hard.

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A bunch of times we heard Sam calling out, “I could do this all day!” She has made so much progress so fast. But, as per usual for Sam, she is impossible to teach anything until she gets it into her head she is ready. And when she’s ready, look out, it’s full steam ahead!

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The cones were great practice. She really learned how to control her bike while moving in and out.

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Sam and her teacher. 🙂 I don’t know what she would have done without Mark. He was so incredibly patient with her, really giving her the opportunity to shine. We are both so very lucky.

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I love this last picture. Sam kept following lines saying she was being mBot. It’s just like her to make an association like that. Next time, I think we should bring her robot with her and they can follow the line together!

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Thanks, Daddy

| April 9, 2017

I had some work on my book to do with weekend so while I was gone, Mark took Sam outside to practice bike riding some more. Here she is!

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After biking, there was time for a playground climb! That thing looks so big!

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When I got home, Mark told me this story about what happened at home:

After a while, they stopped for a break from biking and Sam asked him to help her with something she wanted to do in Scratch on the computer. Of course, he helped her with her project but then he started doing some stuff outside while Sam played with her sidewalk chalk. She later came over to him and dragged him by the hand to the driveway. This is what he found:

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All his hard work, teaching her how to ride a bike, robotics, electronics, and the million other things he does with her don’t go unnoticed. 🙂 When I got home, she couldn’t wait to show me how much she had improved since the first time I saw her off the training wheels. It really amazes me how fast she is getting better and better. She starts off much faster and is steering more easily. Also, the best part for her was that Mark let her ride in the street. Go, Sam, Go!

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Mark finally told her that she had progressed enough to earn her bike badge. Here it is!

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Last Class for the Little Gymnast

| April 7, 2017

Tonight was Sam’s last gymnastics class. And I mean – last. We are done with gymnastics. Sam really enjoyed it but she is not exactly an Olympian in the making. She has fun doing it, but she isn’t really committed to it, if you know what I mean. I am glad she had fun, but I can tell it’s not her passion. I am willing to let her try things because otherwise she’ll never figure out what she really wants to commit to, but there is a limit to how many lessons I will let her do when it is clear she is not totally into it.

We are going to take a break from classes because summer is coming and with vacations, and camp, and the pool, we have enough going on. The next time she wants to enroll in something, we are really hoping she will take some music lessons. For some reason, Sam seems really interested in learning to play guitar. I have no problem with that, although, piano would seem a more obvious choice. Anyway, tonight was her last class and they put on a show just like last time. Sam wanted her Grandmom to come, so of course, she did!  When the show was over, all the gymnasts got a medal. Sam was glad it was not the same as last time!

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Look, Ma, No Training Wheels!

| April 2, 2017

Whoo Hoo! She did it! My little baby rode without training wheels! I am writing a book with my boss (don’t get too excited, it’s not exactly a novel, it’s a technical training manual on Adobe Acrobat) and had to do some work over the weekend.  Mark decided that it was high time to get those darn training wheels off and Sam was ready to really try. He took Sam over to the tennis court where if she fell it would be on something softer than concrete. We tried last year on the grass but frankly, pedaling on grass is hard and it made the whole process harder than it needed to be. They spent quite a bit of time there but she did it! She really did it! I couldn’t wait to get home so I could see her go. Mark and I are SO SO proud of her! Congratulations, Sam!

Here she is! My big girl!

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Mark took so many videos of her and this is her best attempt yet. Kindly ignore the edge of his finger in the shot – the proud dad was too busy watching his girl to concentrate on the screen!

 

As her reward, Mark took her for ice cream – and to make things even better, her favorite ice cream shop, Vera’s, was open! That girl earned her reward!

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