Look Mom! No Training Wheels.

A couple of weeks ago during Brayden's friend Avery's birthday party, Brayden saw another little boy riding his bike without training wheels. For a boy who likes to blaze the trails as a leader, he most definitely is persuaded by seeing others his age doing something he hasn't tried yet (and yes, this slightly freaks me out, but I try not to let my mind go there yet). So we came home and tried taking off his training wheels on his big boy bike. And he freaked. Which is slightly frustrating, considering it's really no different than his Strider balance bike that he had grown so accustomed to. It just had pedals. Thank goodness for a patient husband, who crouched over at a 90 degree angle to push the scared 3 year old around the block, instilling courage and encouragement. Brayden was still scared, so we laid it to rest.

2 weeks went by and we never brought up riding without training wheels again. When I got home from my girls weekend last Sunday, we packed the boys up to go to the park. And wouldn't you know, Brayden wanted to ride without training wheels. So we let him ride. And wouldn't you know, the one time I didn't pack my camera up, Brayden Thomas took off on his own without training wheels just like it was no big deal and he'd done it all of his 3 little years. He was so proud, even exclaiming after one run "I did awesome!" (he doesn't lack confidence, that's for sure!). I could kick myself for missing out on a big milestone. We took full advantage of the camera the next night at home. I'm so proud of my big guy, and sad at the same time-- he's growing up so fast!





Look at Drew's smile. He's one happy daddy!

Check out the knee pads, elbow pads and gloves. Brayden is obsessed and wants to wear them all. the. time.




showing me his awesome elbow pads :)
I love you Brayden and am so proud of your accomplishment!

(PS-- I'm linking up today with Jenna's Journey for the commenting challenge!)