Training Wheels No More.

Okay. So I dropped the ball on this one. Maddy received this bike a couple of years ago. It had training wheels at the time. She rode it very well. When we moved to Fountain Hills she only rode in the back yard for the first year. The bike wasn't in the best of shape at that point anyhow, so I didn't pay much attention. When we moved to this new condo, I realized Maddy needed a good solid bike. So, I had Cameron pump up the tires and fix it up a bit. The training wheels were on still, though we did move them up so that they only touched the ground if Maddy needed help balancing. She's ridden it almost daily for the past couple of months. Well, the other day I decided it was high time I took off those training wheels. I was pretty sure Maddy didn't need them anyhow. I was right. She took off like a shot -- barely needing any help at all the very first time.

She's a pro now. I feel bad that it took me so long to take the dang things off for her.

She has almost outgrown the little bike altogether!

We even went to the library yesterday -- she rode the bike, and I pushed the stroller with the other 2 in it.

Poor River. He REALLY needs a bike to ride, too.

Britta's first movie theater experience!

I took the kids to Harkins to meet up with friends and see Horton Hears a Who for dirt cheep -- it's their summer fun thing where an older release movie is like $2 -- though our friends had extra tickets and we didn't have to pay anything at all!

I didn't have much choice, so I brought Britta, too. I don't normally risk my movie going enjoyment by bringing the baby along. I prefer to watch movies when I go to the theater, though the lobbies are very nice. Anyhow. Britta did great! I brought a snack cup, and that occupied her most of the time. I only took her out once to do a quick diaper change. She even seemed to like the movie. We got a few cute laughs out of her, too!
Fun times. And maybe I'll try it again in the future.

Happy birthday to me!

So, yesterday I had a birthday. I highly recommend them. I will post pictures here as soon as I have access to them, unless Pheobe gets to it first.

Last Sunday, my family surprised me with a preemptive birthday party wherein we opened presents and ate strawberry shortcake. I learned that the best way to keep a birthday party a surprise is to do it on a day other than the person's birthday.

Then yesterday, Pheobe and the kids did a terrific job making me feel special on my birthday. Britta was so excited that she woke me up early to wish me a happy birthday. This consisted largely of her putting snacks into my hands while I slept on the living room floor.

Pheobe made a great breakfast of chocolate chip waffles. I came home for a special chicken stirfry lunch. The kids wished me happy birthday several times, and by the end of the day they had memorized the Happy Birthday song. It was pretty cute, and they were excited to sing it.

Pheobe sent me back to work with warm brownies with chocolate frosting. Mmmm....

For having to work on my birthday, it was a really good workday. Tons of productive stuff.

Then, in the evening, Pheobe and the kids gave me some great birthday presents, including a hatchet to replace the one we broke on the camping trip, an LED flashlight, an MP3 player, a Woot shirt and a giant bag of M&M's which I refuse to share. Pheobe had arranged a babysitter for the evening, too, so we were able to go relax together at the Cheesecake Factory to finish off the day.

Overally, it was a very thoughtful and enjoyable day.

One of the most touching parts of the day was when I put River to bed. While I was snuggling with him, several times he said quite sincerely, "Happy birthday, Daddy".

Thanks to everybody who helped make my birthday special!