Spring and a Boy and his Bike

Spring has definitely sprung which for us always means hitting the parks in full force.

Noah is just as fearless as Kai was at this age and is handling the slides like a pro.

I never grow tired of seeing how excited little people are by just running. It's like their joy literally comes beaming out of them.

He already handles his steamed milk like a true Starbucks enthusiast.

My little boy isn't so little anymore. We had it in our heads that we were going to get Kai a bike for his birthday this year, thinking 4 was kind of the perfect age and the solution to trying to get him use to the idea of only getting one special gift. Well that idea kind of got tossed when I took him with me to a playdate.  All the other kids were significantly younger than him but there was an area with bikes for the bigger kids. I honestly didn't think he could ride well enough yet. Five months ago he was still struggling to get the idea of pedaling forward, but there he was riding around a gymnasium like he had been doing it for years. Since it was all he talked about, it became apparent that the bike was definitely going to be bought before his birthday. It was incredibly wonderful to see him pick it out in the store. Naoto of course made fun of how emotional I was, but I don't care what he says - It's a big moment!!  He adores this bike and I adore watching him on it.

And of course the bean wasn't far behind. Although he doesn't know how to pedal he still gets his little self around quite nicely.

The area that we take him to is perfect for bike riding, part of the park has this huge open space with a paved circular area. I lost count of how many laps he did - but trust me it was a lot!

It's pretty amazing to see your child love and enjoy something so much. Although he has so many terrific toys and items to play with at home the look in his eyes is completely different. However, getting him off the bike does not carry the same mushy, teary-eyed feelings. He negotiates quite well for someone who is not even 4 years old yet.

He definitely knows how to get what he wants with that sweet little grin.

 I'm an even softer touch when he pulls the air kiss. He's good- he went from "I love you" which usually did the job 90% of the time to throwing in the mwah at the end- now I'm pretty much putty in his little hands. 

Poor Noah- we took the boys to get hair cuts and this one just got butchered. It's so uneven and quite possibly the worst haircut I've ever laid eyes on. Kai managed to fair a bit better but ended up being completely buzzed as well after we specifically asked just for a trim around the sides. Thank god it's only hair and will grow back. I'm sure he will look back at this picture later in life and think 'why the heck did they do that to my head'