They Amaze Me

My children all learned amazing things this summer! 

Bike Riding: In March, I took my girls out for a bike ride to the park. Dulce could. not. steer. At all. She would travel three feet down the side-walk and crash into the grass again. Each time she would say, "Oops. That's okay!" It was hilarious, but slow. Which was perfect for my Pia, who was cautiously riding her bike due to faulty training wheels that tended to pop up when she went over a bump.


Not so good at steering, but not too concerned about it!

Then, in June, Dulce was gifted with a big girl bike with training wheels (just like Pia). It's a Hello-Kitty bike and she was so excited! She spent an entire day riding it in circles inside our house. It's a tight circle and she rode slowly but by the end of the day she was very good at steering.  We took them to a park with a flat, circular bike trail and Dulce took off at a high speed.



"Speed fast".

Not to be out-done by her little sister (ever! ever!), Pia stepped up her speed. She could easily go faster than Dulce, even when Dulce told us she was going, "Speed fast". Yep. It was terrifying to watch.

Speed faster!



About a week later, Pia decided she didn't need her training wheels anymore. They were loose and would pop up when they got jostled by a bump in the side-walk so she just pushed one side up all the way and the other side up 3/4 of the way (just enough so she could still be propped up to start) and off she went, completely balancing. It was shocking. When Ron got home from work that night, he removed her training wheels and we never looked back.

They have both had some major crashes this summer but were still eager to keep riding, to our great surprise. We frequently ride to Nana's house in the evening. Ron chases them, I lag behind with Clementine. Their bike riding has truly defined our summer in an unexpected way! It's been great! No more having to push them around in the stroller or wait while they lag behind us! We get places much faster now!

She's off!

Swinging: Any parent will tell you that trips to the park are a lot more fun once your children don't need to be constantly pushed on the swings. It is a glorious thing when they can pump their legs and swing by themselves! Pia learned to swing by herself last year, and Dulce, who always wants to do the same things as her big sister, learned this year.
 

We laughed at these pictures and how Pia's hair was always in her face....

Dulce goes AS HIGH AS SHE CAN. My seriously intense child.



Swimming:  My girls took swimming lessons for the first time this summer. They learned to put their face in the water, go under the water, float, etc. They loved it! Grandma took them swimming almost every day in July while I stayed home with Clementine.

Pia INSISTED on Clementine wearing a bathing suit, too. I'm not sure she cared for it...

 

Swimming with Grandma! Nice goggles, girls!

Monkey Bars: Pia and Dulce both learned to do the monkey bars this summer. Pia can now do the big kids monkey bars at the elementary school by our house and zips all around. Dulce still moves very slowly on the low monkey bars, but we are still quite amazed that she can do them at all!

Dulce on the low monkey bars.



Dance: Pia and Dulce were both in a dance recital this summer! They did so well. It took a lot of work to learn the dances and a lot of courage to perform them. It was awesome!

 

 

Clementine:And my littlest girl learned to smile and babble and track things with her eyes and bat at things with her hands and got good at holding her head up....She is charming.