Luke Learns to Ride a Bike

Earlier this week Luke achieved a big milestone in every kid's life... riding a bicycle! This was the most painless process for learning to ride a bike. For a few years Luke has had a "run bike" which he used to "scoot" around the neighborhood. In November we got him a new "big boy" bicycle (not training wheels, etc) and we removed the pedals when we bought it so Luke used it as a "run bike" for a few weeks. Luke has felt comfortable and confident on his new bike and asked Dad to attach the pedals. It only took about 5 minutes after the pedals were attached when I recorded the video below, and amazingly he never fell one time! Luke has continued to ride the bike every day since we attached the pedals (5 days in a row at the time of this posting). I'm looking forward to many family bike rides in the coming weeks and months.

Luke's video above is very similar to video in a blog post from Jan. 2011 when his big sister learned to ride a bike. See this link to Maddie's first bike ride.

First Day of School 2016

Here's a late blog post with photos from the first day of school (the school year is already half over). This is a special year as Luke began kindergarten at the same school where Maddie is a 6th grader. Next year Maddie will move on to junior high but this year both kids are together in the same school!

Since the school year is well underway, I can say with certainty that Luke is enjoying his kindergarten experience and Maddie is having a fantastic year in 6th grade. The progress that Luke has made is astounding, especially in the areas of reading and writing. He loves school and always has a lot to discuss each night at the dinner table. Maddie continues to maintain her high standards of academics and behavior.  Both kids are participating in various extracurricular clubs and activities.

We are grateful that they attend an excellent school with dedicated and talented teachers who are passionate about teaching.  We're excited to watch the kids learn and grow this year.

Maddie and Luke pose at school before the day begins

Maddie and her homeroom teacher

Luke and his teacher

Luke poses outside the classroom