The Big Girl Bike

Reese's big wish for her 4th birthday was a "big girl" bike. Her wish list for her bike was very specific: it must have a bell, streamers, and "maybe a bag or basket...so I can take Ellie with me."  I think Ellie will be going to college with her. (And for those who've been following us for a while, yes, I still have a healthy troop of four Ellies hiding away at home.)

Once we started researching bikes I was blown away. You can spend anywhere from $50-$350 on a child's bike! They also come in about twenty different sizes. So, despite the lack of surprise, we decided to take Reese to the store with us to pick out her new big-girl bike.

Watching big sister get on half a dozen bikes convinced Paige that she needs to skip straight to a big girl bike too, so for every bike Reese got on, Paige could be found at the other end of the aisle trying to mount one twice as big or pull it on top of herself. Paige has since happily conceded to taking over ownership of Reese's tricycle, although she refuses to use the pedals yet. (That's a whole 'nother story.)

Reese finally settled on a bike that had streamers and a small bag for Ellie. As much as I tried to convince her otherwise, we ended up with a bright pink Dora helmet. It's biggest selling feature? It came with a matching bell.

Once we go home, Daddy went straight into assembly mode and had her bike up and ready in twenty minutes. (It would have been less if not for those pesky training wheels.)

Since then Reese has been getting the hang of riding her bike around the neighborhood and is slowly regaining her confidence. It's amazing how she can bike the same route she would tear around on her tricycle, but the new element of being higher off the ground has her less certain of her self.