Kip on Wheels

I've been meaning to post this for ages! Finally finished it.

At the very tail end of summer Kip learned to ride the new two-wheel bike he got for his birthday in literally five minutes. If you'd asked me last summer if Kip would be able to ride a bike without training wheels, I might have said "doubtful." It has been a journey, but we indeed made it. 

I thought it would be fun to pull together some old photos of him and his various bikes through the wheels. He's always, always been attracted to wheels whether he could master riding them or not. And who can resist a cute Kip pic?

Kip got his first bike when he was just under a 18 months old. It was a gift from Grandma and Grandpa (Santa?) for Christmas.

Since we were living in Brooklyn at the time, we didn't have room for a bike at the apartment. So it lived at Mandy's place in NJ and Kip would ride it around her apartment whenever we would visit her. 

During the pandemic it made it's debut outside when we'd try to find a place to get some fresh air.

By the time we had moved to the house in New Jersey, Kip finally learned how to peddle the trike but was already beginning to outgrow it.

The following summer, before he turned four, Mandy got Kip got a bigger trike-style bike which he adored and rode around on it like it was a race car.

Somewhere in there a friend gave us her son's hand-me-down balance bike. Kip got a lot more speed from this and figured out how to glide on two wheels to the point where we felt like a trike was no longer needed. 

Then when he turned five he got a "big" bike with training wheels from Grandma.

Kip LOVED this blue bike but despite all our best attempts, he was never able to balance on it in order to take the training wheels off. Even though the bike was the right size for him, he struggled to sit on it correctly and always slouched making it impossible for him to hold his weight upright on the bike to balance. Nevertheless, he loved it and rode on it for two years.

This past summer it was apparent he needed an upgrade and I started looking at Guardian bikes because I kept getting ads about being able to learn to ride in one day. Kip was already frustrated with not being able to take the training wheels off his other bike, so I felt like it might be worth it to try something that skipped the training wheels entirely. We sprang for it as a gift for this 7th birthday.

Apparently the frame of these bike are designed for kids in a way that keeps the center of gravity low and elongates the body of the bike for more stability. You learn to ride it with no pedals at first and treat it like a balance bike. Once the child masters balancing, you put the pedals back on. Kip rode the bike balance-style a few times and then wanted to try with the pedals. I made him wear the knee pads and elbow pads in the hopes that if he fell he wouldn't give up entirely the second he got a scrape. 

Much to ALL of our surprise, he took off after just one little guiding hold and push off from Dan. He took to it instantly. Literally not one teeter or fall.

After three or four outings, Kip ditched the pads and got more and more comfortable with pushing off from the pedals. He loves the speed he can get now and the exhilaration of a life skill mastered. 

Learning to ride a bike really is a childhood milestone and it is always a thrill to watch your child reach those accomplishments. 

First Day of School

Yesterday was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL and we're off to a great start.

I've been nervous about Ivy starting school since forever. She is our little shy pandemic babe and not terribly social. I learned just last week that I would not be able to accompany her into the classroom on the first day since the district shifted the policy since 2021 when Kip started. Ivy would have to walk into the school solo and have a full first day. We had prepped her all summer with the thought that I could go with her on her first day (like I did with Kip). When we heard that wouldn't happen, we consoled her with the news but letting her pick a first day gift. Kip got a Lionel on his first day of school because apparently everything is an occasion for a gift in this house. Eesh. Anyways, she focused on that anticipated toy and didn't seem to care one bit that I couldn't come to her classroom. 

To help me (more so than her) I ended up getting this cute little mom and me bracelet set which I gave to her the night before. It worked remarkably well. She was really happy to have something special and something to remind her of our love. 

I tried not to cry when I put her to bed that night. Starting school feels like such a huge milestone.

It was a relatively smooth morning which we started with a minor surprise celebration for the kids for completing their summer workbooks and participating in Mandy's summer reading program (lol). They both worked nearly every week day during the summer on their workbooks with relatively good attitudes and we ready every night. 

They each got a certificate, mini trophy, and a small toy. 

These toys ended up helping occupy their time in the morning instead of getting anxious and flustered for the start of school (mom took care of that herself). 

Both Kip and Ivy were very compliant for our porch letter board photos (always a stresser for me).

And shout-out to Kip who was tremendous with Ivy all morning, giving her attention and comfort and all kinds of tips as we headed out the door and waited for drop off.

First day drop off is always CHAOS since everyone seems to bring the whole family and kids are wailing and/or hyper. We got Kip into his line and then Dan and I took Ivy over to her door. Thank goodness, she has the same teacher Kip had so Ivy was familiar with her and marched right into the building. I was sad and worried but her confidence really helped to perk me up and be proud for how brave she was headed off into a new world. 

Dan and I didn't know what to do with the quiet empty house. We ended up going for a bike ride and took care of some chores before I got to work. In the afternoon Dan and I parked the car by the playground and got to spot Ivy with her class. Ugh, my heart. She is still so itty bitty and she was SO adorable out there making her own independent choices about what she wanted to do instead of just following Kip. When we picked her up her teacher said she had a great day and Ivy was super chatty with us while we waited for Kip to get out. She said she got sad at nap time and wanted to cry but she looked at her bracelet and remembered Mom. She ate all the lunch we packed her and she said she went potty once. She did not recall the name of anyone in her class and said she didn't make friends because no one waved at her. HA! Also, our play kitchen is "way gooder" than the play kitchen in her classroom. Lol.

Kip had a great first day as well. He has so many friends in his class including his best bud from his Pre-K class. His teacher seems really fun and has the entire classroom and schedule themed around Harry Potter. The kids earn coins throughout the week and can spend it in the classroom Honeydukes. Kip is not very familiar with Harry Potter so I sprung and got the illustrated books that I've had on my list for us to start reading this weekend so he knows what's up with all the names and activities. Apparently they all got put into their tables/houses with the sorting hat and he is in Slytherin. It should be a fun year!

After school we surprised the kids with their favorite flavors of Rita's Italian ice for snack and Ivy got to open her much anticipated first day toy (a Hatchimal tree house). 

The second day went just as well as the first and now we have the weekend to chill out and try to squeeze just a few more drops of summer.

Celebrating Kip

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you likely saw the stories recap of Kip's birthday celebration so this post is redundant. But I like to double document it here for tradition's sake. 

Kip opted out of a friend birthday party again this year and instead picked a day at Legoland. As for our family party on his actual birthday, it was hard to settle on a theme for decorations. Kip loves dragons right now but there just wasn't any cool dragon helium balloons that I could find. So it's a mix of blue and galaxy, and the ever adorable Grogu. And of course, the number balloon. It's always a bit of a chore to set-up the birthday spread the night before but I know it is something the kids really look forward to, a tradition they actually expect year after year without realizing it. And despite the effort, us adults enjoy it too.

 

This year Kip's BIG gifts were a new full-sized desk from Grandma and a two-wheeler bike from Mom and Dad. Kip got a bike for his 5th birthday and I honestly expected it to last longer but he outgrew it this past spring, never quite getting to the stage of removing the training wheels. I did a TON of research this summer on what the best next bike would be and I settled on Guardian bikes. It was pricey but the frame of the bike is built for learning to ride in mind and the company's customer service was outstanding.

Bright and early the kids were up and ready to get the day started. Fortunately it was a Saturday so us adults didn't have to rush the celebration for the sake of work. Kip was really showing his maturity with the slower and savored gift opening. He wanted to "save" many of the gifts to open and was happy to stop and watch Ivy open her gifts. 

Ivy tried her best for about the first 30 minutes and then something set her off into disappointed hysterics and we never regained her contentment. She had a REALLY hard day emotionally. Hard that it wasn't her birthday. Hard that Kip had more gifts. Hard that he was getting all the attention. We all did our best to cheer and comfort her but it was just too much. She cried and whined 75% of the day. She was miserable which made it hard for the rest of us to enjoy the day fully. I really praised Kip for how well he handled it because it's no fun to have to deal with your little sister constantly crying when you just want to celebrate and play with your gifts without having to share or accommodate her. I know it's a normal thing for her age and I am looking forward to her maturity developing in the years ahead. 

 

 

Thank you to the family that sent her gifts. She did love them and has played with them happily since, but nothing was enough in the moment. 

But, back to Kip. We had french toast and eggs for breakfast and then called family to open more gifts. First we talked to Aunt Jess and then Kansas family. 

Kip got several Lego sets including Star Wars and Ninjago, a few different remote control toys including a robot, a lot of Mandalorian cosplay items and knight attire, science kits, puzzles, a new set of chapter books, stuffed toys, and many other wonderful and thoughtful gifts. I know American birthdays are a mega display of consumerism but you're only a kids once and let's face it, kids like gifts! I am grateful we have the privilege to spoil them during this time of their lives and the generosity of family as well. Thank you, all.

After gifts, Kip got started helping Mimi decorate his birthday cake. He had a design in mind and she helped him execute it to perfection. Thanks Mimi!

For lunch Kip picked Shake Shack. That seems to be a tradition now too...

In the afternoon we set-up his new desk in his room. SO exciting. It really inspired a lot of creating.

In the afternoon we tried out the new wheels! The concept for this bike is to start with the pedals off and have the child ride it like a balance bike, getting comfortable with coasting and balancing. Kip did awesome. He had a balance bike when he was four and returned to that skill very easily. Once he is comfortable with that we will add the pedals into the equation and supposedly the child learns to master the two-wheeler skill in just one day. We'll report back on that when we give it a try.

He looks SO big!!

After the bike riding we returned home and everyone was exhausted...mostly from the four-year old drama. Kip was disappointed with the idea of eating leftovers so Dan ran and got his pick for take-out. I felt like Kip deserved that considering how much he sacrificed during the day for Ivy's sake. 

After dinner we had the epic cake!

He is our King Kip and we absolutely love him to bits.

On Sunday, Kip and Dan headed into the city to meet-up with Uncle Joey (Dan's boss). This is the second year they've done this adventure with the express purpose of going to the Midtown Lego store. Joe got Kip the mega Ninjago temple that he had his heart set on and he came home happy.

It was a long weekend and frankly too much birthday but our sweet neighbors invited us over for burgers on the patio and surprised all the August birthday celebrants with cake.

And with that, the Birthday bonanza is complete. We have a family birthday (or days) every month from May-August so our pocketbooks are happy to have a break for a bit.