Scott and I aren't huge fans of giving our kids things just for the heck of it. We like to wait for Christmas or birthdays for big ticket items. But, we really want Julie to finally learn how to ride a bike. (Her birthday is not until September and we didn't want to get her a bike for Easter or else every Easter thereafter she'd be expecting some huge present.)  I don't mean we're trying to teach our 4-year-old to ride a two-wheeler. I'm talking we just want her to learn how to push the pedals. She's had a trike since she was two, but never quite mastered the art of pedaling. So, this Friday we bought her a brand new princess bike with training wheels, complete with a princess horn and a princess helmet. Julie was ecstatic! Scott had big plans to practice with Julie on Saturday. After swimming lessons at the YMCA, Scott took Julie for a nice lunch and then to a flat neighborhood in Duncansville near Memorial Park. I'm not sure whether Julie was exhausted after all that swimming or whether she was just in a grumpy mood, but nothing went as planned. As soon as they got to the park, Julie had to go potty, and of course the park bathrooms weren't opened yet because it's not spring. Scott tried to convince her to try the bike a little bit, and then they would find a bathroom. She made a big fuss and refused to try, so Scott brought her home and sent her to bed for a nap. Despite the failed attempt, we weren't giving up. On Sunday morning we all headed to the parking lot of Mansion Park. I pushed Johnny in a car stroller, which he loved, while Scott worked with Julie on the bike. She did fantastic! At one point, she even was comfortable trying all by herself. That might not seem like a big deal, but for Julie it is. We've been trying to teach her to pedal on a trike forever to no avail! The fact that our neighborhoood is hilly doesn't help...paired with the other fact that my stubborn little girl gets very frustrated if she can't do something just right. We were so proud of her for trying. I just know she'll get the hang of it before summer.