Well, this milestone experience didn't quite go as we had dreamed it would. You know, the kind of story you dream about with rose colored glasses when your child is first born. However, Avery put his own twist on it, as he usually does and gave us a laugh.
Since the weather was beautiful, and Avery seemed to be coordinated enough, our grand idea was to introduce Avery's first bike. We surprised him with it one afternoon outside in our driveway. There was even a red helmet (which Avery named "The Lightning McQueen helmet" to go with it.
Clint excitedly introduced it and encouraged Avery to take a look at it and hop on (it had sturdy training wheels which would allow Avery to get on it all by himself if he wanted to). Avery was reluctant. We kept encouraging him just confident that once he figured out he could pedal it and move, he would take off! What American boy doesn't love a bike? In our minds, this was a perfect gift for an energetic child that loved being active outside.
Avery whined. Avery protested. He said he wanted his "motorcyle" instead (his three wheeler trike inside). He didn't try to pedal much. We failed to remember that Avery bucks at change and can be very set in his ways. He is not comfortable with new things and is very loyal to what he already has.
Since we didn't want the bike to be a symbol of torture, we just let it go. This wasn't something to make a battle of. Avery will probably be interested in it later when he had the opportunity to choose for himself whether or not he wanted to like the bike. He needed to warm up to it on his own terms.
So there we were, on the driveway with our stubborn child and a perfectly fun little bike, laughing at the irony of the situation.
