8th May 2006

For less than the cost of a tank full of gas

posted in Uncategorized |

…I purchased OmegaDotter her very first bike at lunchtime at The Evil Empire (WalMart).

Y’see, we had been out-and-about this weekend, including hauling the tricycle out of the bedroom, and going for walks. The problem is that the dotter has grown an awful lot since last fall (we are now on our third size of bluejeans since September!). So there she was, on her tricycle, and her knees were hitting the handlebars, when they weren’t up around her ears.

This bike is purple and pink and aqua. Oh-so-girly. Sigh. You can either get a very girly-girl bike, or a very boy-boy bike, but nothing that’s in between.

I stashed the bike in the back of the Little Green Car. There was no way on earth that OmegaDotter was going to miss it…But I told her, when I picked her up at daycare, that I had “a surprise” for her.

Har! She was so fixated on the idea of “a surprise” being something small that she didn’t even look in the back of the car! So I was able to grab the camera and record the event for posterity (and the blog and the scrapbook):

A surprise? For me?

Ooooh! A bike!

After a wobbly start, she was going…going…gone:

As requested by a friend–”hair blowing in the wind”:

And the very happy OmegaDotter, admiring her new bike:

For those who worry–Yes, she now has a helmet. Yes, she has various padded devices to keep the knobby parts safe. But. The helmet is too big. The various padded devices are too big. We’re going to have to work on this, I think. Her tiny hiney is matched by other tiny parts, even though she’s grown tall enough to actually fit into size 4, so long as it’s an adjustable-waist size 4.

The dotter is not very used to the idea of pushing back on the pedals to stop. And the bike, when going down small hills, Goes Too Fast.

Just one more step on the “my little baby is growing up” sob story.

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There are currently 7 responses to “For less than the cost of a tank full of gas”

  1. 1 On May 8th, 2006, Johnny said:

    Nice and sweet.

  2. 2 On May 8th, 2006, PAgent said:

    Helmets are good. That’s a habit you need to instill early and deep. And make sure you lead by example.

    If you care at all about your friendly neighborhood PAgent, make sure dotter keeps that helmet pulled down on her forehead. I see so many kids that wear their helmets set back far enough that they would be useless in any kind of head-on collision.

    Yes, it’s a pet peeve. Like students who pushed their safety goggles up on their forehead. I always wanted to carry a squirtgun full of vinegar into lab, so that whenever I saw some young idiot who thought it was more important to look cool than to be safe, I could give them a shot right in the eye. “HAHAHA! HOW’S THAT FEEL?!? BETCHA WISH YOU WERE WEARING YOUR GOGGLES NOW, HUH?! BWAH-HAH-HAH!!!”

    Sorry. Got a bit carried away there.

  3. 3 On May 8th, 2006, oshee said:

    She looks very happy with her new bike. She’ll be wanting those training wheels off soon enough!

  4. 4 On May 8th, 2006, LizC said:

    um…. the pics are adorable and I could just eat her she is so cute… and then I look back through them, thinking how cute she is, and I realize that on the “a surprise! For me?!” pic she… has…. her… hands…. in… her… pants….

    ….bringing me to wonder what kind of surprise she’s thinking about!

    Ok, the caption cracked me up, but I really love the pics and the bike is cute, though obscenely girly.

    Helmet too big…. unheard of around here. All helmets are too small for my kid, who is Big of Head.

  5. 5 On May 8th, 2006, Kate said:

    Liz! I knew someone would catch that one. Pockets? We don’t need no steenking pockets!

    As for the girly-ness…at least it doesn’t have streamers.

  6. 6 On May 8th, 2006, Kate said:

    PAGent, trust me, I will definitely do the helmet thing. As for leading by example…um…I am ashamed to admit that my bike has been hanging in the garage for three years now, and I have no idea what condition it’s in, so right now a helmet is kind of moot for me. I do, however, know what condition I am in, sigh. But it’s time for mom’s bike to come out of hibernation, and mom’s flabby bod to get some exercise.

  7. 7 On May 9th, 2006, Miss Cellania said:

    Oooh, she is so cute and so LITTLE, and you think she’s growing up too fast?!

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