tater tot thursday

Tater Tot Thursday is dedicated to my little tt.

it's a nickname that my Aunt Susie gave Oliver. isn't it catchy?

i think it's adorable.

so each Thursday, i am going to share something that relates to my little tt...

and it might just relate to yours too!

 

 

let's talk about balance bikes.

before last year, i had never heard of them.

O was given this Skuut balance bike (below) from my good friend, Alyssa. i personally thought it was the coolest bike ever...i mean a wooden bike? seriously..too cool.

i was really excited for O and couldn't wait for him to try it out.

at the time, we had no idea that he wouldn't fit onto the bike.

we moved the seat to the lowest setting and still his feet would not touch the ground.

he was just too small for it. so we had to pack it away.

 

 

when we moved to the new house, the bike was unpacked and placed in the garage with his other outdoor toys. it sat in the garage for three months with the occasional talk about riding it but never an attempt...until last week. i asked O if he would like to sit on it and finally he said "yes!". i propped it up against my chair and had him sit down. he sat down but you could tell he wasn't sure about it. i helped him balance it while sitting on my chair. he liked that. he did not want to move though, he was very content with just sitting on it. not wanting to press my luck, i didn't try to get him to "ride" it.  

 

yesterday, he asked me to get his bike down off the wall. i did and he sat down on it.

to my surprise, he started moving!

he was riding it up and down the driveway, happy as can be and saying "i did it!".

i honestly couldn't have been prouder. my little guy was finally riding a bike we've had for over a year, one that he wasn't so sure about and constantly told me he couldn't ride it without even trying it.

 

he was building confidence each step he rode the bike. there were times that he got off balance but quickly caught himself and would look at me and smile. i know soon he will be a pro at balancing the bike and will be going down the driveway full speed without even thinking about falling over.

 

i did a little research and wow, there are a ton of really fun balance bikes for little ones.

here are a couple of my favorites....

 

okay really...this one is just plain bad ass. i just have to say it.
 i would totally buy this one for O if he didn't already have his awesome one.

these are obviously not wooden like the rest but the reason why i like them is for the kick stand.
that is the one thing that i wish O's had so that it didn't have to just lay on the ground.

 

a fun motorcycle-ish look that would totally appeal to my little guy.

this one is fun with a splash of color and some fun circles not to mention a really cool cloth basket on the front. seriously, what kid doesn't like to put stuff in a bin, basket, bag or container?

and for those little ones who just need time to get used to a balance bike,
this one converts to two wheels when they are ready.