Milestones, mishaps at the ripe old age of five

Finally, finally, I managed to convince Vincent that the reconfigured balance bike was much too small for him. So today, for the first time, ever, he set off on a cycling adventure with Kilian and me. After a minor fall, and a few practice circlings on a quiet cul-de-sac, we rode out to the tower in the nature preserve, really not very far from here. The kids collected sticks and such, and we had leftover birthday cupcakes at the tower while looking out over the preserve. Things were going pretty well.

Pretty well until on the way back, Vincent rode his new-to-him big kid bicycle right into a ditch.

It looked more dramatic than what it actually was, thankfully. The ditch wasn't too deep, and the embankment wasn't that steep, either. Still, poor Vincent was splayed on the opposite bank, with the bike's front tire wedged into the ditch. I tossed my bike onto the path and dashed over to fish him out. He was fine. In his words, he was wet, but he wasn't hurt.

Though he did laugh pretty hard once it was clear Vincent wasn't hurt, Kilian was actually a good brother and adventure companion through the whole thing. He even tried to get the bike out of the ditch for us. 

Amazingly, even Vincent laughed about it after a few minutes of crying. He got back onto the bike without coaxing or complaint, and rode the rest of the way home. He did not, however, let me take a picture of the bike tire stuck deep in the ditch.