Dominoes . . .

Why is it that certain events {the birth of a new baby for example} seem to start a chain reaction of other events happening at a rate faster than normal, much like that first domino in a line toppling over, making each successive domino fall faster than the one before it?

The first domino in our line fell last night as RedDog embraced his new role of "Big Kid" by taking the traditional lessons from his dad on the childhood rite of graduating from training wheels to a two wheeler in under five minutes. I sat and watched with Ollie in his stroller, my trusty camera Edward in hand, and my heart pounding and breaking at the same time. Why, oh why do they have to grow up?

And now for your enjoyment, a few snapshots from

"The Hubby's School of Cycling For Youngsters":

1. Take small child and bike to the basketball court and send them around a few times while barking instructions like "pedal faster" and "push harder" - it sounds so Lance Armstrong. {Never let child see the tool you've brought with you to remove training wheels.}

2. In one swift and painless movement, remove training wheels and move to a softer surface for the first "free ride". The Hubby likes grass for this step. It cushions the blow when falls happen, and falls ALWAYS happen. Plus, it forces the child to push very hard on the pedals, which helps them move more smoothly when they get on a harder surface.

3. The Hubby spends a lot of time pushing and running along side the child in the grass, yelling "pedal faster" and "push harder". The child ends up on his face in the grass several times - yet miraculously still trusts the Hubby.

4. In an instant something clicks and the child, his feet and his brain all start to work at the same time, making the pedals go round while the bike remains stable. At this point, the Hubby lets go and a look of complete pride spreads across the child's face.

5. Next, it's back to the basketball court to do laps and perfect the form of the new rider. At this point, the mom is alternating between shouting "Wahoo!" and wiping a tears from her eyes while trying to take photographs for her silly-little-blog-about-nothing.

6. Full of confidence, the child suddenly abandons any help offered by his parents and begins his quest for Tour de France glory at the ripe old age of six by riding his bike all the way home.

7. And this - well I have no explanation for this - but I should say, don't try it at home. Biking without a helmet is very, very dangerous.