Ballerina Girl and Biker Boy

Tessa has decided she wants to be a ballerina. I'm not sure why, but she sure talks about it alot. She really, really wants to take a ballet class. I'm using it as leverage for potty training. As in, "well, Tessa, only big girls who go in the potty can take a ballet class." So far it hasn't worked, but I continue to have high hopes. My only hope with potty training is to bribe her, apparently. In the meantime, she practices her ballet moves at home. Here is a performance preview:

In other news, Henry has learned how to ride a two wheeler. Yes, I know, he'll be 8 in a few weeks. But some of you may remember that when Henry was 4, he broke his arm by falling off his bike. By the time he was fully healed, it was winter and so he wasn't able to get back on a bike until spring and his interest and confidence really suffered. Fast forward a few years and Henry started to realize that all his buddies were riding bikes and that he was starting to miss out on some good times. With a little encouragement and a huge amount of help from our good friend Nicole, he took the leap and got back in the saddle, literally. He spent lots of time today riding around the cul-de-sac on his bike and even rode it over to a friend's house. We are thrilled and very proud of him for overcoming his fear. I honestly don't care if he rides a bike, but he's getting into prime bike-riding age, where it really becomes a fun thing to do with your friends and I don't want him to miss out on all the fun. So now we're thinking of getting him a new bike for his 8th birthday later this month, especially since William has decided he is interested after seeing how much fun Henry is having. We may end up having family bike rides yet.

On a final note, we hope you all have a Happy Independence Day. We are heading out to visit our California cousins in the morning (barely morning, as we're hoping to leave before 3 a.m.) and have lots of fun things planned. If I get ambitious, I'll blog from the road. We'll see. In the meantime, we have wonderful neighbors keeping an eye on our house and our garden while we are away. Our only regret is missing the annual "Cul-De-Sac of Fire" celebration, where all the neighbors get together and do fireworks on July 4th. Next year for sure!