Colin's Blog

I tried twice this summer to teach my almost 6-year-old to ride her new bike without training wheels. Both outings were epic failures leaving both of tired and frustrated.

Imagine my envy when I came across this little story from one my favourite parenting bloggers…

..at the tender age of three years and 10 months, he just learned how to ride his bike without training wheels.

I’m super proud of him, but actually, I can’t really take any credit for teaching him.

The only person who taught Nico is Nico. Seriously. Other than that last twenty minutes or so this morning, when my oldest son Marco and I repeatedly yelled, “Pedal!!!” and “Keep moving!!!”, no one taught Nico any bike riding skills.

via How I Didn’t Teach My Three-Year-Old Son to Ride His Bike Without Training Wheels | Playborhood.

photo credit: Leo Reynolds

So there we are (myself and the two older girls) in the car driving to the dump of all places when Hannah (4) blurts out “I don’t think I want to have any babies, Daddy.”

Woah. What? My mind suddenly filled with scenarios of jealosy and resentment towards the twins, etc. I quickly replied “Oh yeah, honey? How come?”

Her answer was very matter-of-fact: “I don’t want a big cut on my belly.”

Whew! Is that all? That’s nothing! Now, I should have had my guard up as soon as we got anywhere near birth, but I was so sure of my answer that I plowed ahead. I dove in without checking for depth.

Confidently, I assured Hannah that not all babies require “cuts” to be born, and that, in fact, both her and Bella had been born without any cuts required!

Great, right? No, you see it, don’t you… her next question.

“Well, then, how did I get out of Mommy’s tummy?”

Panic. I blurted out the only answer that came to mind – it’s served me so well in the past: “You’ll have to ask Mommy when we get home.”

The Punchline

Knowing the conversation on this topic was decidedly over, Hannah turned to Isabella and concluded: “I must have made my own hole.”

It’s Sunday, which means a Family Sunday post…

The past week has been all about family so it’s hard to pick something specific to write about. It has been an amazing experience to watch the two older kids get excited about Christmas for the first time. Hannah has managed to learn more Christmas songs and carols than I thought possible for a 4 yr-old. (This in addition to her Avett Brothers repertoire.)

Next year will be very interesting as the twins will be running around on their own, Hannah will be half-way through her first year of Kindergarten and Bella will be fully conversant. We’ll also be away from home for an full two weeks over Christmas. Should be interesting.

As I write this, we’re on the road to Ajax for more family visiting – the girls are more excited than they look here:

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas from all of us here at Carmichael HQ:

Emma, Colin, Hannah, Arminta, Isabella, William

Just so I don’t run into the 4 month lag again, I uploaded some more photos to our Flickr account.

Among my favourites:

Update: I’ve tuned the family photo, as reflected above and on the Flickr page…