Pedaling My Jam with Mason

It was a busy day. I painted the trim on the north side of the house, power-washed the patio and front walkway, roasted a chicken and whipped up a batch of blueberry jam. 

I love giving Mr. and Mrs. Wilder a jar or two or jam and after it had cooled I asked Mason if he wanted to go for a walk. He was ready to shoot out the door in his diaper and t-shirt but I convinced him to put a pair of shorts on before we left. 

Instead of walking or riding in his stroller he wanted to ride his tricycle down the street. He got his tricycle for Christmas from his Meme and Poppy and until recently his legs did not reach the pedals. Today while I was painting I noticed he was able to keep them on the pedals the entire time as they circled the front wheels.  He is still figuring out how put the pedaling thing together with the moving around thing, but he is making progress. 

Before we left he loaded several treasures into the carrier on his tricycle.  These included his football, his blue Garfield shovel and 20 ft of 0.140 tining that went unused in repairing the front door screen.  When his cargo was loaded he looked back at me.

“Get on daddy!” I grabbed the handle bars, seat and pushed him toward the gate.  His little legs when up and down on the pedals.  I was doing all of the work and he was enjoying the ride towards the Wilders’ house. 

After visiting with Mr. Fred we made our way back towards the house.  Again I pushed but every so often I let go of the back.  He would coast for a few feet, come to a stop and then turn around.  However, right before we got to our gate when I let go he kept pedaling.  He went about 10 feet and then looked back with a smile on his face beaming.  His look said it all, he was full of pride and had just gotten a little taste of freedom.

Our little boy is growing up so fast and I imagine he will be pedaling all around our yard and up to Mr. Fred’s (under the watchful eye of his mom and dad) sooner rather than later.