Bike Racing

Hi Sidra,

This post is mostly for me to make an admission of guilt that some people might find silly.  First I should admit that I have the beginnings of 'little league parent syndrome' with regards to your athletic accomplishments.  I have to admit that I will live vicariously through your sports careers and whatever shows on the outside will be the result of intense pride on the inside.  I hope that I don't get in your way or guide unwisely because of my exuberance.  

Some readers may have wondered about this summers Bike Derby.  It was your third one and you had won the other two.  This time you were 5th and that surprised your mom and I.  You can see in the video what happened.  You were 2nd among those not using training wheels and the first girl without training wheels.  But the fault lies with me.  

Earlier in the summer your mom tried to convince me to convince you to get on the bigger bike that was waiting for you.  I opposed the move because I felt you were comfortable with the smaller bike because you could easily put your feet down almost like you did on the runner bike.  She said your legs weren't stretching out enough at the bottom of the pedal stroke.  She was right.

We succeeded in convincing you to try the big one about a week after the bike derby.  With the slightly longer cranks and taller wheels you can see the difference in speed just by watching the videos.  I think you would have given that boy a run for his money if we'd tried the big machine sooner.  

All in all, you were ok with your result.  That's good because you can't expect to win everything, no matter how good you are. 
I showed you some video of "kiddie cross" races and you seem interested in that.  We are thinking about taking you to one of those in the fall.  

The picture here is from our trip to the zoo with friends Oscar (boy) and Shayla (mom).  You were feeding the Lorakeets some nectar.  It's usually one of the funnest parts of a Zoo trip.

Apologies to readers about the placement of the videos and picture.  I'm just not geeky enough to get them aligned.  It looks fine on the composition page but totally different when published.

Love, Aba

Artistry

Hi Sidra,

This post is mainly to show off some of  your artwork  You have some skills in this area.  Some of the pictures shown here show some of your needlework that came home from school.  You are pretty good at it and very proud of your skills.  Your mom hung them on the wall while I was away.  When I came home the two of you were showing them off to me and you said "You should put that on my blog, dad."  You also did a still life drawing of a vase of flowers.   We were pretty astounded at the quality of the work.  It seems light years ahead of what you did just six months ago.

I think you know what the blog is because you hear your mom and I talking about it and I have showed it to you in order to show you which videos and pictures are on it.  After you said that my mind did a fast forward to the day when you want your own chronicle of your exploits and thoughts.  That will be ok but I'm keeping this one.  It has taken a lot of energy and thought to bring these stories on line but I've relished each contribution.

I should explain that the flowers in the vase is your still life subject for your drawing.  I am pretty amazed that you can do that at 4½ years old.  

The bike derby is next week!

Love, aba