Sydney Fuller

Two Wheels

Now and then I get super motivated because I suddenly feel like my kid is “way behind”. Ok, I mean stupid. Well, a psychiatrist would probably say that it is a reflection on me. So when I get the itch, we go nuts!

This week I realized that my daughter needed to be riding without training wheels. I had been perfectly fine with her on the training wheels but something clicked when I saw some other smaller kids riding big bikes. Sydney needed to master this NOW!

So we went outside one night after dinner and struggled to learn. How the hell do you teach a kid to do this? Apparently, the training wheels instill every anti-pattern to riding a bike. I pulled them off and she leaned once and cowered in fear. Put the training wheels back on, she screamed! Man, this isn’t going to be easy. I talked her into getting back on and we spent a lot of time running up and down the street with me never letting go. What a workout. This is going to take forever!

Next night I poked fun at Sydney a bit and she said she would try it again. So I took off just one training wheel and we tried that. Easy stuff. She just leaned into that side with the wheel and took it easy on the turns. I was outsmarted! So we switched to the other training wheel. She immediately went over! Apparently, that was her bad side. She had no clue how to lean that way. We ran up and down the street for an hour and called it a night.

On day 3, I tried googling the topic a bit and found a few random strategies. Most involved hills and speed. So we went with the speed. I got behind her on an easy downhill in front of the house and I pushed her to full speed. A couple of tries later, I was letting go of the seat and running my fastest to keep up with her. She was driving like a drunk but staying up! We got this now.

On day 4, it was the weekend. Friends were all out in the street. Nothing like peer pressure. Lined up the bike at the top of the street and off she went. I couldn’t catch her. She was gone and riding. Her head was in the game and she was all business. She got to the end of the street and did a semi-crash when she tried to stop. She popped up and was all “I rode that thing”. She was a two wheel rider! Our neighbor girls proceeded to help Sydney do loops around our block. Helping her back up if she fell or needed a start. I just stood out front talking with neighbors and waving as she passed by. I was having my “proud Dad’ moment. We went from scared and no clue to superstar in a few days!

That afternoon, we had some errands to run and I purposely detoured us to a bike store in Boulder where they carry Specialized bikes — my brand of choice. We went in and I showed her a 20” Specialized with hand and coaster brakes. Much cooler than the 16” Dora bike that was mastered just hours before. She was scared but I egged her into getting it. While I paid, Sydney took it outside. Just walking it. And proceeded to fall over on it just outside the door. Crash and scratch #1 and we haven’t even got it out of the store!

The best part is the Kim hadn’t seen any of this training yet. She was always inside with Kayla. We would report progress but she hadn’t seen the big result yet. So when we got home, the cameras started rolling, the fans lined the streets, and the purple machine took its inaugural ride!

Then we rode and rode. She probably went 5 or 6 miles that night. All over the neighborhood. I just rode along side. What a joy! Nothing like cruising the neighborhood with your big girl — on two wheels!

What Does a First Grader Learn In Week Two?

Straight from our teacher’s email update:

This week we will be continuing our review of numbers from 1 - 20; learning about the days of Creation in Bible; looking at the earth’s shape, and rocks and fossils in Science; reviewing consonant sounds and practicing our letter shapes. Last week we discussed the 4 things people need to live: water, food, shelter, and clothing. We will continue that discussion and learn about the early nomads in History. I am reading Charlotte’s Web, as well as several other stories to the children daily. We will start memorizing Psalm 1 together, as well as a poem called “At School”. We learn these in class, but I like to send copies home so your child can practice if they wish to, and so you know what we are learning.

Bike Ride

This Is How I Roll

First Tooth Out

As previously reported, Syd has a loose tooth. She has been messing with it for days but very gently. She just finished brushing her teeth and I noticed her wiggling it. I turned away and then Sydney started screaming in excitement. I turned back and the tooth was in hand!

Sydney was so excited to have this out and have the gap in her mouth. She thinks she is the first kid in her class to lose a tooth — think she means this school year. She put the tooth into a “magic” container that Nana brought her and went to bed quickly. I said I would let the Tooth Fairy know what happened in case it was too late.

This morning Sydney found money in the jar and the tooth was gone. She commented to Reagan that “fairies use the same kind of money that humans do”.

1st Grader

No more kindergarten — we are in the big time now…1st grade!

Sydney was very excited when she got up for school. We were dreading the transition but it went smoothly. She even enjoyed being there all day. 3 recesses, lots of potty breaks, snack time, etc. all seem to help. The teacher says this is how they transition the kids. Sydney went to the library the first day of school and brought home Green Eggs and Ham. I think she read it 10 times already!

Fuller Hike

Sydney and Reagan took Nana and Papa on a little hike in Boulder Mountain Park. Luckily, we saw a bunch of deer and that was the icing on the experience.

First Loose Tooth

Kayla

I am a “big big sister” now — she says!

Last Day As 4

We took our last hike as a family of four. That night, we got our baby sister!

Rev Theory: My First Concert

Tonight is Cruefest. I am not going. You couldn’t pay me to watch Motley Crue. However, a bunch of other bands on the bill that I like and/or love. However, I am on hiatus this month from shows given the impending childbirth. So no show for me tonight.

Well, last night, I was poking around and found out that my favorite band on the bill, Rev Theory, was going to play a free show at the Best Buy near the venue. Um, do tell! An acoustic set followed by and autograph signing? How can you go wrong there? Plus, it is 96 degrees out and this would be in air conditioned comfort!

My daughter, Sydney, says she is either going to be a singer, dancer, or an artist. So I thought — let’s see what she thinks of singing in a low key environment prior to taking her to Metallica — one of these days! I was yelling at her to hurry and get ready so we could go. She came down in her “Girls Rock” t-shirt because she was going to rock, she said. So we packed up our A/V gear and drove down to Best Buy. Got there 15 minutes early and secured our front row spots.

Unfortunately, the band was nearly an hour late. I had to entertain Syd all that time while not losing our spots. It is a free show — what can I say. People kept streaming in. Maybe 100 folks there? Finally, a guy came up and did a sound check and everybody was ready. The band emerged from the back of the store and took the stage for an an acoustic set — 4 feet from Sydney’s face.

For your viewing pleasure, I bring you the set in its entirety. Enjoy! Watch for the personal wave by Rich, the singer, to Sydney in the front row as the first song begins.

They played Far From Over and Wanted Man. 2 good songs well suited for an acoustic performance. After those, they raffled off a bunch of stuff like gift certificates, year of Monster energy drink, and a brand new Les Paul guitar freshly signed by the band. We then lined up for an autograph and photo session and got to meet the guys and get their signatures. Sydney thought the whole thing was pretty cool!

The girls behind us asked if they could stand on the table too — nope, perk of a 6-year old. I might have found another rocker to take to shows!

I met Rev Theory once before at the Ogden during their opening for Puddle of Mudd. They were cool then and the same today. Been a fan ever since! Think I created a new one today too — signed CD is on Syd’s shelf. Guess I don’t get it back!

View all photos from this event.

Art Camp

Last week Sydney had her long awaited Art Extraordinaire Camp at the local private school, The Alexander Dawson School. She can’t decide if she wants to be a dancer, singer or artist when she grows up so she was hoping this might help the decision. Just for background, the Dawson Academy runs a mere $18,650 for the K-12 annual tuition. So we told her to learn a lot about art over the week but don’t like the school too much.

Of course each day was filled with various art projects including pottery, pastels, and several painting techniques including landscapes and self portraits. They also had lots of play time and swim lessons in their own private swimming pool. At the end of the day she would come home and tell me all about the awesome food choices in the cafeteria. She could choose from a salad bar, soup bar, hot lunch, sandwich bar, and all sorts of fruits. Apparently her teachers were always amazed by how much she could eat.

On the last day of camp the parents were invited to the art cabin for an art show. Sydney did a great job on her projects. My favorite was her self portrait. The teachers did a great job at teaching the kids how to first sketch their ideas in the notebook before moving on to the canvas. It taught Sydney to slow down and really think about her creations before she rushed into them too much. So, according to Sydney this was her favorite camp of the summer. And she came home with about a dozen great new masterpieces.

Oh, and on the drive home I would routinely ask Sydney about her new friends. She would tell me all about Daniel or Max or Drew. Noticing the trend I simply said “wow you really like to play with the boys now don’t you.” Her response, “Well duh Mom. I need to get myself a boyfriend but I’m still trying to figure out who I should pick.” Kill me now!

Just Like Mom

Sydney had the brilliant idea to stick her balloon in her dress to look just like Mom today. Then she spontaneously yelled “I gotta cramp.” Hey, I don’t yell it too much. Well, maybe just a couple of times an hour.