And She's Off!

Either she's a quick learner or I'm just a great teacher.  I think it's probably the first reason, but regardless, Sophia now knows how to ride a bike without training wheels!  We went out one hot afternoon within the last week to practice with the training wheels raised, but I quickly decided that leaving the training wheels on wasn't going to work.  Sophia didn't like riding, not knowing when the wheels would hit the ground so we took them off altogether.  She worked on her balance and could ride for a few seconds.  She was one determined girl!  We went out one other afternoon to practice but Sophia just wasn't in the mood and her confidence was lacking.  It turns out that the third time's the charm!  Yesterday, I tried a new strategy.  I had her push off and then raise her feet, but not put them on the pedals (hoping this would help her find her balance).  After about 5 minutes of this, she tried riding and was successful!  I couldn't believe how quickly she picked up on it.  She is by no means completely stable yet and she brakes even when she's doing just fine, but she's well on her way (and very proud of it).  Way to go, Soph!