Forever and a day Wednesday, May 20, 2009 (19:07:36) Posted by shawn Yes, it has been forever since we've written anything and I have no good excuse. I have to say that one of the conveniences of having a camera phone is that you can take pictures whenever you want but it is not so convenient to get pictures off of my camera and on to the site. I typically feel as though I must have pictures to accompany any posts and since it's annoying to get them off of my phone I don't write. If anybody is reading this, please know that I will attempt to write something even if I don't have pictures to share Anyway, Holden has been trying lots of new things lately. Shawn thought this spring would be a good time for Holden to try rock climbing so we went to Petra rock gym in Springfield to give it a whirl. Holden loved it and he did really good for his first time. It's also a great confidence builder for him since it's something he can do and none of the other kids on our street have ever done. We ordered him a harness too but the rock gym has been having some staff and credit issues so we don't actually have it yet and it's been about 6 or so weeks now. However, as an apology, the owner gave us a harness he had in stock and a chalk bag and when Holden's harness comes in we get to keep both of them. The chalk bag was nice because Holden loves chalking up his hands to make sure they are dry for his climb - it's quite cute. I have gotten "certified" to belay now too (that's the person who stands at the bottom and holds the rope to stop you from falling). Shawn has already done it but now I can belay for him. I haven't tried climbing yet though, I still have to work up the courage to try it out. I'm also proud to announce that Holden has learned to ride a two wheeled bicycle and no longer uses training wheels! He basically taught himself when he and I went and visited my parents in Indiana 3 weeks ago. My mom had a tiny bike without pedals and since it was small and there were no pedals in his way, he was able to find his balance pretty easily. He wasn't really afraid of falling since the bike was so small and he couldn't really hurt himself if he did fall. Anyway, he was doing really good with this little bike so we went across the street to the Amish neighbor's house and borrowed their little girl's bike so he could actually try pedaling. I held on to the back of the bike so he could get on and set up the pedals and then he just took off. No running after him or keeping him upright or anything. It was really amazing and he was even turning and going in circles while staying upright too. All of this happened in one afternoon. I never thought "teaching" him to ride a bike could have been so easy. There are a couple of pictures in the photo gallery of Holden learning to ride a bike at my parents house if you want to check them out. When he's older, I'm sure he'll love the fact that these first bike riding pictures are of him on a pink bike Alright Justin, I'm ready for you to tease me about finally writing... Content received from: Bleiler Family, http://bleilerfamily.com