Early Christmas

Today, Casey bought Orin his first Christmas present:

A Skuut balance bike (it has no pedals).

We spotted a toddler riding one of these around last summer

and have wanted to get Orin one ever since.

As soon as Casey walked in the door and put it down,

I thought we would never be able to keep Orin away until Christmas.

He was all over it, jumping and pointing "bike, bike!!"

(actually, he can't say "bike" so he calls them "butt" instead,

but at least he is consistent)

The next thing I knew, he crawled on top of the box,

got properly positioned,

stuck out his hands for a spotter, and (after I obliged)

jumped off the box, shrieking with joy.

That's is when it dawned on me... Orin had no idea that the bike

was actually inside the box.

To him, Daddy just delivered a stair

with a nice picture of a bike on it.

Great, I thought... no trying to hide this for 6 more weeks,

no temper tantrums to deal with when I take it away,

we will just leave the box on the floor and Orin will be thrilled.

But even if he's not going to ride the bike until Christmas,

it doesn't mean he should have to play

without his new helmet.

After all, who said that helmet use should be limited to

bicycle riding and other potentially hazardous sports?

I have reason to believe

that helmets are a great addition to

pretty much any outfit...