Big Wheel - Keep On Turning

After a week of being cooped up at home we were all feeling a bit snarky today. Abby still wasn't in tip-top shape, but besides the occasional race to the bathroom she was acting like herself. In desperate need to see the outside of this house, we all piled in the car (sans Bruiser - poor guy) and headed out to Nana and Papa's.

Papa had mentioned that there was a nice surprise waiting for Abby and so with that on her mind she was very good on the drive out. She was absolutely convinced that it was a Jesse outfit (of Toy Story fame). Although we didn't have the inside track as to what the "surprise" was, we were pretty convinced that a Jessie outfit wasn't it.

It wasn't long after we arrived, and she'd bestowed her round of "smoochie-bugs", that she inquired as to the great surprise. We were lead back outside and she could barely contain herself when she saw the Big Wheel waiting for her in the back of Papa's truck*. Nana and Papa had been out and about this weekend and found a "certified pre-owned" pink and purple Big Wheel for their little angel. Abby hopped on that thing and started pedaling away. After the first two rounds of that big front wheel we noticed she was having more trouble than she should keeping the bike straight. Jason stopped her and realized that the the right bracket, that holds the "big" wheel to the front of the trike had broken.

Out came the duct tape.

As Abby wailed and cried about her bike, Jason and his dad tried to tape that bracket up as fast as they could. Abby was a big wet mess by the time that everything was a go. It was fun to watch her barrel down the driveway, and great to hear her laughing (after all that crying moments before). She did have a wonderful time on that thing - until we heard a pop and realized that into her second leg down the driveway the bracket on the other side of the bike had broken.

Out came the duct tape - again.

Once again the tears started and finally, the great weeping mess that was Abby, got off the bike and declared that she didn't want to ride it anymore. Well, as you can imagine, Papa couldn't stand for this and so he declared that he and Dada would head out to get her a new one - and that's what they did. With Abby still crying, the boys went off and Nana and I were left behind to distract her.

I looked for the sidewalk chalk as Nana pulled out a ball and bat. We did some drawing and some "batting", and even pulled out the Little Tikes car that Abby is slightly too big for. Before long Abby yawned, stretched, and declared it was time for a nap. We all trotted inside and were thankful that Abby was in better spirits.

Rapunzel/Abby

Soon enough the boys were back and along with the bike they picked up a beautiful Rapunzel wig. While Abby gazed at her long, lovely locks in the mirror, the guys put the new Big Wheel together. By this time though dinner was ready, so the decision was made to wait a bit before Abby was presented with her new bike.

Somewhere between the hair preening and dinner Abby lost her good mood. Each of mom's "suggestions" was greeted with an emphatic, "NO!", and we couldn't find just the right thing to get her in a better mood. You might be thinking that this would be a good time to pull out that new Big Wheel, right?

Well......

See Jason and I know our little peanut rather well, and we were fairly certain that if we got her outside and on that new bike, we would never be able to get home. We were winding down and packing up to make the trek back to our house, and we knew that in her current mood the potential for a major melt-down had grown exponentially. We made the executive decision to let it be, and leave the Big Wheel surprise for the next time we came out to Nana and Papa's house.

Despite the bumps in the road (literally and figuratively) it was a great time. As Papa gave Abby a helicopter ride out to the car we marveled at how quickly her mood and attitude changed. She giggled and laughed as the "helicopter" ran out of gas just in time to deposit her into her booster seat - ending our evening on a very good note.

So, we now have something besides the usual fun to look forward to the next time we head out to Nana and Papa's - a beautiful new pink Big Wheel.

Dad was ready to go before Abby and Mom were (big surprise)
and so he went to get the car washed. As we waited for him
we had a little impromptu photo session with Abby and Bruiser.

She had quite the grip on his neck - but he didn't
mind a bit.

Then she decided that she would set off to
rescue Dada, riding her noble steed.
Here she let out a yell of, "Yee-Haw!"

*It was pointed out to the author that Papa actually has a Ford Flex and not a "truck" as was stated in the above post. The author apologizes for any confusion on the reader's part.