Balance Bake Makeover

A few months ago, I scored a sweet deal on a balance bike for Lincoln on Craig's List.  These babies run for around $100 new...I got Lincoln's for $30.  Bam!  As you can see...it was a tad on the girly side.  Lincoln surely didn't mind, nor did I, but we decided that we'd ask Lincoln if he'd prefer a different color and use that to gauge if we should paint it or not (note: we were painting it anyway...Lucas said it was way too girly...I was just trying to play it like we were all about the gender neutrality.  You know, progressive parenting and such.  Which we totally have no problem with at all.  Just so you know, we would have let him keep it purple if he wanted.  He chose orange.)

 Lucas took the entire bike apart and taped it up real careful-like, then broke out the spray paint.  Orange!  Orange wheels!  Orange seat!  Orange splash guards (you know, for toddler off-roading...)! The swirls and crowns were just stickers, so we peeled them off.  The handle bars are rubber, so they remained purple.  Orange and purple!  They totally go together!

 (yep, that's a dead hydrangea.  It's dry here.  Watering restrictions dry.  Worst drought ever, they say.  As in EVER--since they started keeping weather records ever.  We need rain.)

Lincoln picked out the helmet himself.  I showed him the whole page of options, secretly hoping he would pick the black helmet with "DANGER" emblazoned in red across the front.  For obvious reasons.  He went with the white one with stripes.  Three times (I really pushed the danger one...) in a row.  So, white stripes it was.  Lucas says I should have made him "choose" the danger one.  Eh.

He likes it!  "I'm gonna wide my bike!  Mama, put my helmet on.  Mama, put the kickstand up.  Mama, pome (come) wif me!"  We're still working on the independent riding thing...