The "Green Superhero"

A little background information:

* Aidan will be 4 in May
* He wants a "superhero" birthday party.
* He wants to be a GREEN superhero.
* Up until a few weeks ago, he refused to put his feet on the pedals of any bike/trike/big wheel.
* He really loves Thomas the Train.
* He follows directions from inanimate objects (i.e. puppets, toys, etc.)

Picture it... we're at Toys R Us a few weeks ago.  Aidan finds a Thomas the Train trike and tries to ride it (or his version, anyway, which means feet on the ground, pushing like Fred Flintstone.)  But he's having trouble because the trike it too small.  I tell him he'll have to put his feet on the pedals if he wants it to work.  He tries, fails, and starts to have a meltdown.



I think to myself, "Please, Aidan, don't have a meltdown here.  People are watching.  Lilah is already throwing a fit in the cart.  I can't handle two tantrums!!  Think fast, think fast!" 



And then I see the train on the front of the trike.  I lean over, cup my hand behind my ear, and say, "What's that, Thomas??  You want Aidan to try to pedal again???" 

Aidan looks wide-eyed at me and says, excitedly, "Ok, Thomas!"  He puts his feet on the pedals, pushes down, and off he goes. 

YES!!!!



But, the trike is still too small, so he doesn't get far.  I see the row of bikes and call him over.  Quick, Mama, think of something brilliant to get him to try a bike!  Oooh, there's a GREEN one!



"Look, Aidan!  There's a GREEN SUPERHERO bike!  Come try it!"

"Ok, Mama!" 



He sits down, puts his feet halfway on the pedals, and starts to meltdown again.  Try it again, Mama!  Try it again!  So I go for it.  I cup my ear, lean towards the trike aisle, and say, "What's that, Thomas??  You want Aidan to put his feet on the pedals of the green superhero bike???" 

"Ok, Thomas!  I will!!"



And off he goes.  On a bike.  For the first time.  PEDALING.  I let him ride around the store (like one of those annoying moms) for about 15 minutes, while he shouted, "Look, Mama!  I'm riding a bike!  I'm pedaling!!" 



We bought him his green superhero bike a week later.  I was going to wait for his superhero party, but that's 3 months away and the weather's nice! 



(by the way, super excited for superhero party planning!!  Of course, it will be Lilah's party too... I'm going for double birthdays as long as I can, since they're only 5 days apart.  She'll be a pink & purple superhero!  Here's one inspiration pic I found on Etsy...)