We’re a big fan of the balance bike around here. Tate has now inherited Henry’s balance bike and is so confident on it all around the neighborhood. Henry has been riding a pedal bike without training wheels since about turning four. We hit a milestone several months ago: I was able to take him to the lake trail and he rode for three miles while I jogged. It’s taken me a while to write this post. Henry is now five!

Although it’s a little less relaxing on my weekend run if Henry comes along, it’s an amazing opportunity to teach him so many skills. He develops his gross motor skills

One of our goals this year was to do at least two volunteer activities as a family. Fortunately, in Austin, there’s a non-profit organization that makes this kind of goal relatively easy for us. Little Helping Hands publishes a calendar every month of new volunteer activities and experiences. The problem is that the calendar fills up very fast. 

So far, we’ve been able to sign up for two of them: volunteering at a homeless shelter to make a meal and–most recently–doing arts and crafts at a home for senior citizens.  

Visiting the senior living center was a wonderful experience for so many reasons. First, it pushed all of us out