We turned the carseat around today. That's a milestone in parenting if I ever heard one. Do you know how much easier it is to put a child in a carseat when their legs can dangle freely? Or how much less fussing is involved when a child can see a parent at all times?
But that's not all that happened this weekend.
Mazzy rode the big kid swing. And was allowed to climb unaccompanied to the top of the tall slide.
She was so good at these things that I wonder if we could have been doing them for months— if we had not been so busy researching medical journals for ways to keep Mazzy frozen in time, of course.
The other "big kid" thing that happened was Mazzy "rode" a tricycle, made possible by the very nice people at Radio Flyer, who contacted me to do a review of their new 4-in-1 trike.
Now. I rarely do straight up reviews but in this case I made an exception because I REALLY REALLY WANTED ONE. Can you blame me? You should have seen the stir this thing caused at the playground. Even Padma checked it out. (She also complimented Mazzy on her shoes so I am very close to having incredible influence on Top Chef decision-making.)
The 4-in-1 trike ($99) has four stages so you can literally use it from 9 months to 5 years. First as a stroller, then a steering trike, then a learning-to-ride trike and finally a classic trike. The disturbing thing is that after Mike put the whole thing together, we realized he had to take half of it apart because Mazzy is already well into Stage 2 and possibly Stage 3.
Nice people at Radio Flyer— WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME????
But before I get to Mazzy's love of the tricycle (a love that waxes and wanes depending on how badly she wants to be carried), I'd like to discuss "the putting together of the very exciting toy" experience.
WHAT I WANTED TO HAPPEN: I told Mike to put together the trike after Mazzy went to bed so we could use it first thing the next morning. You don't have to be a seasoned parent to understand that having a child present (read: waiting) during "the putting together of the very exciting toy" is a recipe for disaster.
WHAT HAPPENED: Mike insisted on watching an episode of the painfully boring Boardwalk Empire. Then he fell asleep on the couch.
I think a video will describe the situation best. Keep in mind that the actual "putting together of the very exciting toy" was about 25x longer.
In summary, Mazzy loved the trike, Mike didn't seem any more exhausted than normal after putting it together, and it attracted many envious stares from both parents and their kids on the streets of NYC.
Plus, the playground is about four blocks away and since Mazzy hates her stroller, I usually end up carrying her the whole way there. The bike has made the trip easier and much more fun for both of us.
Now tell me. What exactly am I dealing with here? Because I am having a very hard time looking at this picture of Mazzy and calling her my baby.
Radio Flyer sent me the 4-in-1 trike for review but they did not pay me for this post and the thoughts and opinions are totally my own. FYI- if I am sent something for a review or giveaway and I don't like it, I don't post about it.
I’m so jealous I want one! I mean, I want one for Monkey!!!
And no, Ilana, she’s not a baby anymore. I know, I know. I’m here to hold you or send chocolate if you need it.
I’ve known she wasn’t a baby anymore for a bit, but in that picture she looks like a little girl. A TOUGH little girl.
oooh i’m jealous, too and want one for Lovie. i ESPECIALLY love that it’s not pink.
all she needs is a leather jacket….oh and a helmet- safety first!
We just recently turned Caitlyn’s carseat around too. I find it strange how much I got my balls busted about waiting till she was 18 months. My niece and nephew were both front facing at barely a year. Every time I would see my family they would tell me Caitlyn needed a big girl seat!
So cute!!! … and if you find the recipe for them to stay 2 years old forever, please post. Thanks.
It is indeed an EXCELLENT shade of red.
Oh crap. Should she have been wearing a helmet? I didn’t even think of that! I guess we can probably wait till she doesn’t need one of us to push her.
Mike’s been wanting to turn the carseat around forever but I wouldn’t let him. I can be a stickler for the rules sometimes. It really is so much easier to get them strapped in.
Still looking. Will let you know!
so cute. Wonder if he learned his lesson?
I will let you know. I bet there will be something he needs to put together after her birthday.
You can probably wait, although we got one so P got used to wearing it, and knew that whenever he was on his bike he had to wear a helmet to be safe. Now he let’s us know when he sees someone “not being safe” on a bike! Plus, I know how much you love Elmo, and he always has his helmet on when riding his trike 🙂
woah that thing looks awesome! I am too lazy to look it up (I’m only 18 weeks pregnant and have nothing for the baby, so starting out with the tri-stroller thinger seems like a super preemptive strike, right?)…I’m just guessing that in the stage Mazzy is on, you have control of steering it, right? Because pushing a kiddo on something that they are steering just seems to be disastrous (I remember pushing my little brother, and it’s a lame-ol’ toppling hazard). Right? Maybe I should just look it up. ANYway, RAD that they sent you one and you both like it! Thank you for the warning on don’t-put-things-together-in-front-of-the-kids 🙂
Wait, we’re keeping them backward-facing til they’re 2 now?! UGH. No way, my 14-month-old is already forward-facing! I thought it was 12 months! That’s what we did with his sister. Crap. Stupid carseats and their ever-evolving rules. They’re going to be stuck in those things until they’re 12, aren’t they?
Honey, your baby is a toddler. You can go with toddler for like, another year. And then she’ll be a preschooler. And…yeah, a little girl. She’s kind of one of those too. Sorry. If it helps, mine is pretty much a big girl now. 🙁
We have one, too! Roo loves it. But refuses to peddle. And in an effort to keep him hen-pecked, the girls just push him around on it. But, he looks darn cool doing it.
You know what gives away the non-baby thing most? The crazy language skills on your child! Seriously. I thought Zig was quite the chatty Cathy. Since seeing this vid, I’ve sent him to his room to have a good hard think about himself…..
That trike is so cool. That may be a nephew gift…that and a pleather (?) jacket.
Now that I thnk of it, Mazzy has a helmet for her scooter although she has never actually taken it on the street. She even asked me today if I had a helmet for my scooter (I won it at an event a few weeks ago but haven’t used it yet) and I had to tell her I was getting one.
The bike starts at 9 months so you’ll probably need to get something else in the interim:) Although I pretty much used my sling and an ergo exclusively for at least the first year.
And yes, the handle gives the adult in charge complete control of the steering. Thank God!
Toddler is so unendearing of a term. You don’t walk around saying, “My toddler”. Ick. Even in all my headlines, I hate having to say “toddler” instead of “baby”. “Baby” makes everything sound better!
I believe the two year old carseat rule started last year. Which means next year it will be three. And the year after that, thirteen.
Mazzy has given some half-assed attempts at pedaling. But it’s hard to steer when you must hold your sippy cup at all times.
Mazzy has very advanced language skills. There is no question. People are constantly surprised when she starts talking to them.
The other day (I’ve told this story five hundred times because I love it so much), Mazzy was playing in the park with a little boy. A woman walked up to them and said to Mazzy, “Hi, I’m Joey’s mom.” And Mazzy responded by saying, “My mom is Ilana”.
We have one of these bikes and my toddler (I know, I know) who is just a few weeks younger than your toddler (I know, really I know) loves it. However at 18 months we got him a Strider bike and now the thing is barely used. I bet she would have a blast cruising around the city with one. 🙂
(You can watch him in action here: http://youtu.be/oa_VHlJLDtE)
You are so awesome for reviewing this! We got this for my toddler’s first birthday, but just haven’t gotten around to putting it together. (And, wow. $99? I didn’t write a nice enough thank you card to my brother.) I think I have a project for my husband for this weekend.
” Even Padma checked it out. (She also complimented Mazzy on her shoes so I am very close to having incredible influence on Top Chef decision-making.)”
Good. Can you have them bring Chuy back? That sucked.
My kids are older now. Tire swings have not changed, but wow, tricycles certainly have. My kids also had a rocking horse, we still have it and it looks like something from the “old days” and a mini trampoline. Those were the things that kept them entertained for minutes or hours depending on the day.
Both sets of grandparents wanted to get one of these for my Cuddles, but we live in New England, and I seriously doubt the snow will hold off forever. I told them to wait until her birthday in March, so she has a decent chance of using it after she gets it.
But, what will I do with two tricycles? Her little sister’s still a fetus and we only have 800 square feet. Should I talk my parents into a wagon or try to shoehorn the second trike into storage until Cuddles II is born?
We also turned the car seat around this weekend and it’s as if the heavens parted and the angels sang. I love it, Vivian loves it, everyone’s happy. It’s a Christmas miracle!
And she’s been eyeing the tricycle in the lobby of daycare every day, too. I just want to scream, “Noooooo! You’re too yoooouuuung!” It’s like she’s suddenly turned into a little kid overnight.
BTW, I took V for her 2-year well-check today and was informed that she’s in the 99th percentile for language development. Which means that Mazzy is in approximately the 137th percentile – she’s got an awesome vocabulary!