That Pink TootScoot Was More Than Just Another Present Under the Tree...

We sincerely hope your holiday season was as much fun as ours. Ours was filled with lots of family, friends, and best of all - FOOD! Pecan. Pie. Enough said. 

Another fantastic perk was watching our one year old baby girl open her pink TootScoot. Her big brother has been pushing her around on his blue TootScoot for the past several months, so for her to have her own was something special. She can't quite touch the floor when sitting on the seat at its lowest setting, but she loves to prop her feet up on the footrests and grab on tight to the handlebars. I think her favorite part is steering while her brother pushes from behind. The sqeals of delight are glorious and sometimes I wonder which of them is having more fun. 

It won't be long before she doesn't need his help to get around on it, though. Just a couple more centimeters of growth and she'll be off like a shot - perfect timing for summer and fall weather! She'll be in that 18-24 month range when most kiddos really start to embrace what the TootScoot has to offer. Plus, she'll have had plenty of practice inside on our wood floors... the wheels don't leave marks so I couldn't care less about riding in the house! 

She'll think she's just keeping up with her brother, but I know there's so much more happening beneath the surface. She's developing skills that will last her a lifetime. Balance. Coordination. A sense of adventure and bravery. Those are qualities she'll use every day - literally. Developing an early sense of balance will not only pave the way for an easy transition to a big girl bike, but it will also nurture her coordination for other athletic activities. You know, like running. Which she's already trying really hard to do on her short, stubby one-year-old legs. :)  

Anyway, we spent a lot of money on toys that we're pretty sure will be forgotten about in a couple month's time. But not the pink TootScoot. This one will make the home video reel for years to come. And the skills she's developing now will continue to show up years after that even. Parenting win? I think so.  

---