Kevin Costner/No Stabilisers!

This was all a little mystic.

Michael woke up this morning and said he'd had a dream that he didn't need his stabilisers anymore. He was insistent, so much so that Sarah took the stabilisers off of his bike before we went to church.

After lunch, (actually, during lunch as he couldn't wait any longer), we went outside into the street and had a go at riding without the stabilisers.

We then witnessed something pretty special (and I'm not talking about me having to run for the first time in over a year). Michael got it pretty much first time! Sarah and I were astonished. Michael was pretty matter of fact in that he seemed to know he didn't need them. I think he'd had a bit of a 'Field of Dreams' episode. If he wants to build a baseball ground in our back garden I think I'll let him. The footage Sarah took here was of Michael's third attempt.

He still needs a little support to get started. He's also got a unique way of stopping which involves cycling towards the grass (be it the communal bit in our street or someone's well kept front garden) and escaping off the bike to the side, so we'll need to work on that, but Sarah and I were fully expecting several goes and lots of bruised knees and elbows.

Michael's often reluctant to take steps towards trying something new, and often says things like "I'll do that when I'm 5". There's probably a lesson for Sarah and I here to wait until he's ready himself to try something.

Here's a link to a better quality version of Emma getting pushed by Emma on the swings.