This past weekend marked a very special event in Eli's life: the day he met Thomas! Our dear friends Ben and Lindsay found out several months ago that Thomas (the real life-size one you can ride!) was going to be in Birmingham, and we decided that we just had to take the boys.
We were a bit concerned about how this was all going to go, however. (In case you don't know yet or have forgotten, meeting any character when you're 2 year olds can go either way: you have just as good a chance of loving it as you have of being absolutely terrified... Not to mention all the opportunities for tantrums at the Thomas festival after the ride.) I'm happy to report that all 4 boys did SOOO well!
When we got to the museum, we had to park about a block away, so the big boys rode around on their daddys' shoulders and the baby boys rode in the strollers. Eli spotted Thomas and started making train whistle sounds (complete with motions) at the top of his lungs. People kept looking back to see why he was crying but then cracking up when they realized what he was doing!
By the time we actually got to Thomas, he was completely star-struck. He kept saying, "I see Thomas! I wanna ride him!" We assured him that we were going to ride when it was our turn, then realized that he thought we were actually going to ride on the engine. It took a little creative parenting to convince him that we were actually going to ride on Annie & Clarabel (the coaches) instead of on Thomas with the engineer. He was so excited & kept telling everybody, "Thomas is going to push our cars!"
And that's exactly what he did: Thomas pushed us up the track for 10 minutes, then pulled us back to the station. It was exhilarating! The boys were in heaven... even the babies were excited!
After the fabulous ride, we got to walk around the little fair they had set up. There were booths where we could shop at the Thomas store (by the way, I forgot to get Eli a shirt & now I really wish I had, so if you go, please pick one up for us... I'll pay you back, I promise!), play with trains and train tables, and Eli's favorite- meet (and shake hands with!) Sir Topham Hatt.
The boys were so sweet and cooperative all day long. We really had a great time (even though I was recovering from a night with the stomach bug).
Incidentally, Sam had a great time too, and he got his very own Junior Engineer certificate just like his big brother's. I'm not sure his counts, though. We may get to do this all again one day!
5 comments:
Hey Amber and Grant - this is Laura Love Smith from GBA. I got your blog from Jeri Ann's facebook. Good to catch up on y'all.
BTW - I cloth diaper too. I love the BG for nighttime. hope all is well.
This looks awesome. I'm so proud of my "techie" daughter. I glad the boys enjoyed Thomas. In the pics they look like they're having a blast.
Hey Amber! This is Courtney from Alaska (and MC)! It's been a long time! I love blogs and came across yours linked to someone elses.
Looks like you guys are doing well - your boys are adorable. I'll have to catch up later on all you've been up to:) Take care!
I remember loving Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid too! Although, amusing, the man who is now known as Sir Topham Hat used to be called the Fat Controller! Apparently that's offensive now!?
Cute blog! We went to Thomas' Day out last year! Isnt it the best?! We are going again this year because my boys loved it so much!
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