A Thomas Fan

Kyle has always been a Thomas train fan.  Evan has too, but at first, he couldn't play with them because he couldn't handle the excitement.  Kyle would have trains going in his room, and Evan would purposely go to his room to see them, only to stand there and cry.  

Gradually, he got to a point where he could play with them for a while before getting upset.  Then, he went to not wanting anything to do with them again.  Well, he's back to being a fan, and this time I don't think there's any going back. 

But that's not really what this post is about.

Evan ASKED for something!!!!  For a while now, he's been asking for things like juice, milk, cookies, blankies, etc. by saying "Juice?, Milk?" etc.  But this was the first time he's asked for a toy he wants from the store!  

He recently got a new train for his birthday, and whenever you buy a train, you get one of those inserts showing other trains.  Kyle used to carry them around all the time so he could constantly let us know who he needed next.  

Tonight, Evan came up to me with the insert, pointed to one of the trains, and said, "Want Percy?...Cow?"  (it's Percy pulling a cow in an open car--two of his favorites together, a train and an animal)

YAY!!!!

So obviously, guess what he's getting as soon as I find it???  

Trains

Kyle has always been a fan of trains...especially Thomas the Tank Engine. He started off with the die-cast ones, then the wooden ones, and finally, the battery operated plastic ones. Over the past 18 YEARS, we've gained many trains (and tracks) and have gotten rid of, basically, none. That's a lot of trains!

So when Evan came along, I thought for sure his love of trains would start from the very beginning. For his first birthday, I got him the Thomas Train and he could sit on and "drive" or push. It has the buttons that play the little jingles....how great. Well, he's played with it a little, but it was never a huge hit.

At our old house, Kyle's room was upstairs, and Evan's was down. This prevented Evan from having very much exposure to the trains set up in Kyle's room. At our current house (a year and a half), both of their rooms are upstairs, and Evan also has mastered the stairs enough where he has freedom to go up and down as he pleases. This summer when Kyle was home, he had a constant track with the battery operated plastic trains set up in his room. Evan did NOT like them! He would scream, cry, etc. It was awful. This stage lasted for a month or so. THEN, he went through a stage of still crying, screaming, etc., but yet, he insisted on standing in Kyle's room to watch them! Of course, Kyle didn't care to have his little brother in there screaming while he was conducting the Island of Sodor. But, Kyle, having the big heart that he does, put up with it quite well. Gradually, he was able to spend time watching the trains for several minutes before the overload and the screaming/crying would start. This often happened before bedtime...not a good way to ease into a good sleep.

Now, after several months, I can proudly say, Evan is a true Thomas the Tank Engine fan. For Christmas, we got a track set for him (to Kyle's relief), and he is becoming quite the little conductor of trains.

I can hear the trains going now. :-)

Peep peep!