Trains!!!

"Hello, my name is Christopher... and I am a trainaholic."

Our boy loves trains. It's as simple as that. Apparently, this is a common phenomenon among the male toddler set and it holds true in the Woglom household. I don't really know how it started, but one day we put on "Thomas the Train" and the rest is history. Now, every time Chris sees a train, hears a train, or thinks about a train, he smiles.
Last weekend (in the midst of a "first day of spring" snowfall) we went to Union Station to visit the KC Rail Experience, an exhibit about (what else) trains! Even though the exhibit is geared toward adults, there were many opportunities for children to get involved. Here is Chris operating the switches. On the right, he is sitting in an actual replica of a conductor's station inside a real locomotive engine.

More than anything, though, Christopher loves Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas is a train character who lives on the island of Sodor and is very busy working with his other train friends like Percy, Gordon, and Henry. Anyway, it's a very cute show and has spawned an empire of related materials such as books, videos, and train sets. Being the suckers we are, Christopher now owns three books, a set of DVDs, and a figure eight train track complete with Thomas and two train cars. We got the tracks on Monday and he hasn't stopped playing with them since.

Somehow, the 6th Avenue Local ended up on the island of Sodor. Perhaps they were trying to revitalize their downtown.
Also this week, we have read a book called "Thomas and the Big, Big Bridge" at least 36 times if not more. Christopher requests it at nap time and bedtime as well as 4 other times during the day. When he wants me to read it, he says "big big." He also enjoys when I read it as he plays with the trains on his new tracks.
And (shhhh, don't tell CJ) in June there will be a "Day out with Thomas" in Baldwin City, Kansas, about 30 minutes from here. They have an actual train that looks like Thomas and the kids can ride on it, as well as participate in other train related activities. I can say with some certainty that we will be attending this event.