Thomas (press repeat button)

Thomas is about all our life consists of these days. :) That's why I've been away from blogging for a while, you see...I've been riding on the neverending railroad of Thomas and his friends!

We've had some interesting conversations about Thomas lately. Whenever we see a train and it has to eventually leave or keep going we have to console Walker by telling him that Thomas went back to the Island of Sodor. Otherwise, he'll ask all day long "Mommy, Daddy make Thomas come back right now!"

Walker's still convinced that he is having a Thomas birthday party, and well quite frankly, who am I to disagree? We're looking forward to another family party this year with one very special bright blue engine to accompany us! I can't believe Walker will be TWO.

Tonight I was washing off a temporary Curious George tattoo off Walker's foot and I told him George had to go bye bye. So, he told me "George go to isle of Sodor with Thomas Chain to seep?" Why yes, that's EXACTLY where he went! Where else would he go??

Last night, during bedtime stories...which Cliff is normally "chosen" for-I was the lucky chosen one for the evening. So, when I asked Walker what story he wanted to hear he said "Thomas." This is new because he normally wants to hear The Three Bears of Three Little Pigs" or something about Walker & Bailey. So, in our story last night, Thomas came to Walker's house and picked him up for a ride...and guess where Walker wanted to go?? The Island of Sodor, you got it! By the way-he IS going there in Oct to meet the REAL Thomas and he knows it. He tells us everyday-"going to meet Thomas in October at Isle of Sodor..." He's one lucky kid if you ask me. His parents rock! :)

He's become quite "needy" in a new sense lately-as in everything is something he "NEEDS..." "I need candy, I need you to sit right here mommy, I need to play with Daddy, I need chocolate, I need my Pablo, I need milk mommy, I need to get up there, I need to tee-tee like Daddy..."

Speaking of tee-teeing like Daddy, he's been asking to stand lately. Um, this came a little earlier than I expected. So, we stand on the toilet and he tee tees. He thinks he's so cool and I have to agree! He's still not "trained" by any stretch of the means and still wets himself daily. But, he's still going to the potty most of the time, asking most of the time, telling us when he had an accident, etc...he's doing a great job and we are so proud!

He stayed with Angela, Carlie & Ansley the other day while I went to work...Angela said at one point, he and Carlie disappeared and she found them under the covers hiding. Silly kids. Walker talked about his time with Carlie all weekend. He loves his friends so much. He's begging to go back to night church as soon as he wakes up from his Sunday nap and this has just made life SO much easier for mommy!

He's doing great going to bed these days-but he doesn't seem to care for his bed. He wants to sleep on the floor on a body pillow. I haven't gotten to the point yet where I can make myself go to bed with a clean conscience until I put him in his bed. SO, after he falls asleep Cliff and I go in together (we've done this since day 1 of him sleeping in his own room) and these days Cliff turns off the lamp and I put lil man in the bed... Most nights he makes it all night in his bed! But, he refuses to fall asleep there, always asking for the floor instead.

He has an incredible imagination...especially for a boy. One of his favorite things to do is go grocery shopping in my pantry. He fills up his cart and then he gets his Fisher Price music table and turns it into a cash register. He "scans" the groceries over it and says "beep..." This just blew my mind. He's so observant! When I come home from the store, he likes to bring his cart out to my car and help me bring in the groceries. He also likes to put them up for me which always makes MORE work for me when he leaves the room!

When he's not doing something imaginative, he's playing with his cars, trains and balls. The boy has some wonderful coordination skills. On several occasions people have told me how wonderfully coordinated he is for his age-and I never really thought anything about it until it was pointed out to me, but he has just done well in that area. I guess it's the inner sports player in him. :) He can hit balls with a bat when thrown to him, can aim a golf ball into a cup or something of the liking and putt, etc...he's just a little sports boy!

He's still very into helping us do everything. He wants to help cook, etc...he has on several occasions recently gone to the drawer with his stool, gotten his own spoon (and he always gets his toddler spoons) and took the initiative to help me stir something up. I always let him participate because I know that encourages daily living skills and builds his confidence. It also makes a mess! LOL. He can climb up onto the counter tops by curling his toes into the cabinets and can unlock and open any door he wants. He can also lock us out of rooms when he wants! This has happened MANY times.

He's been asking to go to the jumpy place alot lately, so I think we may take him this coming weekend. We asked him if he wanted to invite some friends and he said "Benyee and Byce" which means Brinley & Bryce. SO funny. Mom took him last week one day to one in Decatur when she had him overnight. They had a blast but she had no idea how much energy she'd exert. :) Kudos to her for being that kind of "grandmother..." Forever young! Walker has the best grandparents. We just couldn't ask for more hands on, interactive, loving grandparents. They are truly the best in every sense of the word and they are all so unique in their own way. He has special things with each set-with Cliff's parents he knows he gets treats galore and that he can play with the ducks that are supposed to be off limits...he also has Bailey there. With my dad & Kathy, he knows he can get as dirty as he wants and go anywhere exploring outside that he wants. Whatever he wants is the name of the game and he gets to spend pretty much all his time outdoors there doing really cool things we don't get to do at home. He also knows he can go to Kathy's spice rack in the pantry and there are some that are his-cinnamon, sprinkles, etc...he gets to dip and lick his finger 3 times for each one. :)
At mom & barry's he's always doing something creative and silly-romping around on the floor and rolling down hills with his Nonnie. Riding golfcarts is also one of his favorite things to do there-he loves feeding Tuppy (one of the cats) her treats too. I just love all the unique experiences they all bring to his life and these are only a few of the long list of things. We are just so blessed!!

Well, I've been a major blog slacker and didn't really have a lot to update on, but that's just some of what's going on these days. I'll try to do better but don't count on it!! :)