September 14, 2009

• Wheely Weekend

  This weekend was all about the wheels.

  It started Friday afternoon, when Johnny came home with a stuffed car (Sally from Cars) that his boss wanted to give Jack. Jack was delighted with the "bwoo cah" and made it zoom around on the floor. He also loved that it was capable of "bouncing" and kept tossing it against the wall and saying "boing boing boing" when it hit the ground. And, he also honored my request to have the car dance. You can see it all in this video:

  Then, yesterday, we took the boys to Travel Town. We first heard about it at the playground in our old neighborhood. It's in Griffith Park, right next door to the LA Zoo, and it's a free (!) train "museum." That sounds boring, but it's not. They have actual trains built in the 19th and early 20th centuries on display, and you can climb onto most of them, which is great for toddlers who want to walk on the tracks and touch actual trains. There's also a play room where kids can climb on toy trains and play at the train table (but, a word to the wise: You need to bring your own trains to play with at the train table). The only thing that costs money (besides food and souvenirs, of course) is the miniature train ride, but even that was reasonable at $2.50 apiece (infants ride for free). Jack loved every aspect of Travel Town. To say that he's obsessed with trains would be a major understatement. We met up with Milena and Marcus there, and Jack spent the whole time pontificating about trains to Marcus, pointing out the funnel, the tender, the wheels and the color of the trains. We got him a bulldozer train from the Thomas line named "Jack," and he played with it at the train table (and cried when we had to leave). He also adored the miniature train ride. You could tell he was really excited to ride a real train.

  Jack and Johnny at Travel Town

  

  Milena, Marcus, Jack and I (and Derek in the Bjorn) inside one of the trains

  

  Jack and Marcus, who are actually wearing the same shorts. And, Marcus is Derek's birthday buddy -- same day, only two years apart!

  

  See how Jack is pointing to the train? He was babbling to Marcus about it the whole time.

  

  More lectures from Jack about trains

  

  And still more pontificating. Poor Marcus.

  

  

  Milena holds Derek while we wait for the miniature train.

  

  All aboard!

  

  Jack was elated to ride the train.

  

  Family pic, but too bad Jack was crying and Derek was looking for a boob.

  

  For those of you who are wondering, Jack gets all his train knowledge from the Thomas and Friends show, not from us! I'd say he's more of a train expert than Johnny or I will ever be.

  We did do some non-wheels-related things this weekend. For instance, we all went to the library to sign up for library cards. Jack loves books, and although he has many books already, the library has way more (and for free, who can beat that?). Johnny and I also devour books at a frightening pace, and we have neither the budget nor the shelf space to keep buying them. Now that we go out less often, books are a great way to pass the time in the evening or when the kids are napping. So we all got cards. I checked out two books for myself and three Curious George ones for Jack.

  Our little reader

  

  Finally, I just want to share this really sweet picture that Johnny took of me and Derek yesterday morning, right after a feeding. (By the way, I love that Brest Friend pillow and would highly recommend it! I know the Boppy is popular, but I love the Brest Friend's flat surface.)

  Here I am with my sweet boy

  

  Thanks for reading!

  • 4:28 pm
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