Unaware of the severity of the situation, I rented a Thomas the Tank Engine movie because, hey, he's never even watched TV and I thought it might be funny. It wasn't funny. It was depressing. My child who never sits still unless he's firmly strapped into a 5-point harness sat motionless and mesmerized for 20 whole minutes. Throughout the duration of my creepy movie experiment I watched him with an open jaw, aghast that this was really happening. Once I turned the movie off E looked at me and excitedly yelled, "Thomas! Thomas! Peep, peep! Choo choo! Wow!" It was as if he'd just been on the greatest sensory adventure of his life and I was left to deal with the pathetic realization that my child was enthralled by TV. Forget all those hours I've dedicated to reading books with him, cooking together, engaging in goobery conversation with him from the day he was born, playing the piano with him strapped on my chest in his baby carrier, and ensuring that child development recommendations for each stage were heeded. All he really wanted was some tube time. Blughck!!
It didn't take long for me to decide that I needed to be the victor in this situation. We'd recently heard about a train museum in Ogden so I researched it, called my sister and invited her family to join us, and off we went. You'll be pleased to know that real-life trains beat out the TV. E's excitement as he ran about the train museum far surpassed the cheap thrill of the Thomas DVD. He kept asking for "Wa-burt" (his cousin, Robert) and the "Train" and it made me so happy.
The moral of the story is that I succeeded. Granted, I picked my battle very carefully. For example, had he been convinced that Lion King was fantastic we couldn't exactly go on safari to teach him about modern day Africa. But I was proud of myself for taking something he saw on TV and turning it into an educational experience. Regardless of the fact that he's cognitively unable to make the distinctions between the two trains that I do, at least I taught myself how to make the most of what TV had to offer.
Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong, I don't think TV is the devil, but I do think it's watched far too often these days. I'd much rather read books, make-up plays, play games and whatnot so I've tried to foster that environment in our home. I actually really like Thomas the Tank Engine and I think he does a great job at teaching values, but most importantly I wanted E to see that real trains were cool even if they can't talk.
T & E taking a train knowledge quiz. E outscored T.
Sing: Ring my belll, ring my bell, my bell, woo woo woo.
You may not have known, but Travis has high ambitions of being a bronze bust model.
I think he does fabulously. Isn't the resemblance striking?
I think he does fabulously. Isn't the resemblance striking?
E and Mommy playing inside the train car.
E, Robert, and Mommy sitting in the train. I don't know if this was a typical layout for all trains, but you had to climb a little ladder to get up to the seats that sat about 5' up.
Ethan Heaven = Train on the left + School bus on the right
Inside the train museum there's also an antique car museum and a Browning gun museum. This car was my favorite. I envisioned Nick from The Great Gatsby gallivanting around in it and smiled.
Tammy brought some pants for E that R had outgrown and not only were they adorable, but they matched a darling sweater that E's friend, Kynzie, gave him for Valentine's Day. We had a little photo shoot and here are my favorites.
*Sigh* His cuteness melts me.