Thomas world

I wonder what the fascination is with the little blue tank engine - Thomas.  Both of our boys have been very into it starting around 18 months old.  Kade is now too good for it and thinks it's too childish to play with the trains (even though he still likes to watch new Thomas shows on tv) but Kason at 2 and a half is just all about Thomas right now.  He could listen to Thomas books all day long if someone would read them to him and if not he'll just pretend to read them himself.  He loves playing with the wooden trains we have, knows them all by name and if he gets asked what he wants to watch, the answer is always Thomas.

Well, recently Kason started to use some of the vocabulary from this English show and it can be pretty entertaining sometimes.  If Ehren or I get angry about something, I hear Kason tell Anika :"daddy is cross" and it makes me smile inside. 

Today I wasn't smiling or laughing at his little melt down, but in retrospect it was pretty funny.  Kason and I were at Walmart and it probably took a little longer for his not very long shopping time limit so by the end I could tell he was getting pretty tired.  Well, once he saw the play area (pretty much just 2 cars to sit on that move if you put coins in them) he forgot all about me or wanting to go home and got right on the cars as I was paying for the groceries.  I put everything in the cart, slowly got over to him and let him play for a while longer.  Then, like a good mom I was letting him know he has 2 more minutes to play.  Out of all 3 children, he is our toughest cookie yet, with a very strong will, and melt downs if he doesn't get his way.  So I knew even before I said it that it wouldn't make a difference and when the time was up, he'd be throwing a fit.  So, just like every time when it is time to go, he was screaming and yelling, telling me to go home by myself because he was going to stay there.  After a few exchanges the only option was to throw him on top of the cart, kicking and screaming, and take off.  I was actually thinking right then how proud I was of myself for being so mature and grown-up about it because it didn't even faze me or bother me to have my child misbehave like this in public.  I think he was really tired though because this tantrum lasted a lot longer than usual, after I buckled him in his seat, put all the bags in the van and all the way home.

The funny part was as we were driving off the parking lot, Kason is yelling out his very mad 2 year old statements and besides others he says: "You're a bossy boiler and I am cross!"  That almost made me laugh but as I was trying to hide the smirk on my face I calmly disciplined him and said that it's not ok to talk that way to me.  Of course, he didn't care what I had to say, he knew he was safe in his seat so he kept throwing out some other lines from Thomas, which I didn't quite catch with all the car noise and him crying.  I knew all Kason needed was a time out alone, which he got as soon as we got home.  Then I sat with him on the bed, holding him and he just held me so tight with his arms around me.  That is his way of saying he's sorry and I love that.  He's our little cuddler and after being held for a while he always feels better and is ready to go, like nothing every happened.

I pray I have the wisdom to discipline him the right way and show love to him every day.  He's such a sweet child but has such a strong will and determination that I wonder what is lying ahead of us.  For now, I will just smile at his funny statements which he says with all seriousness and thank God for this unique little person.