Jonathan's Day Out with Thomas

After hearing Jonathan say, "I ride Thomas 'morrow" everyday for a week, we were thrilled when he finally got to ride on Thomas. We took a much anticipated family trip over to Connersville, Indiana to the White River Valley Railroad for the Day Out with Thomas event. Jonathan was able to meet "Sir Topper Hat" (Sir Topham Hat), the railroad Barron from Sodor Island, and a real train conductor. It was quite fun to see 7 passenger train cars from the 1920's and 30's behind Thomas filled full of excited toddlers and their families. Jonathan was especially excited to see us pass the "baboose" (caboose) train, a train of nothing but caboose cars full of toddlers too!



I must admit that Thomas has grown on me. The first time I saw the cartoon of train models with funky faces and little wooden people, I was a bit ooked out by them. But, each engine has a name and unique personality (Salty is my favorite). The shows teach character values like reliability, responsibility, and usefulness. When the engines misbehave, Sir Topham hat gets cross and provides prompt consequences. Perhaps when Jonathan disobeys I'll send him to work in the quarry with Rusty!

Love that Chick-fil-a Cow

Our local Chick-fil-a had customer appreciation week this past week. They could host a day just for the Marrero family because we are there so much! Thankfully, "happy meal" is not in Jonathan's vocabulary. Jonathan does not even know what McDonald's is, but he sees Chick-fil-a and says, "chicky bok bok." Can you tell where is Mommy likes to get her fast-food fix? These pictures are from the 1950's themed free milkshake day. Jonathan loved seeing the cow and the girls in the "cow" skirts with hula hoops. He insisted that I take him to the street sidewalk in front of the parkinglot so that he could see the cow up close. Later, he was thrilled when the cow came inside. He and our friend, Addie Grace, gave the cow some love.

Corn on the Cob

They say that there is more than corn in Indiana, but when Jonathan is eating corn--nothing else matters! He has loved corn since he could eat the nasty baby puree. Last year, Jonathan was eating kernels sliced off the cob by Mommy and Daddy. This year he insisted on having his corn on the cob. If I had not finally taken it from him, he would have eaten the cob!

"Thank you God, Dinosaur Bones"

This past month, Jonathan has started saying his bedtime prayers on his own. I am now learning the art of gratitude from a 22 month-old.

Jonathan's first prayers began with lists of immediate family members--including the four-legged variety, "Thank you Mommy, Daddy, Bustelo, Daisy." He then started to add "Nana, Papa, Grandma Gigi." Now he adds great-grand parents, "Thank you God, Great Daddy, NeeMee, MaGrannie." And, frequently he will include "Uncle John, Mari, Nando" even though he does not get to see his aunt and uncles very often. We also hear the names of friends, "Kelsea, Taylor, Chlo-Chlo, Rob, Chelle, and Ang-la" to name a few we have heard. This past week, we have been getting lists of things and characters too: Cookie Monster, Elmo, Big-Bird, trains, Thomas, cars, and turtles!

But, my favorite thing he prayed for this week was dinosaur bones! It isn't completely random, we have recently had several trips to the Children's Museum and Jonathan has discovered the Dinosphere. He was a little timid at first because the life-size display with loud roars and changing lights is a bit over-whelming for little ones. But, once he discovered the dinosaur nests and dinosaur play tables he has been hooked on dinosaurs. Last weekend, he played dinosaurs in the nest with our good friend Angela who was visiting from Georgia. And, Wednesday he met a palaeontologist and touched a dinosaur femur with Efrain. I guess it all made quite an impression on him. He prayed, "Thank you God, dinosaur. Thank you God, bones. Thank you God, dinosaur bones." My son has shown me why Jesus tells us to be like little children. In their sweet innocence, children are not only thankful for the big things in life, but they also never forget the seemingly little things in life that point to our creator! Have you prayed for dinosaur bones lately?