My Dad and his wife are here for a very short visit. It’s the first time they’ve met BabyGirl and the first time we’ve seen them since - hmm, maybe July? JediBoy was very, very excited to see his Pappy.
They brought a nice wooden rocker for BabyGirl’s first birthday (a tradition in our family) and several outfits and other presents from South Africa. JediBoy got an “unbirthday” package with a Meccano set and a book and notebook from South Africa, but Pappy told him there might be one more thing for him out in the car.
Today they brought it inside (after: playing Legos, where JediBoy accused Pappy of “only building weirdos,” putting on a puppet show, reading books, wrestling, and then playing basketball outside). JediBoy was beside himself with glee at the “grown-up” present he received:
A Lionel O-Gauge Pennsylvania Flyer set.
My Dad loves model trains and has a big collection and tries to keep a layout set up whenever he can. JediBoy has always enjoyed playing with running the trains at Pappy’s house, but was never the one “in charge.” He was so excited to get this set out and put it together and then be in full control of the throttle.
We have yet to figure out how to keep BabyGirl from “exploring” it… or where we might possibly be able to keep it set up year-round. But Pappy has already suggested that if JediBoy finds himself greatly interested, the matching Pennsylvania passenger cars or track extension packs might be suitable birthday gifts. But it blows away my tentative plan to put Thomas trains around the tree again!
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