Sew In Love: Holidays

After Owen's 3rd birthday, I posted all the Thomas the Train birthday party details and links to party printables in my Etsy Shop. Since then (especially with Halloween coming soon) I've been asked to give a few tips for creating the Thomas the Train wagon!

Here's what you'll need...

1. Wagon (Ours was a garage sale find!)
2. Cardboard boxes (Thank you very much Amazon.com -- lol!)
3. Funnels and Buffers (Almond cans painted black!)
4. Screws or packing tape
5. Paper Tape (This is the exact brand we used... Duck Brand Gummed Paper Tape)
6. Paints - Thomas Blue, black, yellow, red, light gray, white and gold.
7. 3M Velcro to adhere the face to the train

Step 1: Start building the train shape by adding the large box to the back and then placing boxes on the sides and front. The rounded section at the top was made to hold the Thomas face. We used small pieces of tape to hold the boxes to each other and then two screws to hold the sides down. (Really, we could have just added layers of packing tape to keep it from popping up, but we didn't want to see any packing tape and our wagon was never going to be a plain-old wagon again so we didn't mind the holes!)

Step 2: (We painted the base black to cover the green that was already there) Put the boxes back together and this time use the paper tape to hold the seams together.

Step 3: Cover the entire train in paper tape to create a smooth base.

Step 4: Paint the entire train in Thomas Blue!

Step 5: Make a Thomas face. I painted this one based on a Thomas the train coloring book page that I googled!

Step 5: Add funnels and buffers (made from almond cans and cardboard)

Step 6: Paint red lines, yellow circles, whistles, and number 1 to make the train look like Thomas.

Done!

Ready for our little Sir Topham Hatt to Trick-or-Treat!!!

Aw, he looks so happy!

{1 hour later}

SICK sick SICK as a dog.

Oh, it was awful!

I spent the next week sanitizing our house from top to bottom and praying that Luke and I would be the only ones that had to get sick. Luke was in pain and we could hear his little tummy churn, but he still smiled and laughed. You can't make this kid unhappy. He's full of joy, no matter what!

P.S. How is it even possible that they were this close and Owen didn't get sick, too?!

We needed that stomach bug to hit the road because we had BIG plans --- Disneyland! Owen turned 4 years old on May 4th and we chose a trip to Disneyland over a birthday party. Technically, he got both {Disneyland plus a donut and banana birthday party at school}. He's a tricky one!

Meeting the Mouse! We got to the park an hour early, went to City Hall to get Owen's birthday button, and waited in the front courtyard for less than 5 minutes to meet Mickey. It couldn't have been any better.

Taking a 9 month old around Disneyland and California Adventure was a lot easier than we expected. There were lots of rides that all four of us were able to go on together... The Tea Cups, Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story Midway Mania, just to name a few. Owen's absolute favorite was The Monorail!

Luke couldn't take his eyes off Buzz for a second... not even for a picture!

And, he practically climbed up my chest trying to get back to Woody.

We packed a bag full of puffs, baby food, and bottles for Luke, but he preferred the pineapple spears in AdventureLand and the Mac N Cheese from The Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe.

Owen remembered the Mickey Mouse Ice Cream from our last visit and savored every bite!

Luke and I played in Radiator Springs as Brendon and Owen waited to ride Radiator Springs Racers! Luke was such a trooper. After spending most of his day in the Ergo, stroller, or being held by Mommy and Daddy, he deserved a little time to crawl around. There was a quiet little area behind Flo's V8 Cafe that was perfect for the little guy. One of the cast members even swept the ground in the area he was playing.

Owen got the big brother treatment during nap time! He and Brendon went swimming the first day and I took him to California Adventure the next day. While we were there, he was given the full tour of the Trolley Car in California Adventure. He got to blow the whistle, honk the horn and announce "Trolley On" The conductor took the time to answer all ~~100~~ of his questions, too!

The birthday boy was beyond excited when opening his presents from Grammy & Poppa! Grandma and Grandpa sent him shopping money so he could pick out anything he wanted. He loved being able to pick out his favorite things!

The hotel water park was so much fun and the perfect size for little ones!

Back at home, we've had just as many fun new adventures and Luke's had lots of new accomplishments!

Luke's first words were Mama, Dada, and Bubba. He also says, Wawa for water. We're working on signs for more, all done, please, and thank you. He smiles as us while we sign to him, but for now, just watches.

The closest he's come to signing "all-done" was this. He ended up tossing the eggs in his hands at me and laughing! That's one way to finish up a meal.

Owen really likes helping Luke and sharing his puffs. This was a "one for you, two for me" moment. But, I appreciate the help, so Owen gets to eat puffs too!

Luke is fearless! His favorite activity in the entire world is climbing the stairs. You can't keep this kid off of them. It's a full time job!

*The giant baby gate has since been delivered and Luke is completely banned from the front section of the house. (Owen now uses that space as his office... he does his "work" there and hides any toys that he doesn't want to share!)

The boys love going to The Man Store, aka Lowe's. This month, Brendon built a tool bench for the garage and Luke tried his hardest to help. In honor of Luke's favorite things.. TOOLS... his first birthday theme will be a handyman/garage party! He has a bin full of toy tools and is always holding one. He even crawls with a tool in his hand.

This month we also celebrated Mother's Day! The boys spoiled me with sleeping in, breakfast in bed, homemade cards, a day at the spa, and family photos!