TrainDad

I suppose it’s pretty normal to make a train out of cardboard boxes, but this time Jonathan and I got a little bit carried away. We’ve been collecting big diaper boxes for about as long as he’s been alive; they are a handy size, very sturdy, and have nice “handles” cut in the sides. We decided they would make a great train.

We found some photos of a steam engine (the original Polar Express, Pere Marquette No. 1225) and printed them out, then adhered them to the sides of the box. At Jonathan’s request (read: demand!), we added a smokestack and the very important cow catcher. Just the right size hole cut in the top allows him to climb in and be the engineer.

A few more prints turned another box into a tender, then more for a hopper car and a tank car, and we had a nice little freight unit going. I have to admit to a special advantage: the ability to print onto adhesive-backed vinyl, in essence making giant stickers.

Unwrapped diaper boxes make up the rest of the train now, along with a wire rack and a hand-held sweeper. (Anything makes a train, when coupled to something else!) One morning I went downstairs to find that he had loaded each box up with stuffed animal passengers. He’s had a great time playing with it. Ah, these are the days!

My son, Jonathan, has adorably said this since last September when he rode “George,” a mini train near our house. When everyone is on train and ready to go, the conductor calls out “All aboard!”Jonathan has now developed a new application of the term. A waitress at a local eatery tickled him in his high chair, and he loved it. She came back several times to tickle a bit more. As she would walk away, he started yelling “All Aboard!” as a way to tell her “tickle me more, please!” The next morning, he called “All Aboard!” over and over with me at breakfast to let me know I should tickle his feet some more. He is down there now, yelling it. Better go tickle!