What Would You Pack?

All day Tobin wanted to watch, "Choo-choo." I said, "After your nap."

After his nap he was to the point, "Choo-choo."

"Uh, actually buddy, I'm not really sure what 'choo-choo' is." How foolish of me to put so little stock in his excellent memory for post-poned pleasures.

The Princess bent down to him from up on the stool where she'd been drawing stacks and stacks of sparkling purple and pink pictures, "Tobin, did you want to watch Thomas?" Tobin nodded emphatically. Silly mom, of course, "Choo-choo". Now that I was enlightened, I turned on an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine. As the music started Tobin jumped happily. And because he's unaffected by intimacy with royalty, he grabbed The Princess's arm and looked into her eyes, "Avey, Avey Choo-choo!"

She was diplomatic to the core, "Oh yes Tobin! Choo-choo!" Then she turned to me, "Can I whisper you a secret?" She leaned and whispered conspiratorily lest anyone should hear, "I don't really think choo-choo's are that cool."

Tobin loves his backpack. It has dalmations on it and is a hand me down from the Larson's (friends from Wisconsin).

One time we were getting ready to go to the YMCA. Avery was packing her princess backpack with a variety of princess things. Tobin realized this was a good opportunity. He began packing his backpack with. . .well I wasn't paying attention.

We got to the Y where he would not banish the backpack to the van, but brought it into the childcare center. Later he hiked with it back to the van. Maybe it looked heavy, who knows, I still wasn't paying attention.

Hours later, at home, I was picking up the backpack and began paying attention..."Good grief, this is rather heavy. What's in here?" I unzipped it and this is what Tobin had packed: every single remote control we own (which is, like, six) and his Mr. Incredible figurine. That is what he dashed around the house finding, so he could lug it to the Y and into the Y and back home. Six remote controls and Mr. Incredible.

Tenley doesn't like to put things into a pack, she just likes to pack herself into things.