Alex loves all modes of transportation. Two weekends ago found us in Walnut Creek, where there is a free shuttle bus (built to look like a San Francisco trolley) that runs between BART and downtown. We parked at BART, and rode the bus the eight blocks to downtown. Alex and dad stayed on the bus while mom went shopping. He loved it so much he talked about it all the rest of the day. We went back the next day and just rode the bus.
Knowing how much he loves seeing the BART train, riding the bus, or taking a car trip, I had to get the old Lionel train out this year. This is the first time in all the years we've had it that it's been set up under the Christmas tree. The original track belonged to my brother many many many years ago. When Dan was a boy we added to the collection, and built a permanent track (cleverly designed to fold up when not in use) on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. The plywood stayed behind many moves ago, but the track and train have accompanied us, packed up in a small cardboard box, for the last 15 years. This year, it's out of its box and Alex is in heaven. At 2 yrs old he is much too young for a Lionel, but he's been incredibly good about not touching it and simply watching it chug around and around the track.
We're anxiously awaiting the holidays here at our house. We'll all be home between Christmas and New Years, so a nice stay-at-home vacation awaits us. Liz arrived back from college yesterday, Kerry and Mark will be here early next week. All we're missing is our Jill, who is three weeks away from having her baby....3000 miles away.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
