Still a Car Kid!

I think the obsession started last summer. I remember the Guthrie County Fair when Carter didn't put down Lightning McQueen one time that entire day. That's when we first noticed the obsession with cars and all forms of transportation. I'm definitely not complaining and in a way, I think it's pretty cute. But recently I've been really watching and paying attention to how Carter's play time is spent. Day in and day out, he is perfectly content to sit and play, even for an hour at a time, with his cars, trucks, trains, and tractors. Even with two cabinets full of toys, books, puzzles, and games, he would choose something with wheels every. single. time. Although he loves playing with his cousins, after awhile he'll find a quiet place and drive his cars along the edge of the table. At the park, his favorite thing is to push his cars down the long, twisty slide. In the bathtub, we drive cars along the edge of the tub. In the mornings, he drives his cars along the side of his crib. We take at least one car to Hedy's house every day. And we sleep with at least one car every night. When we ask him what he dreamed about, he almost always says "cars." And I always have at least one car in the bottom of my purse. We have more cars than we know what to do with.

More recently, his cars have formed personalities and the ability to talk to each other. I've overheard Carter's cars say things like this:

"No, I don't want to go yet. Just one more time."

"Okay, Mater, one more time."

Or "Hi, Tractor. I'll save you!"

"Thanks!"

Or my favorite: "Let's go home, McQueen, I miss my mommy."

Maybe someday it will be Spiderman, or Batman, or basketball. But for now, the obsession is any form of transportation.

On Monday night, I took some random pictures of what Carter was doing to entertain himself from 5:30 - 7:00 (which exception of dinner, of course).

McQueen showed the tractor how to use the car elevator and go through the carwash. His dumptruck saved another car from a fire in the firehouse.
Thomas the train went under tunnels (the table) and on bridges (the chairs) and eventually took a perilous fall down a huge hill (the steps).
His blue train derailed in an attempt to save Coco, his dearly-named orange train.
And even when his mother tried to get him to do something else, like make cookies, the dumptruck was nearby to assist in any way possible.
Carter loves life-sized things with wheels too. This is what it looks like when Carter gets himself ready for a bike ride. No seatbelt and the cover thrown over his head. Notice the train in the seat next to him? And...on a side note...the first belly picture. There's a baby in there! :)