"We are eternally grateful!"

We have fever around here. Toy Story and Thomas the Tank Engine fever to be exact. Behold the madness:

Who could possibly be missing? 
(By the way, does he care that they are all different sizes? Of course not.)

(Regular "wooden" Thomas and mini "take-along" metal Thomas in bucket)

Did Liam hit the lotto? Not exactly. We do admit to purchasing three or four items, but never in a million years considered making a collection out of any of it. Thanks to the generosity of family and friends, Liam has acquired a pretty fun collection of both practically overnight. Along with the extra space in our living room, we are sure to have some fun playgroups in the cold months down the road.

The Thomas table and collection was generously donated by his cousins two weeks ago. He now has two sets, one metal (which was given to him on his birthday this year) and one that is wood.

And the Toy Story, loot? Well, about three weeks ago, Liam lost his Woody. He used to be SO good about keeping it with him at all times and holding on to Woody's hat for dear life. That day he somehow got distracted (I did, too) and he left them unattended. I saw him empty-handed as we were walking out of the store and I asked him about his Woody and Buzz. We ran back, but only found Buzz. This was the first time we had ever lost anything while being out. It really broke my heart and I nearly cried in the store as he called out for his beloved Woody, "Where are you? Come here, Woody!! Woody!!!" Then, in the car, he cried and cried, "I want my Woody! Don't drive, mama! I want to look for him!" I couldn't help but cry with him. I called Bill (who tried his best to calm him down) and he told me to go to Toys R Us immediately to get it replaced. There was no Woody doll alone, but one sold alongside with Rex. My mother was with us and graciously bought the set for him. Since then, for pity's sake, the collection has grown.

I can't think of any figure that could be missing, except maybe Hamm and the aliens. I have a plastic, pink piggy bank in storage in the basement that could work as Hamm and Liam has been bugging me to dig it up for him. In the meantime, he has plenty. We, including Liam, are plenty grateful, too.

I hope our little Liam knows how much we all love him "to infinity and beyond". To my friends and family: "You have saved our lives" (okay, our wallets)! "We are eternally grateful!" (Okay, okay enough cheese. I promise.)

Seriously. You may wonder if he might be just a little bit spoiled. We honestly don't think so. Really. He just got super lucky. In all honesty, he would still rather hang out in the backyard helping me to water the tomatoes and herb garden, help me with nearly all of my chores (or at the very least keep me company while I do them), help Daddy doing repairs around the house, read his books, draw, color, paint, or watch The Book of Mormon animation DVDs over anything even remotely related to Toy Story or Thomas (or any of his other toys for that matter). He's a good boy. For this, we are truly grateful.