There are a couple of things my son absolutely adores: Trains and letters.

Trains. Not a big surprise right? I’ve mentioned this a few times. My mom lives near train tracks and when we’d go over to her house he’d look out the window and watch the train go by over and over and cheer for it each time.

When we went to Disney World he saw trains everywhere. To him, a roller coaster is a train, a tram is a train. Anything lined up in a row is a train. He sometimes will even line up his food and say “choo choo!” And he enjoys watching train videos on YouTube. Not the singing cartoon trains (though he loves those too), but REAL trains, just rolling on by.

He also loves letters. He points at letters everywhere and calls them out.

I’m forever surprising Lil’ J with princess dresses, art supplies, and things she loves. I thought it was time to give my little train-loving child a few surprises of his own.

A Real Train Ride

I can’t take credit for this one. It’s all grandma. When we visited Utah we went on the Heber Creeper Train and rode for an hour and a half through the valley and he was in heaven.

A talented fiddler played us songs in the boxcar, and we got snacks from the snack bar while we were in motion. I think it was his dream come true.

A Wooden Letter Train

After our train ride in Heber, UT I saw these magnetic letter cars in the gift shop. But at $6 a letter it would cost a ton for the whole alphabet. Later I realized I could have just picked out letters for his name.

Luckily I found a set on Amazon** that was even less and we got an engine and caboose with it. He LOVES this letter train. It’s possibly his favorite toy. The only problem is it doesn’t fit through the tunnels on his tracks and that REALLY frustrates him. So I keep it in his room most of the time and let him play with his regular trains on the tracks with bridges and tunnels.

My Very Own Trucks Personalized Book

I’m not high maintenance, but it takes a lot to really impress me sometimes. This I See Me book really impressed me. It’s not all about trains, but trucks and “things that go.”

But the first letter of Big T’s name was brought to the page by nothing other than a train.

Each page has a different vehicle or machine that starts with the corresponding letter of your child’s name. That truck (or train, or boat, etc) brings the letter along to spell out his full name which “lights up the night” at the end. Oh, and the little trucks also have his name on the side. For example “Ryan’s Rocket Explorer” might be one for a little child named Ryan. I’m trying not to blast his name all over the internet but it’s hard with this post! You can get a little peek of the cover of the book below.

There was also an excavator for part of his name, which before reading this book we’d been calling a “SNORT” (if you love Dr. Seuss you know what I’m talking about).

He loves pointing to all of the letters, plus the trucks, busses, trains and animals all throughout. Plus he (and I) loves the fact that his photo is at the front of the book.

Totally cute right? It’s called My Very own Trucks And Things that Go. You can buy one here or enter their photo contest to win a book + a $250 Pottery Barn Kids gift card (ends August 31st).

Reading is a huge part of my life and I want it to be something my kids grow to love as well. Finding books your kids love is one way to start, and I have a feeling this will grow to be one of his favorites.

Although I have more experience with princesses and frills, I’m really enjoying finding things my son loves that are helping us make fun memories together. From building huge complex train tracks around our playroom, to snuggling together with a book he loves about trucks and trains, I’m loving every minute of it.

What is your child’s favorite thing?

*A Thank you to I See Me for sponsoring this story, and for sending me one of my new favorite children’s books! Don’t forget you can enter to win your own copy here. As always, all opinions here are my own. 

** Denotes affiliate link.

Tags: big t, books, trains