Charlie had an incredible day in Glenbrook today!  After staying last night at a NZL "Motor Inn" (a.k.a. truck stop motel in the country), we woke up and rushed to meet Thomas the Tank Engine, Sir Topham Hatt ("The Fat Controller"), and their friends, in celebration of Charlie's birthday!  Though we were out in the countryside, we were shocked at how many families and kids showed up!  Glad we got there early!  Charlie got to meet Sir Topham Hatt as he grabbed his early morning coffee before the festivities.  Charlie and Liam then enjoyed an hour train ride through the countryside on Diane (i think?), stopping to take pictures with Percy (i think) and some train with a mustache...

Then it was time to visit Thomas - the climaxing event!  Charlie had his paci in his train engineer overalls pocket, just waiting for the opportune time to give his paci to Thomas.  In the back of our heads, we were running through scenerios, trying to think of the best way to get rid of it...and we just didn't know how it was all going to pan out.  Needless to say, we both did not expect it would end in his paci being burnt at the stake.  Literally, the train engineer threw his paci into the fiery combustion chamber, as he shoveled coals in with it.  Charlie's face was a priceless capture during this moment.  Something he talked about even before bedtime tonight - the images still running through is head.

We then had an amazing lunch at a cafe nestled amongst a flower and herb garden, where kids ran and played while we sipped on Flat Whites and Lattes, and met a retired NZL Consulate worker (literally, he had Murray's job in NYC in real life, back in the 1980s, to promote NZL tourism - you know - Murray from "Flight of the Conchords" - nothing like that character though).  After getting sand dumped on his head by a little girl in the sand box (thank goodness for his Thomas hat!) and a bully constantly knocking his Thomas hat off (to which Charlie's frustrated reply to the bully was "Stop!  I'm going to get sun-burned without my hat!)...I realized that I think there was just a lot of "Thomas hat envy" by the kids - I would hear kids point it out and ask their mummies for a hat like Charlie's.  Charlie loved running around with the kids, but more than that, he enjoyed picking mint, oregano and parsley leaves from the herb garden and eating it like a salad. And he enjoyed watching the bees pollinate the flowers...

Then we flew back to Wellington (Charlie did well the whole trip, but had a short meltdown in the airport, where he flailed and whaled, rolled on the floor...in line at the bag security check...as we literally drug him along the dirty floor...through the checkpoint...as the pilot behind us said..."and I thought my kid was the only one who did things like that."

So he finally got to bed tonight...but when we thought he was asleep, he opened and slammed the door...telling us how hard it was for him to go to sleep when he smelled us popping popcorn.  So he sat up and ate popcorn with us..til really late...

Oh, and how did Charlie do tonight without the paci?  Well, for a second, he panicked when he realized he didn't have it.  But when we told him that Liam didn't even have one, a light bulb went on in his head, and I think he realized that if Liam could go without it, so could Charlie...and he knew that he was now going to be 3 years old, and all grown up like mommy and daddy (and he is proving this more and more everyday...case in point, he pooped, wiped, flushed, washed his hands and brushed his teeth...all by himself tonight...well...98% by himself...daddy had to go back and ensure his wipe job was up to standard).