You know Gordon & Henry and Rosie & Percy....

....but do you know the most famous engine of all? Thomas the cheeky engine...

Ok, if you are not a parent of a 3 yr. old boy or have not been around my son Jonah, you may have no clue what I am talking about. If any of these names are frequently used in your house, then you probably have a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine living in your midst. Yes, Thomas is HUGE in Jonah's life. He knows each engine by name and can recognize them instantly. This obsession of his had me stop and do some counting the other day as we played:25 engines, 20 coal cars or other cars, 11 vehicles/other non-engine friends of Thomas. Yes, we really have that many! That isn't even mentioning the tracks and buildings that we also have in our house! Granted, we haven't purchased him all of these since he's received some as gifts and he has added to his collection probably for about 2 years, but at an average of $5-$6 an engine...well, you do the math. I will admit that although sometimes his Thomas-itis gets overwhelming, I don't think this is the worst toy to get addicted to. He loves playing with them and it really encourages his imagination as he has the engines all interact together. So, I'll continue to tolerate more Thomas in our lives and enjoy his fascination with him. Although I will say, great marketing and appeal to little boys (or even girls) like mine? Yes, I definitely think so!!