Should Thomas be from Finland?

What makes turning 2 so very much fun?
Thomas the Tank Engine™, that’s the one!

Last weekend, we attended a birthday party for our little neighbor, Damian. The invitation was non-specific, but when I asked his mama what sorts of toys interested him, he said that the party would be Thomas the Train. However, she begged that we not bring gifts, saying her mother had already spoiled little Damian, and they were keeping things very simple because they are moving in two months.

Well! *shakes head* I couldn’t not bring a gift. After all, he’s two. He needs something for turning two! So, I decided to make a quick plate of cookies for him instead. I made just a partial dough, and I had enough for 16 cute trains. It was a very quick thing, and I didn’t actually look up Thomas to try to make them “perfect.” Instead, I just went with what I remembered to be the signature “Thomas colors.”

But do you know what was really the best gift ever to ME? Seeing little Damian’s face absolutely light up when he saw the platter of cookies! He proclaimed, “Thomas! Thomas!” as his mama set the plate on the table near the cakes. He grabbed a cookie so fast, and within moments, he was blue-lipped from the icing. In fact, when it came time for cake, he grabbed a couple more, two-fisting the cookies with one in each hand! They were fairly large cookies, and he put away three in the time we were there! I *so* wish I’d brought my camera to the party and been able to snap a picture of him enjoying my cookies.

(I felt a little bad for another guest, the lady that had made three different sports-themed cakes for his party. Damian never ate or even wanted a single piece of cake – oops!)

Also recently, I made up a special little care package for Marissa, and in it, I included these very LARGE cookies:

Finland Flag cookies.

We had recently tripped to the Scandinavian Heritage Museum here in town while my parents were visiting, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a slew of Finnish things. You see, Marissa has Finnish heritage, and she proudly flies a Finnish windsock at her front door. (Well, she did, until the winds tattered it to shreds!) I picked up a little magnet, a vinyl cling, and the most darling little shirt for my special, almost-niece Lily:

(picture from Marissa)