Totbooks revisited

Totbooks? Lapbooking for toddlers............

Well, my 2yo now has an obsession with trains ever since he saw one up close and a bit too personal at a friend's house the other day. Apparently, his obsession is a love/hate relationship. He gets very excited when seeing a train or talking about Thomas the Train, etc. But at night? That's where the hate comes in---he is terrified of SOMEthing at night and all he can say is 'train' or "I hear it!!!!!!" at the top of his voice. If we don't get him to sleep before the train goes thru town, he hears the whistle and runs TERRIFIED out of his bed. Last night, we left the light on and it was fine eventually--we don't even live close to the tracks, but we can faintly hear the sounds. I guess spending the night at our friend's house is out of the question [sorry, Becky!!].
Well, we've tried just about everything these last couple nights and even went down to see the trains yesterday [none were running, but some were sitting on tracks]. TODAY?!? Making a Thomas the Train totbook. She has several other totbooks that would be GREAT to do--but they require more hands-on from mom than I believe necessary for this age :) unless of course, you have no older kids or babies needing attention!!!!!
My solution? Well, for future books, my 8yo can take charge and be the teacher {which she LOVES, by the way}, but for this one my 4yo and 2yo are just teaming up with mom. The 4yo can cut most of the booklets and she is now coloring a few of the trains [since the 2yo is DONE for the day and ready to cut the scraps]. I did the number line and will cover it with clear packing tape for durability. I will be mounting the shape cards on some cereal boxes and covering those in packing tape as well. In fact, if this becomes his favorite book, everything is getting taped for added durability. I have old blue file folders, so I'm opting for blue instead of plain. And we'll set it up like she does on her site [except I always print on draft, so my colors aren't so bright and pretty]. Big Machines may be in our future--and maybe even Handy Manny since tools are a favorite of my tot also!!!
HAPPY TOTBOOKING!!!!