The "JAMES" Jar :)

One of Carson's favorite things to do with Grandma B is stop by a local toy store called "Crawdaddy's Toys" after she picks him up at Centaurus when I go to work. About two weeks ago, Carson enthusiastically pointed out a train from the Thomas Train series to Grandma and said "Ooooooooooh! It's JAMES! I want to buy James!". Grandma and Carson LOVE trains, and he can't wait to go over to Grandma and Grandpa's to play with the train table. Apparently, he really wanted James the Train.

James was $21.99. Grandma decided to start a "James Jar", where Carson could earn money for putting away toys, helping around the house, etc...

What a great idea! We brought the James Jar home, and Carson continued to earn "moneys" for cleaning his room and picking up toys in the bathtub. Heck--we even told him that we would give him moneys if he would sit at dinner one night when we went out in Denver...and he sat at the table for 2 hours and twenty minutes. Yup--TWO HOURS. This idea was MAGIC!!!

Grandma and Carson went back to Crawdaddy's and bought James when he had enough money in the James Jar. He was so excited last week!

Some other Carson imprints on the train table include a Dinosaur watering hole and a hippo area. :)

This is JAMES. Carson was so proud to show Mike and I that he had earned enough money to finally get his train. Well done, Grandma!

What a happy kid :)

What did we learn? 1) Never underestimate the importance of "delayed gratification" and 2) that rewards DO work--did I mention that he sat at Rodezio Grill for over 2 hours to make some moneys??? EVERYONE is happy!