And only four + a half hours later...
The giant Lego Star Wars box was opened as soon as Simon arrived home yesterday. It was definitely the first thing he wanted to do after he came in the door.
It was about that point in time when I looked on the box and noticed it said ages 9-14. Um, yep, I knew I was in for it.
Upon opening the box I was greeted to somewhere around 14 bags filled
with lego supplies. Lots and lots of small and smaller pieces. My first
task was to go in the kitchen and grab a couple muffin tins, cookie
sheets, and some blue cups because there was no way this task was going
to be tackled without some serious organization.
There were over 1300 pieces and two booklets. This photo right here was step 10. I think there were 60 some steps.
Simon's job in all this was simply not to whine and to help where he could. Amazingly, over the four + hours it took to put this ship together he did not break down once. He did ask if I was "done yet" a few times but no drama. He put all the little droids together - and practiced some counting as there were 23 in all. We had a nice little conversation as the afternoon and evening went along, talking about the legos, the baby, his birthday party, and school yesterday (they made a Chinese dragon that he was pretty excited about).
We took a little break for dinner and to put on jammies. And then it was finally done. It looks like this:
He didn't have much time to play with it before it was bed time, but it was a good start. I imagine tomorrow afternoon will be filled with some serious playtime. It's a pretty cool ship with lots of doors that open and close and three other small ships that go in and out (one carries all the droids).
I have to say that I liked the process. It's methodical and balanced and you just follow the directions...one small step at a time. As I was putting it together I was thinking that it's someones job to design these things and to figure out how all the pieces go together just right. Totally amazing.
Here's to a playful weekend at home and to 37 weeks tomorrow.
Coming next week: a Valentine minibook, a superhero giveaway, and a tour of the baby's room.
When my daughter was young she got all the Lego pirate sets - we always put them together, together. We would fight over who did what - it was so much fun. I loved it as much as she did. She saved all her legos and will someday do the same with her 5 yr. old Shane.
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Great job mom. In the near future you won't have that 4 1/2 'undisturbed' hours. Enjoy it now! I am sure Simon will love playing with his new ship.
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I had the pleasure of helping our almost 6 yr old put the Legos Aqua Raider Crab Crusher last Friday night. UUGH! Completely methodical, balanced, but wowsa, those lego engineers are pure genius. The super thing is even with some rough play, the whole ship holds up pretty well! Good job!
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Wow! That is some cool Lego! Happy Belated Birthday Simon!
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you are SO good. I though playmobil sets were involved.
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good work! wow that looks super complicated! I'm sure Simon will be more than thrilled to play with it today.
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Just a little heads up, from an experienced Lego assembler, hang on to those instructions! These tedious creations have a way of coming apart while playing with them....talk about drama! I often wondered if they were meant to be played with at all or just to be on display and looked at. Although, they are very cool!
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Ali, this post totally made me laugh. I love how methodical you were in both putting it together, and telling the stpry of it. Good for Simon too for remaining composed thoughout. My son is going to be 5 next month, and is on the spectrum. I brought a new lego set from Christmas to my daughters dance class this past Monday. It was so much more complicated than I had expected! I thout there was no wy all those tiny little peice would be part of the final truck - I was soooo wrong. Unfortunately, we (I) did not get it finished in the time of the dance class, and we had a slight meltdown when I told him we'd have to finish it later. Live an learn. Love your muffin tin idea! Enjoy your final days of pregnancy!
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Congrats on building the star wars "ship". I too have been faced with the very large lego sets - one Christmas holiday was spent building the space shuttle! Makes for great scrapbook pages!!
Have a great weekend Ali.
Deb
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You are an angel and a great mom! I have done the same thing and NOT looked at the age and got home and knew I was in trouble. My son is now 14 and he always liked 'little' things (Bugs Life etc.) and he never put them in his mouth. He was 5 years old and we were living with my parents while we were building a house and he would play for hours with those small bugs and never once did we have to worry that he would put them in his mouth. I might just have to find that picture and scrap it:) Your post brought back that sweet memory:)
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Love it - good job. Brody likes us to get it organized and help him find the pieces but he has to do all the building. Probably better most of the time as he follows the directions better than we do.
Great job - happy playing with the ship day today!! Love LEGO.
Happy 37 weeks and Happy weekend.
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That's so cool! I remember one year when my son was 4 we got him a airplane lego set that was a bit too advanced for him at the time so I got the job of putting it together. My fingers where so sore when I was done but it was very rewarding. He played with the figures at the table the whole time I snapped the piecies together. I will never forget that Christmas.
It amazing the stories that everyone has about Legos. Someone could write a book.
"Chicken Soup for the Lego Soul".
Have a great weekend.
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what a task!!!
It looks great though, and I'm sure he'll have a blast tonight, and from now on, playing with it!
Looking forward to your posts next week!
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That is amazing feat to put one of those together Miss Ali! My husband and dear son put together the Harry Potter Hogwarts set and it took them several hours too. But it is totally worth it! I hope Simon has a great time playing with it!!
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OMG, Jason turned 6 last week and all he wanted was the Lego Indiana Jones set. Geeze!
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we've decided to display a few of our star wars lego creations.... falling apart and trying to put them back together again is just not always an option. hehe. good job in putting that beast together- i'm sure simon will love it! :)
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You go girl!!
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oh when i was a nanny, i spent hours with a sweet 7 year old boy building TONS Of lego things! it was so MUCH fUN! my back hurt after bending over for so long!
so happy you shared!
tara
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It looks fantastic and what a really special time for you and your son Simon.
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My boys (4 and 6) got lots of legos for Christmas, and my husband got a millenium falcon. He is still working on it, it doesn't even list the number of pieces, there are so many! I need to show my husband your pictures of organization! He was trying to keep everything in its bag as he went along, but I think he knows better now!
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Muffin tins - that is the best idea I have EVER seen! I am *almost* looking forward to the next big lego assembly project with that fabulous new tip in mind!
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I am in the midle of one myself with my 6 year old. You took the words right out of my mouth. Now to get my camera and follow the process. Thanks for the inspiration!
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I can so relate!
On my DS's 6th birthday in September, he received tons of LEGO sets, big & small. He loves the LEGO City, with the Coast Guard and the Police sets.
My BIL, sis and myself all got really into helping him put them together (DH was deployed or he would've been all into it too)! It took a very long time but it was time well spent to be together, to see the end product and see my DS so happy!
Happy belated birthday to Simon!
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Legos are very popular in our home. Star Wars and Indiana Jones pieces are all over my son's room. We have a "mini museum" of his completed works. Ali, I love how you used the muffin tins to organize the pieces. Wonderful idea!
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Wow. Good for you! I think I'm the one that would have had the breakdown. But the look on their face when it's finally finished is so worth it. Have a happy weekend!
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