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.
WoW! I am not a mom, and all I can say is, you ROCK! I would have been the one whining, for sure! LOL!
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my son loves legos.
We superglue each piece together so mommy doesn't have to rebuild it.
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i dont care what they say ive never put together a set that wasnt full of tiny tiny pieces and that takes a team of adults to do lol. Great idea with the tins though, it turned out super cool.
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Ali, I totally know where you're coming from. My DS(almost 5) received a castle LEGO set for Christmas ("age 7 & up"). I spent most of Christmas morning and afternoon putting the thing together. Not two days later, Dad accidentally tripped on it and broke part of it. I put it back together. A couple weeks later sister accidentally sat on it. I still haven't put it back together. Maybe this weekend. He does love playing with it though.
And I had the exact same thoughts as you as I was going step by step through the booklets. Someone had to figure this out and then draw it up and then put in the exact sizes of LEGO in each box. It was quite cathartic, too. Hope Simon continues to enjoy playing with it and no one "accidentally" trips on it and breaks it. :)
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Amazing. Happy Belated Birthday Simon :-).
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Good work Ali. I'm currently 21 weeks pregnant and my patience for anything has evaporated (and usually I like making playmobile models and so on) so you have my complete admiration!
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Isn't it great when us women can play with our sons? It takes you into a whole new world! I spent 3 hours yesterday with my 5 year old counting all the Thomas the Tank Engine trains we have and building the Island of Sodor as many different ways as possible! I love getting to look into their heads doing things like that! Congrats on 37 weeks! Being pregnant is a wonderful thing that I definitely miss and after 5 years hubby and I are finally trying for number 3.
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Wow. I have 3 little boys that would LOVE to have that ship. But, I am not as good of a mom as you. :-)
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I can completely relate to the LEGO building - my son spent 2 days building his ship for xmas and loved every minute of it. occasionally I'd be called for help and I was amazed that someone actually thought of this and how to put it together - very clever. Oh, and i was cross eyed for the few minuted I helped out.
Leanne Stamatellos
www.leannestamatellos.blogspot.com
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That did turn out cool. Sometimes looking at the whole thing can be overwhelming. I had that feeling when I dumped all the parts out of the box to put together my 2 yr olds kitchen for Christmas. EVERYTHING had to be put together. It turned out great & I was pleased that I put it together myself. When I first started my 6 yr old came into the room and said, "Wow mom you have a HUGE mess!" I sorted everything out & then started reading.
We have a very small replica of that Lego ship & my advice is to keep the directions in a file folder for future reference. My DH used to collect Lego kits & since our son has started getting some we've added to the file folder directions.
Hooray for Simon not breaking down for 4 1/2 hours. That's fabulous. And you guys got some really great Mom & Simon time in before the baby comes.
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My son is totally begging for one of these ships. He's two weeks away from turning 6 and he doesn't leave many lego creations assembled and I believe I would only want to build the thing once.
You're an awesome Mom. And having two is not nearly as tough as I though it would be. Have a great weekend!
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This brings lots of memories--it was pirates here--I think we still have them in the attic--my daughter will be 26 soon! :)
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What a deja vu post. "We" got 11 (count 'em-11!) LEGO sets of varying sizes and degrees of difficulty for Christmas. Our 6 1/2 year old son would not rest until we had put them all together. He does some on his own, the age-appropriate ones. What I can't believe is that we didn't get the unit you assembled. How'd we miss that? Man, LEGO's got it GOIN' ON!!
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I'm impressed! You should definitely consider a trip to Legoland in San Diego (actually Carlsbad, North County) - it is very cool and you would appreciate the "art" of Lego. They also have a wonderful baby/toddler play area and we've spent many days just hanging in there.
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I, too, have often thought about the people who designed the lego sets. I would love to meet them and be able to have a conversation. It would be so cool to see into their minds a bit.
Congratulations on your success with the ship. I have 2 sons, 7 and 5, and lots of legos have been assembled in our house!
Have a great weekend!
Marty
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oh my goodness, yours has ours beat! Evan who is six received the King Arthur MegaBlox castle and bridge for Christmas. Over 700 pieces total :-0 Crazy!! But fun :0)
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Hi Ali,
Thanks for sharing this story....until recently I thought I followed your blog so religiously for the scrapbooking tips/tricks/ideas.
I now realize that it is so much more! Thank you for all of the many ways you inspire. Even with a lego story. OK-at the risk of sounding over the top--It is almost as if you are in ministry with your blog!
thanks for all of the nuggets of inspiration!
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LOL! Ali this made me smile. Luke is desperate for a big lego star ship like this but he's only just turned 4 and so I am always trying to to deter him for this very reason.
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Wow! You get the cool, patient Mom of the year award. That looks really complicated. Good for you both! (And Yay! I can't wait for pics of the baby's room!)
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My 7 year old would be very jealous if he saw this at it is on his wish list. He tells me he is going to be a Lego designer when he grows up!
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Oh yay- how fun!! This is what I spent Christmas Day '07 doing- helping my 9 yr old make this- he was very helpful too. I really loved doing it. I could get hooked on Legos! I do wish they would package the pieces in bags that are relevant. I found that the pieces were bagged in a way that made no sense.
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My book is lego mad and we took him to legoland in Windsor UK where we got to look around the place they design and make the models for all their displays. It was totally amazing and mostly done on computers which is a real eye opening process to watch. Long may Simon love lego, my boy is 8 and has been into it since he was 5. His room is a shrine to the Lego cataloque! Did you know (at least in the UK) you can sign up to monthly lego magazines which the kids love to pour over. Happy future building and best of luck for the new baby.
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PS - I love the muffin tins - have to remember that for next time.
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Ali...what patience you have! Fabulous job with that Lego Ship! Will have to steal that muffin tin idea for our next big project!
I don't know if you've taken Simon to Legoland in Carlsbad, CA, but I think it would be a fabulous time! We've taken our boys out there three times (and we live in Minnesota!). The whole place is made out of legos! I think the coolest part is the central area "Miniland". There are replicas of New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Sydney, Australia, London, England. Anyway, you get the idea. And the rides there are SO kid friendly. Not scary at all! Plus, you can take a glance "behind the scenes" where the master builders put together their creations! Definitely keep it in mind once that baby gets a bit older! I'm sure Simon would be in his element!
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Wow that's incredible. I don't know if I could "do" legos for 4+ hours.
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