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.
Ali,
Here is a little suggestion with the legos: If Simon really likes this assembled piece and you think he will want to keep it and play with it as is, you can superglue the pieces together. I know it makes them unusable for taking apart and rebuilding into other things, but if (and when) the ship starts to come apart, it is SOOOO hard to put back together. My husband did this for my boys on some of the big expensive pieces they got when they were little and at first I was not too happy about it, but as time went on (and they played with some of the pieces for 6-8 years), I was really happy that he had glued them! They were indestructible. We still had plenty of "pieces" that were not part of the kit that they could build with...just a thought! Also makes a nice piece to have around the new baby because it won't come apart so easily.
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That's so funny.... I saw the title of your post on my Bloglines, but the photos hadn't loaded as yet, and I was soooooo sure there would be a little pic of a beautiful baby girl!! I was thiking "man, how lucky are you.... a 4 and a half hour labour!!".
Those Star Wars kits are just amazing. I guess this is what I have to look forward to when my little man gets a bit bigger.
All the best for the next few weeks Ali.
Warm regards,
Cass H
Western Australia
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how fun! I love this story. My boys are 14 and 10 and it brought back fond memories of me building Lego sets for them. I used to love it!! and always found it amazing how someone figured out the whole process of fitting pieces here and there. Happy 37 weeks!!
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Well I've got a 19 yr old son that would love to be the one designing these sets. It's been a dream for him since he was 6 or 7. Not sure if it will happen but it is good to have dreams.
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Great job Simon and Ali! I'm sure there will be hours and hours of playing with that nifty lego set.
Sue
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Oh, Ali. We're put through the same torture (ha# but my husband is the designated Lego builder#yeah). Just don't let them "play" with it :) and all will remain well. That's really nice!!!
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What a sweet memory you lived with your son. Good on him for being so patient too! And wow that's a heck of a lot of pieces. I remember my Lego playing days with great fondness.
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I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THE BABY'S ROOM!! And great job putting the ship together, by the way! ;)
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Wow that is amazing. I don't know if I would have the patience to put that together. I am proud of Simon for sitting that long and patiently waiting for you to finish.
Can't wait to see the baby's room next week.
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Great job to both of you. My boys loved Legos and we purchased many sets. They would play for hours on the dining room table (the only place they were allowed!) Every January, after the boys returned to school, I would drag out all the sets and put them together in their original sets. I sometimes had to purchase extra pieces to complete what they had misplaced. What a wonderful memory for me! Thank-you Ali! By the way, I still have all the Lego sets, just waiting for the grandchildren to get older. Fun once again!
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ethan received two star wars lego sets for christmas ... he put one together himself (he's 7 also and it was for 9 year olds)i only helped a little bit. he left the other one at his cousin. he spent the weekend there, while i was at s.a.v.e. last weekend, and they completed it. next time i must use the cupcake organizational tool !
heres to a great week 37 !
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You mentioned earlier that you use a hard drive for your iphoto storage. How did you get iphoto to store on that hard drive instead of on your main drive? I would really like to do this with itunes as well.
Thanks!
Staci
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Been there done that...I have 2 boys that love Legos. My husband and I spent many hours helping to assemble the Millenium Falcon and much conversation was had. Legos make for GREAT family time!
Many wishes for you to Make Memories with Simon and Chris!
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OH MY GOODNESS!!! I have put that MTT together, too----twice!! I won't tell you why it had to be put together again...if you have many legos at your house, you totally understand!!! GREAT work---a big congrats---that's a big one!!! I know Simon will enjoy playing with that one---those tiny LEGO parts ought to be fun to deal with in 6-8 months with a crawler around!!! Fun times~ Thanks for all your inspiration~
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My son (now 25)did the same thing--wouldn't stop till it was done! Then at age 12 built compters from the ground up and wouldn't stop till they would run the latest computer game.
I wish I had pictures.
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Kudos to you, Ali! I have tried to put things together like that and I NEVER thought of being as organized as you! :) You are such a good mommy! Simon is so lucky! :) Kathy-Great Falls, MT
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My five and almost four year old only want to play with Star Wars Legos. They are very patient and will sit for hours working on them with me until they are complete. Unfortunately, it is not long after that my younger son destroys it. He is into destroying everything we make (hopefully that will pass). But it doesn't help at all with my patience to see 4 - 5 hours of work turned into nothing in a matter or 4 - 5 minutes. But the time we share putting them together is priceless. I would totally agree with keeping the instructions - we keep them in gallon ziploc bags.
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I'm touched that you spent so much time working with him to assemble the ship. I think you're a pretty awesome mom.
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Hi Ali, Love your blog. Question for you. I notice that most of the walls in your home are white. Is this by choice? I'm just curious.
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I too have had the fun of putting that ship together for an excited 8 year old. Go you!
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You rock mom!
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Woah, that looked complicated to build. Kudo's to you and Simon for building that. What a great thing for his eye/hand coordination!
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Great job Mom! You are among the ranks of so many wonderful Moms that have spent countless hours building or helping build terrific things that keep our boys excited and occupied! Kudos to you!
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Hi, Ali! This is funny because I just made a Lego house with my boys last night, though it was certainly not that involved. It was fun! Good memories.
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sooo funny...just spent the day doing the same thing with the AT-TE Walker that our five year old son got for Christmas. We have spent four hours just getting through the first book. It will be at least a two day experience. I was thinking the same thing about how the design the stuff. Such clever people to convert an idea into reality. Have a great weekend!
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