Saturday, January 20, 2007

the year of the lego

forget the chinese zodiac- this is the year of the Lego- smart son got a 9v Lego train set and lego crane and lego tie interceptor. I bought him his first set of small legos when he was 3 and we have been going strong ever since. I have to say my love of legos is probably one things that well qualifies me to be a mother of boys (not that girls can have equal lego prowess- I mean after all I am the supreme lego master of the house and I am a girl) but I do believe my love of legos will create a bond of play between me and my sons for many years to come. I am competitive in few things and I take my lego building seriously. There was quite a bit of trash talk over Christmas as smart daddy-o (yes mechanical engineer) I were intensely engaged in the building of the lego Santa Fe engine-and I am sure it comes as no surprise to any of you that I still reign supreme as the master lego builder in our home. This is a family fact. (although still disputed by wanna be smart daddy-o) Evidenced in the fact that I was recently invited to be the building supervisor for the tie interceptor and in the words of smart son "Mom, you can help me because you are the best lego builder in our family, and dad can clean up the vomit in the car because I think he would be the best in the family at that" (after smart baby and smart son got coughing so hard they both vomited in the car on the way to the drs)
I know many moms who hate legos because of their inherent messiness and tiny pieces. I had to laugh as I was at the lego store picking bricks from the brick wall and many moms were talking about how once their kids built something with legos they wouldn't let anyone touch them and cursing the tiny pieces; all this as I am shaking down our pick-a-brick box to fit just a few more singles in the remaining cracks extolling the virtues and possibilities of each piece to smart son. We have the reverse problem both my boys and husband once they build something want to disassemble it, add to it, or make it into other things (it is that spatial/engineering gene) and seriously I can't deny that type of play. I actually encourage it- yep it is the teacher in me.

lately I have been doing a series of monochromatic themed vehicles
here are a few from our "mother son building time" as smart son likes to call it

the all terrain tank for the sandy planet tatooine
Blue and yellow train platform for the mighty santa fe
the red samurai warrior vehicle inspired by Night of the Ninjas magic treehouse book
the white hothmobile (inspired by the snowy planet on return of the jedi- you should see my skilled ton-ton impersonation!- remember when they went out on the rescue mission- this could have saved the poor tonton from freezing!)
yellow and black bee mobile- used for collecting nectar and honey
green lantern mobile- inspired by the superhero stamps for birthday invites
imperial spy (laying down) seriously this was a great creation
the ice mobile- made almost entirely of clear blocks- also good for the planet hoth

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE legos. My 2yo calls them "byocks" and will not acknowledge plain ol' wooden blocks (which I also love) as real blocks.

I'd rather pick up a million legos than listen to a talking/beeping toy that plays with itself all day.

I'd also rather let my husband clean up the barfed car. He is definitely the best at that. :)

You are terribly creative with the legos...VERY smart hothmobile.

smart mama said...

cym- you are welcome in my lego land anytime- Yah i am starting my 20 mo old early! amen to the legos anyday vs obnoxious toys!

Sabra at Sew a Straight Line said...

Totally love Legos, here, too. I love anything build-related. I can spend huge amounts of time laying out train tracks and the like. Much more patience for that than playing with action figures. So, in our house, Dad does the action figures stuff and I do anything that requires building and the like. But I also get the vomit...

Chellie said...

My kids have never been lego fans... seems strange almost. But for that matter, my 8 year old was completely uninterested in any sort of toy by age 5. He prefers computers, guitars, swimming and ALL sports.

Shelah said...

my kids are total lego freaks (evidenced by the two bins in the boys room that are constantly dumped all over the floor). Anyway, here's a lego video I thought you'd appreciate (don't let smartson see it though-- it's racy): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-tkqpHnxTI