He really does a great job putting them together and has recently started making his own creations instead of just following the instructions. He will build them and then play with them using his imagination and has lots of vehicles and buildings. His favorite part of the Legos are the mini figures, or as he will call them "mini-figs". These are the people of Legos. So, there are policeman, firefighters, regular people, construction workers, etc. Then, because of his new love of Star Wars, he has lots of Star Wars mini figures - Chewbacca, Han Solo, stormtroopers, R2D2, C3PO, etc. He absolutely loves those people.
I have a love/hate relationship with Legos. I love that he enjoys putting them together and really love when he uses his own imagination to create new things and spends lots of time doing this. I love that he is bonding with Charley even more over Legos. And by this, I mean, he tells us constantly "I can't wait to show this to Charley" or "Take a picture of this to send to Charley". He thinks Charley is the Lego master! And this is partly because not only did Charley also love Legos when he was little, but he also has a huge container of Legos at Grandma and Pop's house that Atticus got to play with recently and he thinks it is the greatest thing ever! I also love that sometimes he lets Grace play with them too. She doesn't build things, but I love that he will actually share them. Of course, sometimes Grace breaks them (when she intentionally throws them on the ground) or plays with his setups, but mostly they play nicely together with them. He also spends some time organizing them in these compartmental boxes Grandma gave him. So, sometimes, this gives him lots to do!
However, I sort of hate them sometimes as well. Legos are a mess. Atticus has them all over the house and is always mid-build with them. It's funny because he mostly knows which Legos go with which type of creation and somehow keeps up with them. But, I am constantly needing him to pick up his Legos or move them or finding tiny pieces on the ground. And when he builds so many things, he doesn't want to put them in the big green box we have for him to store his containers. Of course, I understand they will get broken, so we had to find a display area for him...and we didn't really have anyplace in the house for that. But, we've managed for now. I also sort of hate them when they fall apart or he needs help with them and I don't have that exact moment to help him. I usually have to look through the instruction book again to figure it out and he is so insistent and then gets mad and then we have behavior issues to deal with. So, I love them, but they are a little more high maintenance than dinosaurs or animals!
Anyways, so overall Legos are great. But, for Atticus, if you combine Legos with Star Wars, it's like his current dreams are coming true!
So, this obsession with Star Wars is very funny to me. It started right after Christmas as well when Charley and Ana gave him his first Star Wars Golden Book (episode 4) and a Star Wars sleeping bag and some star wars figures. He started to get into this theme, but until just a few weekends ago, he had never seen any of the movies. So, it has been so funny to watch him pick up hints of what the movies are about, but not really know. He was learning more about the characters by watching YouTube videos of kids opening Star Wars themed toys and Legos. And, he would ask Charley and Pop questions. But, that was the extent of it. So, when Charley came that weekend, he went into FULL ON Star Wars mode. He asked Charley a million questions, especially once Charley gave him two more Star Wars Golden Books. And he wanted to build all kinds of Legos. And, Charley brought the entire 6 episodes of movies. So, Saturday and Sunday, Atticus got to see Episode 4 & 5. And since then, we have watched episode 6 and 1. The best thing about these is that they are really safe. The two we have seen so far have not had any cussing except saying "hell" one time and not blood or gore or anything either. There is lots of shooting aircraft carriers and storm troopers, but what 5 year old little boy doesn't love weapons and bad guys vs. good guys at this point? So, there is lots of action and while Vic thought one of the movies had too much dialogue for Atticus, he surprisingly kept up with it. So, we are ok with Star Wars movies so far and I'm so glad because Atticus has been dying to see them! And, honestly, why can't movies be like that today? No blood, gore, language, sex, etc.....what a concept!
And finally, the funniest thing about Atticus's Star Wars obsession? It has rubbed off on Grace! She knows, for a 3 year old, just as much about the characters as Atticus. If you ask her, her favorite is Chewbacca or Princess Leia. She sometimes has the character toys in her dollhouse or in her setups with her ponies and Minnie Mouse and her princesses. She likes to talk to Atticus about Star Wars. It's hilarious! A couple of days ago, I even heard Atticus quizzing Grace about Star Wars characters and their weapons and ships and clothing. And she was answering him! Also, over that weekend, I bet she pointed to the characters in the book and on Atticus's birthday gift bag 30 times to ask who each one was or tell us who they were. And the one she asked the most was...Bobo Fett. This means nothing to anyone unless they know Star Wars, but pretty much if she asked, you didn't even have to look, you could just answer Bobo Fett. It was a new one that she didn't know before Charley and Ana came that weekend, so it was the newest for her to discuss. She also loves the movies and intently watches them. I am constantly questioning my parenting as I watch Grace enjoy Star Wars, but she loves it because Atticus does and I think it's ok. She's also so funny because she has different versions of their names such as "Obi Nobi" and "RD2" and "Wuke Kywakker" and "Dark Vader" and Atticus says "Storm Troopeters". Grace also loves BB8. And, if either of them see something Star Wars related, they are equally excited and Grace is so excited to show Atticus because she knows he loves them. Even playing outside today in the water, Vic said they were pretending to be Star Wars characters!
OH! One more quick thing: Atticus will talk about the Dark Side where Darth Vader belongs and must have just decided if the bad guys are on the Dark Side, then the good guys are on the Bright Side. So, it's funny to listen to him talk about Star Wars and incorporate the Bright Side in his stories.
So, it is all entertaining and this Star Wars & Legos hobby of Atticus's is a good one. So, thanks Charley!...at least most of them time
