Friday, March 12, 2010

My Lego Invasion

Last weekend Toby "inherited" quite a collection of Legos from his father. We visited Oma and Opa for a long weekend. Without the usual gaggle of cousins to play with Toby had Legos as his constant companion. We brought a bag of them to dinner on Friday. We brought a bag along on the metro ride to the Smithsonian on Saturday. We brought a bag of Legos everywhere. Toby got two new Legos kits that we put together on Monday, which he kept close by for the drive home on Tuesday. BJ also included a red plastic suitcase full of his childhood Lego pieces in the trunk of our car when we left.
Since our return Toby has done almost nothing but play with Legos. This is fantastic. However, there are drawbacks. Before this weekend I could walk about my house with confidence, trusting that my stockinged feet would only encounter safe, smooth flooring. Now a day doesn't go by without my feet discovering a rogue Lego piece that was overlooked in clean up. Before this weekend Toby was content to work with his pirates setting up battles with Norah's Little People princess and animals during his quiet time. Now he's starting to draw me into the battles as a medic--he appreciates my sense of perseverance in making sure every Lego man has legs. (It's only fair, I think, for the Lego people to have legs when they go into battle with the old Playmobile pirates.... we take things very seriously here!) And, of course, there's nothing like a "quiet time" with your kid digging through a plastic tub of Legos to find just the right piece. Toby got frustrated with this one night last week. His father's advice? "Toby, part of the fun in playing with Legos is trying to find the right piece." At least he hasn't thought of dumping them all out on the floor... yet.

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