Brady's ability to perfectly follow 40-page instruction manuals and build incredibly complex 1000 piece creations amazes me. He can spend hours working on something, making it "just right."
Of course, Legos are much more than instructional fun - they mean ceative, inspired and unique play. The post-instruction construction is my favorite! This is when the boys sit quietly for VERY long stretches of time ;-) and work on their own masterpiece creations, carefully choosing the perfect pieces from the vat of Legos that now live in our living room.
As a kid I never really cared about Legos, and frankly I don't really enjoy sitting and working with them now. That said, thanks to their ability to keep my boys' brains occupied and creative (and their mouths relatively quiet) for extended periods, I am now one of Legos Biggest Fans!
The other day Parker spied a small Lego toy that I had bought for Danny's 4th birthday. (On a side note, check out this GORGEOUS pix that Crystal James took of the BFFs at Danny's party last Friday afternoon!)
Cutie pies, eh? Anyway, Parker quickly corrected my purchase telling me that Danny already had that one. Oh, no wonder I thought he would love it! I set it aside, and figured I could pass it along at a later date.
Parker did not forget. He stalked that Lego box day after day. One Friday two weeks ago he came home and BEGGED me for the Legos. Incessantly. So I made him a deal. If he wanted to have the Legos he could earn them. He needed to clean up all the toys in the house (living room, basement and his room) AND he needed to pooper-scoop the backyard!
I honestly didn't think he'd go for it. But, then again, I admit that I don't quite understand the pull of Legos. That boy worked tirelessly for a half hour in the backyard, carefully scooping dog poop with his little sand shovel. With minimal help from Mom, he filled a big ol' bag of poop and then set straight to cleaning up toys - with a huge smile on his face!!
The house I grew up in had two garage doors. They were not automatic. Every morning and every night someone had to manually open and close them upon coming or going from home. For many, many years Michael and I were the automatic garage door openers. When asked why we couldn't get an automatic one, Dad had once replied, "That's what I had kids for!"
You're a wise man, Skip. Lesson learned.
P.S. My parents got an automatic garage door opener after I left for college!
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