Keeping Macen Occupied

With most of Shantel's attention focused on Maddox these days, I've been trying to come up with ways to keep Macen occupied.  We've started going for runs where I push him in the Bob Stroller and that's a hit, but his attention span even with the videos on the iPad lasts only about 5 miles and I like to run longer than that on most days.  What seems to have been the best idea for both me and him is the introduction of Star Wars Legos.  He is still a little small for them but he does help me put them together and then he does spend several hours in pretend play with them.  I let him keep them for a couple of weeks and then we hang them from his ceiling with Macen directing where they get hung and who's chasing who.  I provide some input but the final decision is all Macen's.  Here's the results of the last couple of months.

The Episode III Battle of Coruscant

He stares at them when he goes to bed and makes shooting noises and sometimes tells me which ones get shot down.  He is fascinated by them.

Macen and  I think we need more legos, especially the larger capital ships.  Mom thinks we have enough.  It's a good thing I've found a website that has people selling used sets so I don't have to spend too much.  That keeps Mom from getting too grouchy.

A word of warning.  Don't let Macen hold the camera as you make a tweak to the legos hanging from the ceiling.  You never know what he might do with the it.

I think we have a budding photographer, he just needs to work on his subject matter.  My backside is not that photogenic.

Star Wars Legos

It's a poorly kept secret that I'm a Star Wars Geek. I've been waiting several years until Macen was old enough for us to start putting together Star Wars Legos together. I finally decided to take the plunge in order to distract Macen after Maddox was born and I'd heard several guys on the street with boys Macen's age say they had started putting them together.

Macen helped me a little bit as I put together Darth Vader's Tie Advanced but I was pretty much on my own for the X-Wing.

The plan all along was for Dad to put together the regular size Star Wars Legos and then hang them from the ceiling in Macen's room. Macen wasn't supposed to play with the regular ones, instead he got Star Wars Mini Legos that he could play with. Well Dad didn't have fishing line in Germany, he must have left in the States with the rest of his hunting and fishing gear, so it took a little while to get some from Amazon. In the meantime Macen caused Dad to have several heart attacks by breaking both the X-Wing and Tie Fighter numerous times as he played with them. Luckily I was able to put them back together with only losing one small unimportant piece to the X-Wing (it's around here somewhere).

It's not quite the Episode IV chase scene (Shantel I need 2 regular  TIE Fighters for that) but I think it looks pretty darn good.

4 hours to put two both together; 60 minutes to hang them "just right".  All worth it to hear Macen say "That's cool, Dad!!!"

I wonder what he'll say tomorrow when we go to Legoland Germany.  I also wonder how many more kits I'll just have to have from there.