Matthew's Ships

I have a feeling that as I get older and the memories in my brain get fuzzier and fuzzier- I am going to forget some things I loved most about my kids.  I know that I am going to remember a lot of the BIG moments, but what about the memories that will help me define a certain age or phase they were in?  Matthew is three and a half and I can say with absolute certainty that his favorite thing in the world right now is Legos.  He plays with them all . . . day . . . long.  Most of the Legos are Michael's but his Lego phase was short lived.  Luckily- I held onto all of them and Matthew gets to reap the benefits!

He calls his masterful creations ships.  They are never built the same way twice.  Each guy on there has a specific purpose and God forbid you try and fix it for Matthew and put him on the wrong part of the Lego or put on the wrong helmet!  He has such an imaginative patience for these ships and I love it.  Not only does it occupy him and free me up for a good chunk of time, it provides him with hours of imaginary play and Michael and Matthew have kind of bonded around the Lego building process.

The downside to Legos???  They break easily.  And it just so happens that we are lucky enough to have our very own resident Lego smasher!  Emily is the best at this undesirable skill.  The kid can get to one of Matthew's Lego ships in nothing flat and before you know it, you can hear the multitude of pieces hitting the ground followed by Matthew's hysterical cry.  Hmmmm.  I like to think that Emily is just bring curious.  I really do.  In fact, I thought this for the first few weeks of the smashing.  But I have to be honest that Emily is just on a mission to frustrate and destroy anything Matthew has!  So what is the solution?  There isn't one.  I tell the boys that if they don't want Emily to destroy their creations, put them up high on their dressers.  But they don't remember which brings us to the inevitable smash.  I took the Legos away for a day last week and I swear Matthew was having major withdrawal symptoms.  I found him several times trying to sneak into the Lego container and even found him in the bathroom saying he had to go #2 when it was obvious he was just playing with toys in the bathroom.  Must be a guy thing.

Anyway, I know I will always remember this phase of both Matthew's young life and my parenting career as the 'Lego Smash Phase'.  Maybe one day Emily will enjoy the building process of the Lego club rather than always being part of the demolition crew.  I know Matthew would love that!