BACKSEAT LEGO BUILDER

'You're doing it wrong' exclaimed Sage to his sister as he hovered over the new Lego table they received for Christmas and her new Lego set we purchased yesterday at the Lego store. I was surprised when I saw the Princess Elsa's Sparkling Ice Castle set as it was not scheduled for release in the States until sometime this month. Seeing how the girls both adored the movie and this was an educational toy rather than a typical 'pink aisle' toy, I bought the set for her and her sister as their New Year's present.

'Mama! Seena's doing it wrong!' he continued in a loud voice as I watched from the kitchen. He was visibly upset as his eyebrows furrowed and a scowl crossed his face. I was washing the dishes whilst observing this rather comical scene unfolding before me. Cinnamon remained calm for the most part as she went about her way, starting with the first instruction booklet. She will be the first to tell you she is not a builder like her brother but she is determined and I wanted her to expand her skills with this set. Sage wanted to help her, but she refused his help stating she could do it on her own.

At one point, Cinnamon called me over to help her with the second story. The arches did not line up and I told her to flip back in the booklet and try to fix it. I let her figure it out by herself whilst I returned to tend to the dishes. I heard her saying she just wanted to keep building despite the mistake. I told her that is not how it works and if you did such things in real life, you would mess up a building - and get fired.

Seeing her frustration, I walked over and analysed the structure. I decided it was simpler and quicker to take apart the entire top portion and rebuild it as stated in the instructions. Sage watched as I assembled Elsa's room with balcony in a span of five minutes.

'You're a good builder, mama' I heard him say. I told him he was also a good builder. He was anxious to start his set and was waiting all morning to have use of the Lego table. In effect I was helping both of the children but I really wanted to build something myself as well. I enjoy building and have the Lego Parisian Restaurant set sitting in a box in the garage waiting to be assembled.

Cinnamon continued with the set, moving onto the second instruction booklet. It took her until mid afternoon to complete it but she was also playing with the set along the way - putting the ice skates on Elsa's feet and then having both Elsa and Anna ride together on the skis. She put an extra arm on Olaf and exclaimed, as in the movie, that he was impaled. It was evident she enjoyed her new set and I was proud of her for doing such an awesome job completing it.

Sage and I worked on his puzzle whilst Seena built her castle. I sensed his growing frustration with not being able to find many fitting pieces and at one point he questioned my getting him a puzzle with so many pieces. This puzzle was not one I got him but I have increased the pieces count from 300 to 500 as a way of challenging him. I knew he could do it and knew he enjoyed building with me. As soon as I would walk back into the kitchen, he would stop building and resume the role of the backseat Lego builder.

He was excited to start his new set. As his New Year's present, he chose the Excavator and Truck set with 311 pieces. Within an hour, he completed the excavator. Since it was dinnertime, I told him he would have to continue the other two parts tomorrow. In retrospect, I should have had him build his set before Seena built hers but it wasn't so bad after all.

This first day of the year was a rainy one. We stayed indoors the entire day and worked on building a puzzle and Lego sets. Seena and Sage got to see and talk with their sister in Germany via Skype and later with nona and their aunt in California. All things considered, it was a nice start to the new year.