To Leif, the ultimate expression of someone else’s love for him is their enthusiasm (and commitment of time) for building, creating, & exploring WITH him, in his world. Â Of course, what Leif is into changes as he does. Â Currently, this could mean enacting scenes from Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson (his new FAVE movie), playing spy, drawing or building legos (and rough housing, of course…this activity never leaves the top five list).
Dan and the boys busy building legos
So, here’s Dan…who is so very good at the art of connecting with Leif just where he is at, regardless of what it is. Â I know that mama’s and dad’s play very different roles in our children’s lives, but I have to admit that I envy Dan’s ability to do this. Â It’s so hard for me to ignore my magnetic pull towards the undone dishes and unprepared meals and to just STOP, sit down, and play.
But, this post isn’t really about that. Â I’m actually feeling pretty good about my special time with Leif these days. Â We began taking piano lessons together, which has been a joy. Â We do lots of art and sewing together (Check out those cozy pants he’s wearing! Â My first ever item of clothing made from a real pattern. Â Material recycled from the scrap bin with waist band and cuffs made from some fabric Dan brought back from his travels in Africa-Leif’s choice!) This post is just to say that I noticed how thrilled Leif was when Dan spent hours this past weekend building legos with him.
The star wars space ship, reinvented
Leif covets the space ship he and Dan created together. Â It sits on the shelf above his top bunk along with the other “Kai can’t touch” items.
Searching for just the right piece
And, even though Kai can’t touch Leif’s space ship, he’s learning to build ones of his own…
Kai's little space ship
Later in the day, after the major lego-building event took place, Leif was on a play date with a friend. Â When I checked in to see how things were going, Leif asked if Dad was home, because if he was, he wanted to come home too…to play more legos together.
Love this post! Harry’s also very good at *just being* with the girls whereas I always seem to be thinking about my to-do list. -Jean