"Anger, fear, aggression... the dark side are they."

I finally sat Opeie down today and explained the betrayal of his brother, trading in his super powers for a crumby Jedi lifestyle. Although he didn't quite understand i feel his response speaks a thousand words.

"In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play."

Seth has been asking me for a while if he can help with my blog because he likes seeing all of his  toys on the computer and he thinks that keeping a blog sounds fun. He said that when he is older he would like to write a blog about star wars! grrrrr...... like i said before Ive Lost him to the Darkside. "DAM YOU WILLIAM!!!" (shakes fist in the air!!!). I hoped both the boys would eventually start joining in and so far it seems to be going to plan.

Anyway over to Seth..... "I got the batmobile last week because Ive been a good boy and because i had some pocket money off my nanny Robson when we went to see her to take her some meals. The top window is easy to open and it came with a Batman figure  which was cool because he is wearing driving goggles. There is a button with the bat symbol on it for a grabber on the front to grab the Joker. When the wheels spin the fire on the back spins when it drives."

"The Batbike came with the Batcave, i use it for Robin but i have lost Robin at the moment he's run off to join the circus" (i love how he said that, after what happened to the rest of the grayson's at the circus i dont think he would be going back there in a hurry.)

"I like the goodies the best but the the baddies are my favourites as well and two face is one of my favourites because he's got half a bad face and half a good face. The Riddler is one of my favourites but i don't know why. Mommy likes the penguin because she likes his umbrella, she wants the Penguin submarine toy but they didn't have it at Toys R Us when we went."

"The Batcave we got from Toys R Us is quite cool because its got 3 floors ones at the bottom one in the middle and one at the top and its got a lift and the bat sign on the front lights up. There is a grapple hook gun. Its got a turning bit on it that opens the door. You can use the feet on the figures to open doors and the lift and a little gun thing that comes from out of the roof."

"When im playing with the Batcave i like to put the baddies in the jail on the back. Ive got 3 batman figures and i like to pretend that each one thinks their the real batman and they get angry with each other. Ive got 1 robin. ages ago Pauly was the Joker and he had 2 figures and pretended that one of them was a robot joker to trick me."

"Opeie has got a Batcave too and we like to put them next to each other so that we can play together, it's got a slide and a garage on it for his Batmobile and do you know? we got it from America in Florida. I got some Lego batman stuff that day."

"My Batcave has got a door on the side for Robins motorbike and the door on the front is blue."

"If we win the bat helicopter on eBay i want to write on the blog again, i would also like the the jail playset with bane, the jokers fun house, joker tank, and the penguin submarine so mommy can play with me."

Well there you have it, all you needed to know about Seth's Imaginext Batcave, it made a nice change lying on his bed with him before he went to sleep writing this and it's made me want to jump on eBay and buy that Batcopter just so we can do it again and i know that Mrs M will feel the same about the Penguin Submarine so Mommy can play with him.

I think i will definitely be making this a once a week thing as i love hearing what he has to say about his toys he's such a kind and sweet boy and i cant wait for his brother to get a little older so he can join in too.

Updated 19/6/12

  

Turns out that the missing Robin was actually with a missing Batman that we had forgotten we had. The two fearless crime fighters were overseeing the construction of their new underground Batcave that is being built under Arkham Asylum (For anyone out there with no imagination they were under the sofa). 

 

"When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry"

Mrs M says that Mother's day is her favourite day of the year and i totally get why, it's Fathers day today and although birthdays and Christmas are fun, having a day that celebrates everything i love about my life is amazing. When i was younger i didn't get it and selfishly thought it was unfair that 'dad's got a second birthday every year'. Needless to say i completely understand now.

Presents are definitely not important its more about the acknowledgement of what us dad's do on a daily basis, but saying that i still woke up to a pile of presents from the boys and Mrs M. My favourite was my Yo Gabba Gabba Muno "Mustaches are important" tshirt. Because they really are.

 I also got 2 boxes of Super Hero Squad Iron Man Boxes for my collection, it made a super geek very happy. My ever expanding collection for Opeie is coming on quite nicely. See you were expecting maybe squirrel girl and Odin wept! Not... wait for it... the Santum Sanctorum!.

 

Im always saying im running out of new backgrounds for my toy photo's so Mrs M and the boys brought me these new posters which have already come in handy for the super hero squad pic. I know that these days you can just photoshop an image in but i love that all my pics are used with things around the house.

Well its only midday now and Opeie is fast asleep on Mommy's lap shattered from all the Fathers day excitement. I love this day so much but if im completely honest both Mrs M and the boys treat every day like its Fathers day and i hope that Mrs M feel's exactly the same about us. I feel so lucky to have the three of them in my life. I have never felt so loved and they make every day the most amazing adventure.

"I've never let my school interfere with my education."

I hated school (well secondary school anyway), I couldn't stand being there but i did love getting new things, usually at the start of the school year. When i was in infant/primary school it was getting a lunchbox or bag. Things haven't much changed the only difference is I'm now getting excited about finding fun things for the boys.

Seth needed a new lunch box and i had spotted this a couple of weeks after he had started the school year. This was delivered yesterday and he hasn't seen it yet but I'm sure he will be very excited when he is carrying his lunch to school in it on Monday morning. Id have been chuffed if this had been my lunch box back in the day. I have considered buying a few more to store my loose Super Hero Squad Figures.

"I am Iron Monster, Superhero of the laundromat"

Opeie loves Sesame street, personally im more of a Yo Gabba Gabba kinda guy but Sesame street is a close 2nd. Every now and again the show will come out with a funny sketch and today Mrs M stumbled upon this Spider-man parody sketch called 'spider-monster' which being the Marvel geek that i am i obviously loved. 

I also found this Iron man parody a while back which is from the Sesame street: Iron Monster and Sesame heroes dvd which i am yet to get my hands on despite desperately searching about for it while we were in Florida. I'm sure ill find it at some point though. Enjoy.....

"Hey, Myers, you're a talker. What's a good word, a solid word for "need"?

A few weeks back i wrote the post "Look sammy im not a very good shot but. . .", i had started the B.P.R.D Buddies collection to go with Opeie's super hero squad figures but was having a problem finding the last 2 for the collection. Yesterday our postie bought me these. I managed to find them in the US and a lot quicker than i was expecting (and as i said in my previous post i was obsessing about them a little).

There's something quite satisfying about completing a collection, but once one is out the way it get's me thinking about whats next on the horizon.  Ive been debating a Marvel legends collection but it would be pretty epic as there are a ridiculous amount of figures, i guess Ive already started it really though as Ive had the fantastic four and super Skrull for a couple of years (which I'm sure i will write about soon).

"You underestimate the power of the Dark Side!"

Coming to terms with a loss can be a really difficult thing to go through, sadly for the past few month's i have been living in denial. Its been a rough time for me but ive been dealing with the jolt on a day to day basis and am now slowly coming to terms with the fact that i have lost my eldest to the darkside!!

Since Seth has started school he and his friend William have been inseparable. William is a very shy boy and is quite reserved but once he gets talking about Star Wars he is a completely different child and there's no stopping him. This has serverly disrupted the balance of super hero actively in our household. They spend all of their time at school playing and talking about Star Wars, So much so that a couple of weeks ago their teacher brought in a talking Yoda from home to keep them entertained. Seth is slowly losing his super powers and exchanging them for the force (and its getting strong with this one).

I guess i should understand really as i used to love my Star Wars figures when i was younger. I can see the appeal but the super hero comic book world has so much more to offer. Mainly there's no annoying characters like Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker who's whining got pretty annoying during episodes 1-3 he's so much more bearable as Darth Vader. I think that once Seth's reading gets better and i introduce him to the Amazing Spider-man Issue 1 i might have a chance of winning him back.

Even though I'm still working through the upset of the changes to the past few months its only fair that i embrace the situation and move forward. I had already brought these Galactic Heroes figures for the boys but seeing as i have been collecting the Super Hero Squad Figures for Opeie then i guess a new collection will now be starting for Seth's birthday and Christmas. I'd certainly never turn down a new collection and it will definitely give me even more to write on here about.

 In the mean time ill be doing everything i can to re tip the Super Hero balance in our house and ill certainly be doing all i can to avoid the introduction of Star Wars to Opeie, although i may be fighting a losing battle there with a little 5 year old Jedi running around wielding his lightsaber.

"Sometimes you rise above your material, sometimes you don't."

Yesterday we had to go to Smyths to buy a present for a girl in Seth's class to take to her birthday party, while there we Inevitably got taken down the Lego isle so that Seth could show us and the Lego Star Wars kits that he wants for his Birthday. The Lego Star Wars X-Wing was pointed out to us in order for us to make a mental note.

Now I'm definitely not cheap as I'm happy to buy Lego for the boys and we will most likely purchase it but when we got home i initiated getting the Lego out and made it my mission to have an X-wing for Seth by the end of the day.

There's something about being limited by the bricks that we have that really get's my creative juices flowing and i also see it as having a sense of a competitive element (Me Vs The Bricks). don't get me wrong we must have about 20kg+ of Lego but unlike buying a kit where you have the pieces all mapped out for you, rummaging through mixed Lego you have to have a lot of dedication and patience. Mrs M always says she doesn't know how i can sit there for so long going through every tiny piece (plus i think the noise drives her crazy).

Turn's out i couldn't have it finished before Seth went to bed so being the cracking dad that i am i soldiered on after me and Mrs M had had tea and were watching the telly (what a hardship on my part haha).

 Seth had asked me in the afternoon why i like building from my imagination so much, i explained that i had a lot of Lego when i was younger and that i wasn't brought many kits so was left to build things from memory. I also told him that everyone that goes into a toy shop and buys the Lego X-wing will all end up with the exact same model but by making your own you have a completely individual build, one which NO ONE else will have.(he liked this reason as he said he could show it off to his friend William). As i said in my previous post "Every true genius is bound to be naive", I think that Seth's AT-AT build showed a lot more character than the generic Lego kit and hopefully the same applied to my X-Wing.

The other main reason for me loving to build like this is that I'm more likely to leave Seth on his own building with a kit but if were building together like this it means that we get some quality father son play time together (and who wouldn't want that?).

 Well its the following morning now and I'm waiting for the little one to wake up so that i can show him his new x-wing (I'm so proud). It actually turned out better than i expected as half way through i was convinced it was going to end up multi-coloured due to brick limitations but somehow i managed to scrape the colours together. unfortunately our grey box (yes our Lego pieces are seperated into colour order) has taken a hit so ill be having to buy more.

The build was finished off perfectly before i had even started it when Seth pointed out that he had a Lego X-wing pilot in his Minifigure box. It was meant to be. I'm just wondering what he's going to say he wants next and hoping its not a Death Star.

Thats not my Dad, His face is to smooth!!

"That's not my" 3 words that you can guarantee would put a smile on Seth's face at bed time, he used to really love these books and now our little one is also getting into them. These are great books for getting kids involved in stories.

Our 13 month old knows exactly where to stroke when you turn the page. It is very cute. As Mrs M's Proposal book came out so well I'm Considering making a 'That's not my Daddy' book for Opeie.

"Every true genius is bound to be naive."

 

I never thought i would ever write a blog post about a single Lego build but after this weekend i am left thinking that Seth is some sort of Lego genius and has been letting me do a lot of our builds until this point. I'm convinced he's been holding out on me.

Mrs M had work to do and Opeie was asleep which as far as me and Seth are concerned means 'get the Lego out' as its really difficult to build when Opeie is awake due to him trying to put all the pieces in his mouth. I was building a robot girlfriend for his intergalactic robot. Seth had been very quiet so i looked over to see if he was ok (as my head had been stuck on a Lego box routing for pieces) and saw a masterpiece in production.

Seth has been going on for weeks about wanting the Lego AT-AT for his birthday or Christmas this year. I have no problem buying the kits for him but i think Seth learns more about building when making things for himself. The kits are amazing don't get me wrong but Seth always seems that extra bit satisfied when he has done it all himself. 

Last year for his birthday he wanted the police station (which he reminded us about most days for the months coming up to his birthday) which ended up costing us £80 and once it was built he smashed it up and it was never built again?? He also had one of the large Disney Cars Lego sets for Christmas and now coming up to 6 months on its still in the box unopened.

I loved Lego when i was younger, i don't remember there being much choice of kits to buy so i always had to rely on my imagination to build what i wanted it usually consisted of a castle as i had loads of knights minifigures and i was always building robots.

Any way back to the masterpiece, For a 5 year old i think this is pure genius (and not just saying that being the doting father that i am). Apart from me strengthening the AT-AT, Helping with the hinges and adding the weapon holders on the side for him it was all done by him. 

What i love most is how he built it completely using his imagination and knew exactly what he wanted to add to it, I even got a telling off when i added the wrong color lightsaber to the side of it as it was a Jedi and not a Sith one!! how bad did i feel!!. Personally i think it has come out far more superior than any generic straight out of a box kit.

Its also made me think i need to up my game on my builds as he's going to be putting me to shame.