Fun with LEGO Bricks: Introducing the Freerksen Family Minifigures

I am not sure who is more excited about Hunter graduating from DUPLO bricks to LEGO bricks (a.k.a. big boy LEGOs) -- him or me. I should mention that he has had DUPLO bricks for a couple of years now, and I was never super excited to sit down and play with them with him. (By the way, we passed the DUPLO sets down to Paloma, but Hunter still plays with them -- ha!) Then we decided that for his 4th birthday we would get him a LEGO classic set, and then all of a sudden, I wanted to buy LEGO everything! We joined the VIP club, I got Isaiah a LEGO Creator set for his birthday, Hunter got the LEGO City Advent calendar, and we even had his party at an indoor play space for all things LEGO!

I never got LEGO sets as a child, but my sister did, and I have the fondest memories playing with her with them, and now I am so excited to play with them with my son! I also LOVE, that he can spend some great lengths of time working on his LEGO bricks quietly by himself. Good for building up concentration!

A couple of months ago, we went to a local LEGO store, and I spent a good 45 minutes creating The Freerksen Family Minifigures, shown above. I had tried making minifigures for each member of our family at the San Diego LEGO store, but the selection just wasn't working for me. The LEGO store in Bellevue, however, is known for its great selection of minifigure pieces, so it finally worked out! When Hunter plays with these minifigures, by the way, he calls them by name, asking, "Where is Paloma?" Or he shows me, "Look at what you're doing, mommy. You're a firefighter!" Cute!

First we have Isaiah. He wears a very typical Isaiah outfit of a hoodie and jeans. He holds binoculars to represent that he likes being out in nature and he is always really good at spotting wildlife. Bonus accessory: the wrench represents that he is pretty handy around the house ;)

Then we have Amanda from circa 2005, which was her going-out-dancing-6-nights-a-week phase. She wears a slinky top, black pants, and a drink in hand. I would have made a present-day Amanda except that the only striped top I could find was of the ripped-pirate-look variety. Bonus accessory: a microphone. For karaoke.

Next up is Hunter. He is wearing a black baseball cap like the Ninja Turtles one he wears as well as a pair of shorts, which he prefers to wear instead of long pants. He carries a baseball bat because he is super interested in playing baseball. Bonus accessory: a wrench for helping his dad around the house!

Finally, there's little Paloma. She wears her hair Frida-style like the headband I made for her birthday. She is holding a teddy bear because she loves plush toys. Bonus accessory: a fairy princess wand because she is some kind of magical!

P.S. Here's a photo from Hunter's advent calendar from this past Christmas, which was really a fun way to introduce him to LEGO sets. Each day there was a minifigure or other winter scene detail to build, from a toy plane and helicopter to a dog sled to a food cart. 

Quite possibly the coolest part was the pair of minifigures offering up a holiday concert. At first, I thought it was strange to feature the musicians in helmets and space suits, but then it dawned on me that maybe LEGO designers were trying to subtly hint at Daft Punk. I took the liberty of blacking out the transparent helmet mask with a black Sharpie so they would look more authentic ;)

P.P.S.