Rocket Ship

My good friend Herschel gave Jack an awesome gift: a hyper accurate toy of a Saturn V rocket. It breaks apart into the three stages of the original rocket and has a removable Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and Command and Service Module (CSM). It comes with a launching pad and a small lunar landscape to place the LEM on. The first stage has a button that, when pushed, makes a realistic countdown followed by vibration and the sound of real Saturn V taking off. It's awesome. And you know from reading earlier posts that Jack loves rocket ships, both real and imagined.

The funny thing is that Jack is enamored with Stages Two and Three of the rocket and doesn't seem all that interested in the LEM or CSM. The top of Stage 3 has four panels that feather outward when a collar is twisted. Normally, this part of the rocket stores the LEM but I have placed it -- mostly for safe keeping -- on the lunar landscape on one of our surround speakers.

The other night, Jack was watching post-bath TV when an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars came on. Watching Jedi Master Kit Fisto fight General Grievous Jack started waving around his rocket as a "life saver" (i.e., light sabre). He danced around and contorted himself in imitation of the light sabre duel between Fisto and Grievous.

(By the way, the photos of Jack in his room show the wonderful aquatic themed artwork created by my attractive wife's mother, whom Jack calls, "Nana." When we were getting ready for Jack's arrival, Nana and her husband asked if they could prepare Jack's room. Lacking any sense of 1) creativity and 2) design sense, my attractive wife and I said, "Sure!" We left for work one morning and when we came back the entire room was two shades of complimentary blue, and had a number of fishes, ducks, star fish and other marine life painted. It's wonderful. Thanks again, Nana!)