Last week 4 year old Eli got a couple of surprise packages in the mail from his Uncle who adores Star Wars as much as he does.
The occasion? Just your usual early birthday (July) and Christmas gift 
.
Eli was beyond thrilled with what he received. He got his very own Darth Vader light saber. (Yes, it has to be the right color and have the correct handle.)
And he got his very own Darth Vader costume, complete with a helmet (not a mask like I was calling it), cape and Darth Vader gloves.
To be completely honest, I have no idea how Eli even first learned about Star Wars. One day while we were at the library he got extremely excited when he spotted a Yoda book. I was shocked he knew who Yoda was. We checked it out and his obsession was born. Right now we have a gazillion and one Star Wars books in our home – it’s a good thing we know how to utilize the hold system for our local library.
What I find interesting is Eli is fascinated by the dark side of the force. He even makes up songs about Anakin being pulled to the Dark Side. I really should have written down his lyrics the other day while he was gleefully singing.
Maybe one of these days he will gain more of an appreciation for Jedi and the light side of the force 
!
Perhaps if we start playing our Star Wars Trivial Pursuit game with him more often (a gift from the same brother from years ago), I can use some Jedi Mind Tricks [not a Jedi Mind Meld!] to persuade him to the right side.
{final image courtesy of Jeremy Stockwell}
Nice! How adorable.
awesome gifts to Eli
! he looks so cute in his Darth Vader costume 
!
My Bun (5) is also obsessed with Darth!! He only ever wants to be Darth when the boys play Star Wars. What gives?! I keep asking him to be someone “good” and he says “No, I love Darth.” I guess it makes me feel slightly better to know that Darth eventually returns to the light side of the Force before he dies!
I had the same thought, Aimee, about Darth Vader eventually returning to the light side! Glad to know, too, that my little one isn’t the only one obsessed with the dark side
!!
Love this!!! Cute boy!!!