Wednesdays with Leo ~ 3

Leo didn't have his usual "Ma's House Day" last week. The Buris were in town and Annie and Leo spent a good part of Tuesday here with all of us. Thinking I might need a break, Annie suggested I not take Leo the following day as he had already been enjoying himself that Tuesday. Which is why there was no post of Wednesdays with Leo last week :)

Driving up the Gramuglia's driveway, there was Leo with his blanket, all ready for me. As soon as he saw my car he began to hop up and down, his face a full ear to ear smile. My day with Leo had begun.

He spoke a lot in the car; I barely understood a word he said, he had so much to tell me. He strung his words together so that all I could manage was an occassional "Really?" Like that. Usually Leo catches me and insists upon repeating himself, just to make sure. But not this time; he just had so much to say. I guess THAT was more important than the fact that I might be actually understanding what he had to say. Although I DID understand that the "lady" who goes with Batman is Catwoman. This was huge. He had just learned about this from Paul's nurse, Stacy.
You see where my head is and my mind is fixed on my Leo days?

I no longer fill the dining room with toys for Leo. His transition into super-heroes means that my "little people" have taken a back seat during playtime. Instead, Leo knows to go for the game room closets and pick out whatever he wants, which he promptly did.
Ah! The "little people" back in play! But not for long. About 20 minutes into playtime, Leo asked could he watch a show?
No. He didn't want to color (which he usually immediately goes for once in the game room), he just wanted to watch a show.
I took that opportunity to check my email when, shortly after, Leo came to find me to say he needed to go to the potty. Mission accomplished and I asked him did he want his banana? "Of course!".

Kids are funny about bananas; you never know how they want to eat them. So taking a chance, I brought in Leo's banana with the peel partially peeled down.
"I'm not a monkey, Ma".
Point taken.


I thought Leo seemed a bit tired; he usually doesn't go for a show first thing and, as mentioned, he rarely doesn't grab a coloring book.
So I asked him if he wanted to go outdoors (always a HIT), to perk him up a bit.
"Well", he answered, "I need to think about that".
"Ok, then. You think about it and let me know"
"But I need to lie down to think about it. People always lie down when they need to think about things. At least I do. That's the way with me."


WELL. After taking this picture I noticed the wet stain on Leo's pants. (You can also see it when he's with his banana). Although Leo hadn't had an "accident" with me for weeks I always know to bring over an extra pair of underpants and pants...just in case.
I pointed out his wet pants and asked was this why he didn't want to go outside? Was he uncomfortable walking around in wet pants? Because, gee, I wouldn't like that at all. I could tell he was embarrased but his spirits lifted when I reminded him that I had an extra set for him.

Outside we went. We played on the swings and then "I''m done!" and Leo proceeded to run across the lawn.
I cautioned him that TODAY I couldn't run fast with him; my knee was out of whack.
"Boy, Leo", I commented, "I wish I had your 3 yr. old legs!".
"You mean my almost 4 yr. old legs, Ma. Ha. That's funny!" as he ran and ran and ran.
"Dad can't beat me either. He doesn't have my energy. I'm the MOST energy in the world"

After hanging out with Poppi as he put some wood away in the the wood shed,(and I wish I had had my camera and taken a picture of him. There he was, arms crossed across his chest, pondering. "Wow. That's A LOT of wood!"), we strolled to the old Myrycle house and watched the workmen putting in the new sewer system. We watched the cement bricks as they were lain, just so, into the ground.
"In a month or so, the whole place will be covered with grass and you won't see those blocks down there", I explained.
"Ha, that's silly. ", Leo answered, with a perceptible "why bother?" attitude. We continued to walk to the Somers Inn and back, and then home for some applesauce.

Leo was playing with the "little people" again when I mentioned that if he REALLY wanted to, we could go to the park. It hadn't sounded like a good idea earlier in the day as the temps were a bit on the chilly side and the wind strong. But Leo only seemed to perk out when outdoors so I thought, the heck with it, we'll go to the park, take his vest, and if it seems too cold, we'll come back home.

Happy boy! But as he stood to put on his shoes, another stain on his pants. Hmm. Leo.
"You had another accident, huh?"
"Yeah. It happens. Accidents happen."
I urge Leo all day to use the bathroom...and he does. Can't figure out what the problem is today.
But the original pair of underpants and jeans were in the dryer. I don't wash these as I know Annie uses special detergent for Leo's skin, but I learned earlier this year to get those jeans in the dryer...just in case.

Leo followed me to the back room where I retrieved his jeans and threw in the now newly wet pair.
"Your dryer smells kind of bad", Leo pointed out to me. !!!

As we ride to the park, Leo and I always ask ourselves, are there going to be lot of kids there or not?
"If there are no kids there then we can go home", is always his pat answer.
The park was a zoo! It was school vacation and I hadn't remembered this until we pulled into the parking lot. I panicked a bit, because when I say zoo, I mean Zoo! But Leo was OK with that.
I lost him in the crowd of kids a couple of times but there was no damage done. At one point I saw him - far away from me - looking around for me - but not in the least bit upset. What a trooper! And he is a trooper when it comes to sharing at the park.
He loves the red car. It's his super-hero car. One day he said to me, while playing on the jungle gym,
"If I turn around and someone is on my car, I might get a little upset"
But on Wed. he waited patiently for the boys to have their turn. Once on his car, though, he went to town. He road it, back and forth and back and forth, talking to himself, setting up super hero scenarios, seemingly oblivious to the fact that at least 3 boys were waiting for their turn. Good for him!
I recalled the day a little boy pulled himself beside Leo in that car. Somewhat surprised, not knowing what this boy might do (he and I had seen other boys fight each other that day while in the car), Leo turned to the younger boy and said,
"My name is Leo. We can share this car, right?". Happy campers.
So I let him hog the car on Wed.;I thought it was well deserved.

Another potty call had us (thankfully!) leave the park. But we'd been there for a good 45 minutes so it was time. I usually let Leo pee on the grass at the park if he needs to, but not this time. Even he saw that there was nowhere to go.
"I don't want people to see my privates", he commented, as I asked him to "hold it" while we drove home.
"I'm holding, Ma!"....all the way home. And still, there was the stain again.

After a late lunch, I found myself setting up a semi-tent to cover the kitchen table as Leo had decided he was a frog and I wasn't supposed to know he was there until I heard the "Ribbit, ribbit" coming from under the table. This game went on forever - my pretend shock at finding a frog under the table causing peels of laughter from Leo.

By the time I took Leo home, we had had a full day; he fell asleep almost instantly in the car.

I did mention to Annie about the "accidents", mostly because she needed to know that his clothes needed to be washed.
Annie said Leo had been wetting his pants all week; she thought maybe he was trying to hold it in too much, waiting too long to use the bathroom.

And as I drove home I remembered what my mother always said to me about potty training; sage advice she had gotten from one of her sisters:
"Don't worry too much about it, honey. By the time they get to college, they'll know how when it's time to use the toilet."

Are you listening, Leo?

PS After "accident" # 4, Leo had no choice but to stay naked from the waist down as both pairs of clothing were damp in the dryer. I laughed and said, "You're driving me crazy, Leo". It was a laugh - a joke.
But Leo caught up with me a few minutes later and said, in a very serious- almost sad - voice, "I'm sorry I drive you crazy, Ma. I don't try to do that".
Annie has told me over and over again how sensitive Leo is, which is why I purposely "laughed" when I left him half naked to check his laundry. This was and will be a lesson to me ( and to all of us); to always watch what I say to him.