Wednesdays with Leo; S2, part 4

I've had problems with my car seat for some time now. I think there's a hook that goes in the very back of the back seat of my car that I'm not using.  Regardless, I've known about this for some time and just haven't remembered to check. 

Anyway, when I picked up Leo, I told him we were going to make a stop before I took him to Ma's house.

Dad and I have been looking to replace the broken kitchen chairs and finally, after weeks of searching, I found a possible contender.

Leo was pleasantly Ok with this change of plans and off we went.

Which is putting it mildly.

Not 5 minutes into our drive, I heard a kind of "plunk" behind me.

Looking over my shoulder (I'm still driving), I saw Leo, sprawled sideways, the car seat having completely fallen on it's side.

The look on Leo's face was priceless; think shock and awe!

"Leo," I said, trying not to laugh because the sight was really too funny (even though I was just as shocked),

"stay put." (as though there were any other options)

 "I'm going to pull over and fix the seat."

It's bad enough that I wasn't using the extra hook ... come to find that the seatbelt was threaded though the wrong hole!

Soon we were all good and on our way.

The chairs and table were a success and in no time we were driving on 83, on our way to meet Martha and Lucia at the park.

On our way, I reminded Leo about the "castle house".  

A couple of years ago I was driving with both Luca and Leo on 83 and mentioned that we were going to see a castle that was a house. Both Luca and Leo (but especially Luca) got a great kick out of seeing it then and I hoped Leo would get a thrill again this time.

Not so.

When I pointed out the castle house, Leo was visibly unimpressed, his expression one of near disgust.

                                                            "That's not a castle."

"No. It's not a real castle, it's a castle house.  Look at the towers", I urged him as I slowed to almost a crawl, wanting to convince him that this was something very unusual.

"That's not a castle.", he repeated.

I reminded him that 2 years ago he and Luca were quite thrilled to see it for the first time.

"Well. I don't remember that. But I don't think that's a castle."

And that was that!

We arrived at the park before Martha and Lucia. It had been months since Leo and I had spent time there and he was overjoyed at the prospect.  Soon enough he was running and climbing and acting out super hero scenarios.

Martha and Lucia joined us about 10 minutes later.  Martha told me that she and Chad had begun to take Lucia to our park and she loved it there.  Mostly, she likes to swing on the swings that face the road so that she can wave to the cars and trucks that go by.

Leo and Lucia played like old pals; Lucia pretty much following Leo everywhere he went.  Leo, as always, so good with her.  He would take off and do his own thing but always checked back with her.

Martha commented, "Look at them together.  Just think what they're going to be like next year when Lucia is that much older."

After lots of running around, we all headed for the baby swings.

I was with Leo on the playscape and Lucia was on the swings but wanted to see both us and the cars.  She continuously turned her head until she figured out that if she lay back as far as she could, she could spot us and still wave to the cars.

Lunchtime was fast approaching so we all went our separate ways; Martha and Lucia to their home as we to mine.

Leo had a short visit here before it was time to pack up for school.

He checked on the progress of the kitchen before heading to the game room for a show and his lunch, but pointed out to me as we made our way to the car:

"Next time, let's have enough time to play with the little people."