The Girl Next Door (or across the street)

Until recently, Leo has always played hard to get when it comes to beautiful, younger and taller Bianca, who lives across the street. She, however, has always been open about her love for him. Her mother tells me that Bianca looks out her window every morning at our house and says, “LeoLeoLeoLeoLeoLeo!” When she would say this to Leo, though, he would shout, “Football Player!!” which means, “Don’t call me Leo. Call me football player.” When she’d come to play he wouldn’t always be the most gracious host either, sometimes even pushing Bianca.

But when we attended story time at Barnes and Noble a couple of weeks ago, Leo decided to go public with his love for Bianca. They played together; Leo didn’t yell “Football Player!” at her and he didn’t push her either. (The two of them did push another child but we dealt with that.) 

They even walked out of the store hand in hand!

 

Last week Bianca came over to our house for a play date. Leo hugged her and she gave him a head massage:

And Leo even let her come into “his house.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll save these pictures because I’m pretty sure that when they’re older, Bianca is going to be way out of his league!

Curious Leo

Leo’s friend John has been curious for awhile. This was a funny exchange I had with him a few weeks ago at his house:

 

John, pointing to the scar on my forehead, “Do you have a boo boo?”

Me: “Yes.”

John: “Where is your Band-aid?”

Me: “Well, I did have a Band-aid but I don’t need it anymore.”

John: “Where is your Band-aid?”

Me: “It’s not bleeding so I don’t need a Band-aid.”

John: “Where is your Band-aid?”

Me: “Oh, you really want to know where it is! It’s in the trash can.”

John: “Where is the trash can?”

Me: “At my house.”

John: “Where is your house?”

Me: “Right down the street.”

John: “Where?”

Me: “If you look out the window, it’s that way.”

John: “I don’t see your house.”

 

The whole thing was funny and also made me realize that Leo isn’t really all that curious. He would have just accepted my first answer about not needing a Band-aid. Leo overheard me telling the story a few days later and I guess felt inadequate about his own lack of curiosity because ever since, he tries to re-enact the exchange I had with John.

 

Leo: “Mommy, where is your Band-aid?”

Me: “In the trash can.”

Leo, giggling: “Where is your house?!”

 

But then, a couple of weeks ago, Leo started asking questions on his own. Now he’s like an interrogator.

 

Leo: “I want to eat eggs!”

Me: “We’re all out of eggs.”

Leo: “Why?”

Me: “We ate them all.”

Leo: “Why?”

Me: “Well, we were hungry and we ate the eggs so I’m going to go to the store to buy more today.”

Leo: “Why are you going to the store?”

Me: “Because we’re out of food.”

Leo: “Why are we out of food?”

Then I found myself going into this whole monologue about how we buy food, eat it and then go buy some more. It was quite fascinating!

 

Leo also repeats the the last part of everything we say in the form of a question.

“Leo, we’re going to church.”

“We’re going to church?”

“Leo, please don’t take off your diaper and pee pee on the floor.”

“Don’t take off your diaper and pee pee on the floor?”

Sometimes his questions are more vague like, “It isn’t?” “We’re not?” and “We shouldn’t?”

But the point is, he now ends a lot of sentences with question marks. He ends a lot of sentences with question marks?

 

I don’t have any pictures to illustrate this story so I’ll just leave you with a few snow week ones:

 

Leo with his hat hair:

 

John, Etienne and Leo eating pizza on a snowy night

Leo and Frank n the snow

A Bigger House Party

If you didn’t see my blog from yesterday read that first.

These pictures were taken on Day 3 of “snowpocalypse.” (We’re now on Day 4.) Since we’re trapped in our neighborhood we’re glad we at least have fun friends to play with. Leo’s buddies braved the ice and snow (some walking uphill in treacherous conditions) to come play. While we had plenty of toys for them to play with and lots of room for them to run around, they chose to hide out in Leo’s “house.” In fact, the first thing John said when he walked in was, “I want to go in the pantry!” This time we gave them flashlights. I was grateful they used them just to shine a light in the house and didn’t beat each other with them. Although I was a little embarrassed when they shined their lights on the crumbs in Leo’s house.

 

House party host Leo with Bianca, Etienne and John:

Bianca says, “I love being trapped in the house with all the boys!”

“Come into my house”

Leo has invented this new game called “Come into my house.” His house is our pantry. He just learned to open doors (a little late with that skill) so he thinks it’s exciting to go in there, close the door and then come out, yelling, “HELLO!!” That would be great if he just wanted to go in and out of the pantry, however, he prefers for someone to come in there with him. “Come into my house,” he says as he drags me by my sleeve. Then I must go in and sit on the stack of paper towels while Leo keeps saying, “It’s dark in here.”

Luckily, John came over yesterday and Leo took HIM into the house. I still played along though:

 

You spin me right round

Leo has developed a love of spinning. I’m not talking about the cycle class that I teach or spinning music like a DJ. I mean he just spins in circles. I think this started with all the fun we had on the tea cups at Disney World.

 

Now he just spins in circles around the living room. I keep telling him that he is going to make himself sick so whenever he spins he says, “I’m getting sick like John!” I didn’t capture that on video because when the camera comes out, all he can say is “CHEESE!”

 

 

 

Changing direction

 

 

Cheese!

Snow Buds

It was a Christmas Miracle—snow in Atlanta for the first time in like, 100-something years. The next day Leo and John’s daddies ran out and bought sleds. Leo and John had so much fun, they can’t wait to use them next time this happens, in another 100-something years.