Little Boy Blue

Leo has this amazing and sometimes alarming tendency to bring out the best in people. 

I'm not sure how he does it. He isn't that cute. But even a stranger at the grocery store, when faced head on with Leo, finds herself gushing googly-goo at him. Maybe because it doesn't take a genius to see that he is different, and perhaps that second take is what Leo works with. Because when they do glance at him again, he looks up from his one handed stagger (Leo's walk) across the floor and zings them with his baby blues. And at once they are kind; they say, "isn't he doing so well?" etc etc. It's as if suddenly they are experts in his development and want nothing else but give a cheering word. 

Where does that stuff come from?? 

I guess little lion man has a face which tells a story that a brief glance may not even start to uncover. But at the second glance, which is at first, caused by something negative, (like his handicaps) quickly turns into something positive when blasted by his double barreled charm.
 Even I have to do a double take with this guy! Pretty much every stinkin day.

Leo keeps me honest. 

On those days I'm ready to throw in the towel, Leo beats me to it and does something silly with it, like throw it in my face (very appropriately) and makes me totally loose my train of thought (no real loss there).
The other day he had me and his speech therapists in hysterics over his antics. I never realized that I always tilt my head to the side when I look at him, (probably it's a nervous tick) and always worried when he would look back at me, then suddenly keel over to the side, his whole head hanging sideways, until that "duh" moment when I realized that he was copying me and turning my worried motion into slapstick.

Here it is, The Look.

I think kids in general love to be our own personal mirror-mirror-on-the-wall and show us truths that we don't really want to see about ourselves, but little man takes it to extremes, and often adds his own comic spin on it.
And I must say, once I'm done laughing (or crying) I can't be any happier or more grateful for the gift that is my little boy blue.

Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn;
Where is that boy
Who looks after the sheep?
Under the haystack
Fast asleep.
Will you wake him?
Oh no, not I,
For if I do
He will surely cry.