A Fall Love Affair

October is everything that is good. October is everything that I wait for. It's like a giant door that I get to open, that I have been making my way toward for the last 9 months. Finally, I have arrived and I can push the antique handles and throw the doors wide. I peek inside for the first time and I see everything that I have been waiting for looming in front of me. Pumpkins and flickering candle light and cider on the stove...cozy blankets, pot roast, fireplaces and fuzzy socks. Cold rain tapping on the windows, boots and sweaters. Pies and trick-or-treaters and Colin in footed pajamas. Picking out costumes and drawing whiskers on my cheeks to make my baby laugh. Pilgrim and Indian costumes made from construction paper, apples, Christmas candles, turtlenecks. Twinkling lights, mittens, pumpkin spice lattes, rain boots and letters to Santa. The city tree lighting on a frosty night, the radio station that switches to Christmas carols on November 1st, the endless stream of themed playdates and the smell of cinnamon. My wonderful husband teetering on a ladder to put the lights on the roof, Colin jumping up and down while we pull the giant tubs of decorations out of the attic, stacking all his Christmas books back on the low shelf for him. Flipping on the Christmas tree and the mantle first thing in the morning while your coffee is still steaming in your hand. The jingle bells of the Salvation Army ringing as you go shopping, turkey and dressing, the first snow flurries. Carefully picking out the yearly family ornament, Colin's Christmas program at school, and decorating cookies. Watching television with Jer after Colin goes to bed with only the twinkle of the Christmas tree to light the room. Cracker cookies, chocolate pie, the smell of candy canes. Christmas cards littering the front of the fridge, finding an extra ugly holiday sweater to wear to the Turners, giant batches of homemade cinnamon rolls spread all over my counter tops. Watching all the Charlie Brown specials, making the first batch of Chex Mix for the season while we watch Polar Express, and cuddling with Jer for our annual viewing of "Love Actually". Flickering Jack-O-Lanterns on the front porch, the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, tubes of wrapping paper stacked in my closet. Watching all of this through the innocence of Colin's eyes...THIS is what I see when I open that door. I am standing at the precipice and every perfect memory for this year is ahead of me. For a few brief days at the beginning of October, I get to revel in the possibility that this year might be the best holiday season yet. In what will end up feeling like the blink of an eye, it will be January and I will be starting the journey all over again. But right now, it is time for the fun to begin!

We had our first real cold front on Sunday and we ended up having the best morning ever. We have been suffering through a major drought and poor Colin was literally beside himself to see the rain when he woke up. It was like he was seeing it for the first time! He immediately requested his raincoat, boots and umbrella and ran out in it to play. It was pouring and his boots immediately filled with water, so he took them off. He was soaked to the bone and having more fun than I could ever have imagined. I sat in the garage with my camera and played around with it while Colin was busy playing. I ended up with the most amazing shots, as you can see! He played for over an hour in the downpour and I asked him at one point if he was too cold...it was around 65 degrees and he was soaked. I LOVED his response; he said, "Mom, I AM COLD! I am COLD and WET and I love it!". Only a Texan child at the end of a brutal summer could come up with that line. It is lucky for him that I recently watched the "Mythbusters" episode about wet and cold not being able to make you sick. He's going to have a lot more fun since that old wives tale got debunked. :-) While he wasn't paying attention to me, I managed to catch these close-up shots that make me melt. You can even see the little water droplets perched on his nose! These shots capture Colin the way I think of him...thoughtful, inquisitive and constantly pondering things that I probably can't even imagine. He is so beautiful and I love him so much that it hurts sometimes. With a start like this, I can't help but feel that we are going to have an amazing fall to remember.