We had brunch with Jer's parents yesterday and then we all spent the afternoon at yet another Pumpkin Patch. It was an important day because we went back to "The Pumpkin Express", which is my favorite patch with the little train ride. Last year, Colin absolutely refused to go anywhere near that train and I was fully expecting that to be the case this time, as well. It came as a wonderful surprise that he not only agreed to ride it, but he LOVED it! Little moments like that mean so much to me. I spend a lot of time trying to help Colin get over things that seem mundane to most people...like putting on clothes, leaving the house, and other random daily activities. It seems as though he "over thinks" literally everything that he does in a given day, so when he happily gets on a train without giving it a second thought, it buoys my spirits and gives me a boost of strength. In fact, we had a similar experience on Friday when I took Colin out to The Heard Museum with our friends to see an exhibit called "Dinosaurs Live!". The exhibit included life size dinosaurs that were animated and really roared and even spit! They were VERY scary and scattered along trails in the woods. When I laid eyes on the first one, a GIANT growling T-Rex, I took a deep breath and prepared to head back to the car. I just knew Colin was going to burst into tears. The exact opposite happened and he started jumping up and down with joy! I was so surprised and happy for him. He had a great afternoon and I try to soak these experiences up because they make me SO happy. You just never know with Colin. For example, I took him to story time at our local bookstore on Saturday afternoon. The fire chief came over to read books to the kids and I just knew that Colin would love it. That was not exactly the case. He refused to sit and listen to the stories (even his favorite kind of book) and absolutely would not enter the room where the other kids were having snacks and coloring fire engines, both of which are his favorite activities. This is the 3rd time that I have tried to take him to this place and the 3rd time that he refused to enter the room. His good friend Hayden was even there this time, which in combination with the fire theme should have made it fun for him. Not so much. :-) He even chose to sit at a table outside of the room where everyone was eating and coloring, but would not go in. He just kept telling me that he couldn't go in. He has that response to a lot of things, so the awesome experiences at The Heard and The Pumpkin Express were very special to me. Here are some of my favorite shots of all the fun! (please note that he is wearing the SAME shirt in all of these shots...he only wants to wear his "monkey shirt" these days. I don't know when I will get to finally retire it! LOL!)
Colin giving some love to baby Jake and his mommy Kayrene!
Colin and two of his best buddies, Ryan and Keegan. I just LOVE this picture!
Colin and Ryan holding hands at The Heard. I could just melt!
Colin LOVED the dinosaurs!
Lots of joy at the pumpkin patch!
He was a fan of the bounce slide, as you may have guessed. ;-)
There is not much better than that smile!
I love this man!
I love this man, too! :-)
My sweet boy LOVING the train for the very first time!
Colin has become even more precious lately and I am frequently reminded how lucky I am to have such a sensitive and caring little boy...his struggles make him who he is. He picks "I love you flowers" for me and loves to cuddle. He tells me constantly how much he loves me and hugs me with his whole body. Every time I pick him up from school, he throws himself into my arms when he sees me and says, "Mommy, I missed you so much! I am so glad to see you!". Last night after his bath, I sat on the floor of his bedroom putting on his pajamas. I started to get up afterwards, but he stopped me. He sat down in my lap, wrapped his arms around me and said, "Mommy, I love you so much. You are the best mommy to your baby". I just melted! He likes to hold hands with his friends, give hugs to babies and say his prayers at night. He brings me so much joy! Jer's step-sister has an 18 year old son away at college and last night I saw his Facebook profile, complete with profile picture of his girlfriend with her arms wrapped around him and notes from his mom on his wall about missing him. It gave me chills...I know that I will blink and my little cuddle bug will be away at school and I will be watching his life unfold from afar. I am excited to watch him grow up, but part of me wishes he could stay just like this forever! 
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