Dear Chance,
I woke up one morning recently to realize my baby is almost a toddler. How has this happened so quickly? We are getting so close to the one-year mark and my mind is completely unable to process this fact. With each new milestone, you reveal a bit more of your budding personality. We are getting to know you now, and it is incredible. You have preferences and desires now, and you definitely let them be known. You can cross the room in the blink of an eye, and you move with purpose and intention. You might not use actual words yet, but you do communicate with us. You also like to test us and seem to have a bit of a mischievous streak. Best of all, we are getting to see your sense of humor and your wonderful playfulness.

Now that I have children, fall is quickly becoming my favorite season. I look forward to this time every year, because it means that we get to do fun seasonal activities like pumpkin picking, hay mazes, Halloween costumes, and jumping in giant leaf piles. You “helped” us decorate the house for Halloween, and you and Theo danced to the Halloween music on Pandora as daddy stretched the giant spiderweb over the front patio. You laughed as the wind blew in your face on your very first hay ride. You even snuck more than your fair share of crunchy leaves into your mouth before I could put the camera down and come scoop them out of your mouth. 😉 Next year, you’ll participate even more…but this year was special because it was your first.

We also made a trip to the farm in Virginia this past month, and you had a blast playing with Theo and your cousins, Meriwyn and Marlon. You and Marlon are so curious about each other, and he loved playing with you and your brother. I so wish that we lived closer to your cousins, but even still it’s amazing what a wonderful bond you all are forming when we do get to visit a few times a year.

My sweet boy, just you wait. The holiday season isn’t over yet…there’s still plenty of fall fun in store for next month, and then we get to celebrate your birthday and then Christmas! I am so excited that you get to join us in our traditions this year! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 😉

Love you my sweet boy,
Mommy

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