Captivated by Autumn

If you find yourself enamoured by my clever double entendre blog titles, prepare to be wooed once again. (If, as is more likely, you find them groan worthy -- even irritating -- brace yourself). First, I chose tonight's title because I am -- captivated....utterly....by Autumn. I love everything about it -- leaves, smoke, school, sweaters, windows open -- everything. And my son, who, I am sure, also loves the season, found himself sweetly captivated by a little girl named Autumn tonight at a cider pressing party at a friend's house. Sweet Autumn is much younger than Josiah and followed him all evening, calling his name intermittently. I think Josiah relished the hero-worship and responded in kind with his signature style of chivalric sweetness that never fails to make me grin. When kids make friends, they do it without contract -- without expectation or insinuation. They just enjoy one another. Sometimes, of course, they don't (and then there's the pushing and the pulling and the ninja fighting....etc.), but mostly, small children are content to be exactly who they are and to let others do the same. A friend (the inimitable Autumn's dad, in fact) took some pictures of our family this evening, too, so you can expect to see an updated peek into how we roll very soon. You will be amazed! Let me just say that the babies have each put on nearly a quarter of their body weight in the last two weeks! At their adoption clinic weigh-in, they were 13 (Girum), 11 (Tarikwa), and 14 (Taye) pounds respectively. A week or so ago, I weighed them here at 18, 15, and nearly 20 pounds -- weights that we have no doubt exceeded already! (And, by the way, you should have seen Olivia bob for apples tonight with all FOUR of her front teeth missing -- well worth the trip to the country!) Well, that's enough topic whiplash for one evening. It all comes of drinking 4 cups of Ethiopian coffee to start my day. I love the taste; I enjoy the buzz; I don't make any linear sense for the next several hours.