*relishing*

a friend of mine pinned this post from Lay Baby Lay and it caught my attention.
 last wednesday...
i had a very special day with o. it is one that i hope to never forget.

the fall weather was in full force which puts me in such a great mood and has given me an itch to teach o about fall. i decided to take o to the p.a.t.h which is close to our house and is more of a nature walk. i took our umbrella stroller but gave o the option of walking or riding in hopes he would walk...he chose to walk. i did not look at this walk as a way to get some exercise but more of a fun time o and i could have. just a little way into our walk, i spotted acorns...not shrimpy acorns like these below (found in our yard)...but large acorns...ones he could really enjoy.

we started to pick good ones off the ground and before i knew it..his tiny little hands were filled with acorns. i quickly took the plastic bag i had brought with me filled with snacks and dumped the snacks in the stroller. we emptied his hands into the bag and looked for more. we filled that bag about half way and decided to continue our walk.

 as we walked, i took note that o stayed close to me. he did not run up in front of me nor did he linger behind me. there were times he would hold my hand and other times where he would hold his bag of "treasures" with both hands. if he spotted a person walking towards us, he would get really close to me and the stroller. my heart did leaps. this was a true sign that our bond was (is) growing stronger. a little ways down the path, i spotted a nice sized pine cone..it was perfect. i picked it up and showed it to o. he did a little noise of delight and i asked him if he wanted to put it in with his acorns...to which he said "gah" (yes.). as we walked farther into the wooded path, i noticed o really taking the walk in and he turned to me and smiled this big smile.
(thank you lord for allowing me to capture this smile on my phone!)

 i thought my heart would just burst! it was as if it was his way of telling me he was truly happy right then and there. (i get tears just thinking about this!)
as we walked, i pointed our squirrels, trees, picked up some colorful leaves for him and pointed out sounds. he took each and every thing in.
there are a couple bridges that overlook small bodies of water...something o loves to see. he would say "wah" (water) every time we came to a bridge and then stop and marvel at the water flowing over rocks and under the bridge.
my little guy walked the entire distance of the path holding his bag of nature's pickings.
as we were getting close to our turn around point (the railroad bridge), a small older lady waved to o. it was just as we were walking up the ramp to see the train tracks and this frightened o! he had been looking at her for some time but i don't think he was prepared for her to notice. he quickly ran to me and hugged my legs. my sweet boy felt safe with me. he felt i would protect him from the lady and again...my heart did a leap and i know it was smiling.

as we walked back, o asked to sit in his stroller. he sat the rest of the way back to the car holding his bag and jibber jabbing about what was in it. he pointed to the leaves and pine cones that were on the path and when we got home. he stepped out of the car and noticed one of our teeny tiny acorns and said "ah-core". i was teaching my son about fall and he was paying attention....

i will cherish this day with him forever.