it just so happened we were able to take an extended weekend getaway the last weekend of october. so naturally we packed our bags, piled in the car, and scurried off to southern oregon eager to introduce clark to his great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. it just so happened to be halloween weekend. we joined in with the boys older cousins, holland and clark being the youngest two of the group. holland went as spiderman, spiderman with chuck taylors and his beloved hat. clark as a snug little bear after a failed attempt at superman (in which he totally swam in his outfit and spit up all over before we made it out the door). we trick or treated up and down the streets of downtown ashland for their traditional parade, before heading into a nearby neighborhood.


we watched holland run to and from each door, eager to get his treat, time after time, the first one to the door, and the last one to leave as he waited for everyone's bags to be filled before holding out his own tiny bag. to stand back and watch him navigate amongst so many was something else, our now little boy, who was not long ago a completely dependent baby, making his way through the world. and doing just fine at it at that, only occasionally glancing back to see we were close behind. with each return from a house he would proclaim "new snack bars!!!" with the utmost pride, joy spread across his face, unacquainted to the world of candy before this point. such innocence. though his most beloved item of all was a single gold coin, his treasure coin, of which he still totes around, often in his pocket, exclaiming with the same joy as he did the moment he first laid eyes on it, "my treasure coin!!" before safely returning it to his pocket or toy bin to discover once again in the following hours, days, weeks.

this holland of ours is something else. we are privileged to call him our son, to experience the joy we do when we are with him. he was the cutest chuck taylor, fedora wearing spiderman i have ever seen. he has a way of making things his own. we thank him for the laughs along the way and the reminder to cherish the simple things, like that silly, little coin he keeps tucked away.