Nate loved Halloween. He dressed as Ironman. He was so excited. The first time he tried on his costume and looked at himself in the mirror he said, "Do you know who I really am? I'm Ironman."
He and Collin went trick or treating. Nate fell at one point, from running down the sidewalk too quickly, and tore a little hole in the knee of his Ironman costume. When we returned home, he tried to put a Band-Aid on it, ('cause those always fix holes, right?)
The other big thing that happened in October was that Brent became a falconer. He has his apprenctice license and he's learning everything about bird. This is Igor, his Harris's Hawk. He lives in our house.
Let me say that again.
We have a BIRD OF PREY in our house.
Brent built an enclosure for him in the basement (I call it the "hawk condo") but he spends his days in the backyard and his evenings in the family room with, well... the rest of the family.
Not exactly a cozy pet. Brent works with him every day. A big part of faloncry is working with the bird with lures and (gulp) raw meat (don't ask where he gets it. I don't want to tell you about the starling trap in our backyard.) to improve the bird's natural hunting instincts. It's been pretty crazy to watch Brent get to the point that he can walk down the road and get the bird to follow him, swooping along from housetop to treetop. Brent's pretty excited about the bird and Nate thinks it's pretty awesome as well.
Nate thinks everything is a falconer. His toys play with hawks and falcons now. Even the Hulk is getting in on the game.
It's been interesting to see Nate's reaction to this. He likes to hold the bird and Brent even ordered him his own glove.
Other things haven't changed.
If you've been reading for awhile, you may remember the videos we had from visiting Nathan in Haiti. He's always been a snuggler, and even if we're in the same room and he's playing, he'll come over to get a hug at regular intervals. He just needs that reassurance that you're still there and you still love him. Lately, as he comes for his hug, I find myself marveling that my little boy in Haiti has become this great big boy with so many dreams and hopes and opinions and...
I love you, Little Man.
Mama
