We have had an amazing October - above average temperatures, little rain and beautiful colors everywhere.  The nights have been cool and sometimes chilly and the days have been mostly sunny, warm enough for Ava to swing and play outside.  Halloween night was no exception - as the sun went down, it was still around 65 degrees and gorgeous.  We have been preparing Ava for Halloween for an entire month, talking about costumes and candy, feeling pumpkins and practicing our best, "Trick or treat!"  Lynn has helped out by giving Ava pre-Braille activities that relate to Halloween, like matching little plastic skeletons, bats, and, her favorite, mice (yuck).  All I need is to encounter one of those rubber mice on my floor at night and...well, you can imagine.

As we dressed Ava in her spider costume, she was well aware that we were going out for candy.  To Ava, candy means one thing: suckers.  She loves them dearly and will eat just about any flavor.  "Mmmm, Mmmm, candy suckers!" she says.  We thought that we might take her to our neighbors' homes and then drive up to the top of our hill to check out the action in the rest of the neighborhood.  At the last minute, we decided to put Ava in the stroller and just walk up - it was too nice outside to drive.  She was adorable in her costume, with her big spider belly sticking out.  We hit a few houses on the way up the hill and then, as we rounded the top, our neighborhood came alive with the voices of children and jack-o-lanters twinkling. 

Blackridge is a beautiful neighborhood; I can't be modest about that.  It is at it's peak of beauty in the Fall and this night was no exception.  Part of what makes it beautiful are the people who live here, each with a unique flair for landscaping and decorating and entertaining.  Ava talked and sang as we strolled her through the streets, passing lots of other trick-or-treaters and adults gathered in yards, some drinking wine and some around blazing backyard fires, everyone enjoying the incredible Fall evening.  When we went to houses, Ava said, "Trick or treat!" on command, wished our neighbors a "Happy Halloween" and, occasionally, sang, "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider" to the person giving her candy.  She wanted to get out and walk for a while, stopping every few minutes to grab my finger and go "round and round," as she says.  People passing by commented on how cute her costume was - we did not see one other spider the whole night(thanks to Nonnie for finding this totally unique costume)! 

The best part about Halloween this year is that Ava totally got it.  Everything clicked in her little mind - the costume, the candy, the mood, the excitement.  For a sighted child, this is not hard.  For a blind child, getting the whole concept of an event like this takes careful placing of puzzle pieces, one by one.  There is no incidental learning; Ava must be introduced to everything around her by touch, sound and smell.  Parenting Ava requires extreme purpose.  I can never assume that she will pick something up from TV or from a billboard or from a magazine.  For now, we must bring the world to her.  Last year, I didn't ever think that she would get Halloween or Christmas or birthdays.  Her language skills were not well-developed and she was much more reluctant to touch new things.  She has really made incredible progress this year and witnessing each step has been a miracle for us.  I am so thankful that my family has been able to observe her change and grow so much; it has been so healing for all of us. 

Now, if I can just prepare her for the addition of a baby sister...who is ever prepared for that?