Favorite Season

I tried to ask Matthew what his favorite season was and he nodded "yes"  for each one. Now it's possible that he doesn't conceptually grasp the four different seasons, but he signed snow when I said winter so I think he understood what I was asking.  He also might not exactly understand what it is meant by "favorite". However, it's also possible that they are ALL his favorite.  Or put in another way...his favorite season might be whichever season we are currently in.

If we go with that theory, then Fall is his favorite season.  There are the obvious reasons why he might love fall:

* leaves - Matthew is a leaf collector.  If we go for a walk, we have to stop to get at least one leaf (usually more).  He likes to hold them and wave them.  There is usually at least one in his bed at night and several in the backseat of the car.  And of course he loves jumping and sitting in piles of leaves!

* Halloween - Last year he really caught on to the whole knocking and signing "Trick or Treat", getting candy, and then singing "Thank you"  idea.  In years past he didn't care if we only trick or treated for twenty minutes.  But last year he made it for over an hour and wanted to keep going.

*pumpkins - He loves to tap them, pound them, and run his hands over the bumps and ridges.  They have started showing up for sale at grocery stores and he immediately points to them. He loves taking a hayride out to a pumpkin patch.  Once he is out in the patch he will sit on the pumpkin he chooses.

*his special ghost - When Matthew was little, Grandma Buettner bought him a colored light up ghost.  It is made out of an interesting waxy plastic that looks like it has been melted.  It has a great texture for scratching.  At the end of Halloween she takes it home and then brings it back to him the next October.

Just this weekend I realized another reason that Matthew might love fall...BOUNCY HOUSES!!!  Saturday,  September 12th we had a local city festival and he was able to bounce to his heart's content.  Friday, September 18th there was a Fun Fair at his school.  We figured the only way to go was the wristband for unlimited visits to the inflatables.  The last half hour of the night, a girl in his class who is always sweet to him, took his hand and they went on an inflatable obstacle course at least five times in a row! She helped keep him moving through the course.  Otherwise he liked to stop in the middle and jump or lay down and feel the movement from others that were coming after him.  Yesterday, we attended a street festival right by our house and there were three FREE bouncy houses!  Yeah...we spent a little time there!

So the question is...where can we go next weekend where there will be a bouncy house? We wouldn't want to break our streak of three weekends in a row! And the weekend after that my mom is having a 70th birthday celebration.  I wonder what she would think of a bouncy house at her party?!?!