October

October is my very favorite month. It's one of the most beautiful months here in NC.

The nights get cooler and most days do too (although I was very drippy at the soccer game yesterday with the sun beating down). The leaves on the trees start to turn, and it's time to plant pansies. Although mine are still babies, they'll start growing like crazy and bloom in the snow before they burst out in the spring. My friends from colder climes think it's crazy, but pansies love the winter here.

October is also my birthday month. It's terrible how shamelessly I promote my birthday, isn't it? I can't help it. My mom was the best about making our birthday special as we grew up. I didn't get lots of expensive gifts, but I always got something truly thoughtful. The best part was deciding on our special meals for the day and on the type of cake. Birthdays were a big deal, and I still love my day--actually, my family accuses me of hyper-extending it to the whole month!

This year it has already been special. Barry suggested a birthday tree for my present. We've owned 3 homes in our marriage. At the first house, we planted the Anson tree. It was a pretty little red bud. At the second house, we planted the Nolan bush-- a lacy hydrangea. As the completion of our front yard project, Barry proposed the Amy tree. It's a little red maple that is already showing off it's beautiful colors. See?

Hopefully we won't be moving anytime soon, but we love to ride by our old homes when we're in Burlington and look at how the Anson tree and the Nolan bush have grown along with our boys.

On top of that, my mother-in-law slaved over making a wonderful treat for me. I love her mother's German chocolate cake, so she got the recipe and spent 1/2 a day making it from scratch. It was a labor of love that I soooooo appreciate, and it's DELICIOUS!
What's your favorite month? Do you have a favorite birthday memory or a birthday tradition at your house that you'd share with us? I can't wait to hear how you celebrate!