Ahhh, fall.

There's that day every year toward the end of summer when you feel the season change. The air is a little cooler, the breeze a little fresher, and there's just that feeling... like the breath of fall. We had that day a couple of weekends ago, and though there have been plenty of hot-as-hell days since then, you know it will all be over soon.

I love fall. My birthday and Grayson's birthday are both in September, so of course it's the best month. There's football (which I could care less about, but I always enjoy the carnival atmosphere of home game days in Norman), cool nights, the annual surprise of the leaves changing and falling. Ahhhh.

It's not here yet, but it's coming. It's coming.

In the meantime, there are birthdays to celebrate! We celebrated Grayson's big day on Tuesday with a blow-out bash at our house in Norman. I rented a bouncer, my mom and I made our annual bizarre contraption of a cake, and we invited everyone in Grayson's third grade class, as well as old friends from OKC. We had about a dozen kids, and it was complete rampant chaos for two hours. But a glorious good time was had, and we rang in Grayson's ninth birthday in high style.

Yesterday I took him to Petsmart to buy the Bearded Dragon baby he has been wanting. G and I chipped in to buy him a gift certificate for the lizard, cage, lights, gear and all the necessary accoutrements to keep our new pet happy and healthy. Grayson was beside himself with excitement. He's named the newcomer "Mambo," and I gotta say, he's darn cute. Right not he looks like a long, skinny horny toad. But in a matter of months, I guess, he'll be much bigger, and around two feet long when he's full grown.

Mambo's a sweet, docile little guy. He placidly allows himself to be picked up and handled, sits still and patient in Grayson's hand while he holds and pets him, and doesn't seem bothered in the least by the attention. He eats meal worms (with appropriately disgusting gusto and much lip-smacking), as well as dragon chow pellets and fresh veggies. He has spikes all over, and a soft, scaly belly. He has long toes and little grippy claws that allow him to scramble right up your arm or cling to your shirt if he so pleases. All in all a very satisfying, low-maintenance sort of pet. I look forward to seeing how quickly he will grow.