Sonny woke up early on Saturday morning. He could tell by the temperature and the breeze coming in their apartment that it was going to be a crisp, fall day. Fall was his favorite time of year and the early morning was his favorite time of day. The two loves of his life still slept cozily in their beds. Sonny slipped into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and make a bottle for his girl. He tiptoed down the hall to peek in on Ari, and he was surprised to find her standing in her crib sleepily smiling and rubbing her tiny hands in her eyes.

"Hi baby girl! Good morning," Sonny cooed as he walked toward her and pulled her up into his arms. She curled her sleepy frame into his neck and he stroked her back gently. As much as he loved when she was sleeping soundly, he loved her just waking up even better. Ari was 100% a daddy's girl and a snuggler. Sonny balanced her on his hip and carried her back to the kitchen. He offered her the morning bottle and she happily latched on. They nearly had her weaned off the bottle, but she still liked one in the early morning. Sonny stretched out on the couch with Ari sitting snuggly on his lap. He cruised the news on his phone as she drifted back to sleep. Sonny lifted her slowly and decided to head back to bed with his hubby and little girl.

As he entered the bedroom he couldn't help but smile at how Will's face smushed up against the pillow, his bare shoulders just barely peeking out from the purple, down comforter. Sonny pulled back the blankets and slowly slid he and Ari under the covers. Will stirred as Sonny adjusted the little girl so her back pressed gently against him. Will's eyes barely opened and he grinned when he saw how perfect his family was on this beautiful morning.

"Sorry we woke you," Sonny whispered, running a hand softly over Ari's tummy so she wouldn't wake back up.

"Never be sorry for waking me up like this. Perfect; my family is so perfect," Will replied leaning in to ghost his lips briefly over his husbands then down to the top of his daughter's head. He smiled, staring Sonny in the eyes in a state of pure and absolute bliss.

"So what do you want to do today, my love?"

"Well, I had a couple of ideas," Will laughed and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You're naughty. That sounds fun…but…maybe we can save that for later and do something fun with our little girl today."

"I like the way you think, Son! What if we take her to the pumpkin patch today? I think it's supposed to be just the right amount of chilly, isn't it? And I have been dying to dress her in that candy corn dress with the little orange tights and ruffled bloomers that we got at the mall last week. We could even take some fall pictures for her monthly calendar and baby book." Will rambled excitedly about his thoughts for the day and Sonny just happily basked in his husband's joy.

"That sounds like the best day ever," Sonny said as he sealed the space between them with a kiss.

Ari moved slightly and opened up her tiny eyes. Will scooted closer to them and greeted his baby by tickling her gently on her tummy. She smiled a two, barely peeking out, toothy grin.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Do you want to go pick punkins with dada and daddy today? Huh? Do you, little lady?" Will asked her as she smiled happily at him. "What do you say we all go take a shower and get ready for our day, huh?"

Sonny always laughed at the "baby-talk" his husband used with their daughter. Will was an amazing dad and Sonny was so proud to share this life with his little family. Sometimes he honestly couldn't believe that he almost gave it all up. This amazing life was all his and all meant to be. He couldn't be more blessed or thankful.

"…Sonny. Earth to Sonny," Will said as he rubbed his husband's shoulder trying to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry, babe."

"Where were you just now?"

"Honestly, just thinking about how thankful and lucky I am to have this amazing life. I love you."

Will kissed Sonny one more time before scooping Ari up and crawling out of bed. "I love you too, Son! Let's get going; I am so excited for our day!"

After they had all showered, dressed, and eaten, it was time to bundle up and head out to the pumpkin patch. Will had required they all dress "similarly" for photos. Sonny loved that he was nerdy enough to think about color coordination for almost all of their family photos.

Sonny buckled their Ugg-boot-wearing-baby into her car seat and they headed off to their destination. They had seen some advertisements for a pumpkin patch pretty close by with a hayride and corn maze. When they pulled up to the farm they saw tons of families and kids running around. Will's face lit up with a smile from ear to ear.

"Will, I'm so happy to be here with our little family today. I haven't seen you this happy in quite awhile!"

"Sonny, I am happy. I absolutely love this kind of stuff, and when I was little, you know, well…we didn't do a lot of these kinds of things. I hope we can make this one of our many family traditions."

Sonny kissed him swiftly before replying, "Me too, baby! Me too."

They jumped out of the car and pulled Ari from her seat. Will sat Ari's tiny feet on the ground and they each grabbed a hand. She hadn't been walking terribly long, but now that she was, she loved it. Her little boots shuffled in the colorful leaves as Sonny snapped selfies of them with his free hand. As they strolled through the pumpkin patch, Ari grabbed a hold of a big pumpkin and tried desperately to pick it up. He tiny hands grasped and pulled, but she was just too little.

"Dada," Ari called, wanting Sonny to pick her and the pumpkin up.

"Is this our pumpkin, sweet girl?" Sonny asked pulling his daughter into his arms. "Daddy, I think we found the pumpkin we want!"

"Is that so? Is this our pumpkin, huh?" Will pulled the pumpkin up and into his arms. Ari smiled and slapped her hands on the side of the big orange veggie, making a hollow drum sound. She giggled with excitement and Sonny and Will's smiles covered their faces.

Just then a woman tapped Will on the shoulder. "Excuse me," she said.

"Yes?" Will turned around quickly.

"Hi. I'm….I'm sorry, I really don't mean to intrude, but I couldn't help but see how happy the three of you looked."

"Oh, yes, we are. Thank you."

"Well, would you like me to take some photos of you? I'm actually a photographer, and umm… well I just think that it's rare that I see such a beautiful, loving family. I'd love to take a few shots. My treat, of course," she said. "Oh, my name is Anna, by the way. I'm a student at Salem U."

"Hi Anna, it's nice to meet you. I'm Will. This is my husband Sonny, and this is our beautiful daughter Arianna."

"Hi, Arianna. You are just so cute, almost as cute as your daddies!" Anna said with a laugh and a wink.

"Say, thank you, baby girl!" Sonny laughed, tickling Ari's tummy. "Anna, honestly, we would love for you to take some photos. As you can see my husband here made absolutely sure that we were coordinating our outfits today!"

Anna smiled and led Will and Sonny over to some hay bales surrounded by pumpkins and corn stalks. She began snapping photos as the little family laughed, smiled, and stared lovingly at each other. They moved throughout the farm taking pictures walking around the patch, choosing pumpkins, and petting the farm animals they met along the way. Ari giggled and smiled as she toddled around the farm. Her daddies watched with pride and a trained eye as their little girl navigated the pumpkins on unsteady feet. When Ari started getting tired, Sonny hauled her back into his arms and they headed to pay for their pumpkins.

"Anna, we can't thank you enough for taking these pictures today, but we can't take all of this for free. You took a lot of photos, and we are so excited to share them with our family and friends. Please tell us what we owe you?"

"Really and truly, nothing. I was so happy just watching the three of you together, and I just want everyone to see how normal and wonderful your family is. Please don't pay me, just allow me to share these on my website so the world can see your beautiful family."

Will looked at his husband, a tear dripping down his cheek. "Thank you," he said, hugging Anna. "We can't wait to see the photos. We will tell everyone we know to check out your website, and obviously we will give you a call when we are ready to take our Christmas card pictures."

"You've got it!" Anna laughed. They exchanged phone numbers and emails and parted ways.

As they got in the car, they didn't speak, a comfortable silence falling over them. Ari's eyes drifted shut as the car bounced and jostled. Sonny kept a steady focus on the road as Will stared happily out the window. They passed their street as they drove back into town.

"Where are we going, Son?"

"Remember your original suggestion for today's activities?" Sonny asked, a light blush coating his cheeks.

"Yes?"

"Well, I'd really like to take you up on that offer. I called my mom and dad and they are excited to get a night with her grandbaby… so I was thinking…"

"Sounds like an awesome idea to me!"

When Will and Sonny got home from dropping Ari at grandma and grandpa's house, they changed into sweats and curled up together on the couch.

"Sonny, thank you for today. It was the best," Will said nuzzling his face into Sonny's neck.

"I agree. It was the best, but there is still one thing I want to do. Remember when we were in the car this morning and you said you didn't do that kind of stuff as a kid?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, one of my favorite things to do when it was cold out was making a giant blanket fort, some hot chocolate, and watching a movie in the big pile of blankets."

Will let out a laugh as he imagined young Sonny creating the elaborate fort and curling up in it. "Yeah, baby, that sounds like an awesome idea."

"One difference though…" Sonny said with a look of desire in his eyes. "I have no intention of us watching any movies in our fort tonight."

Will jumped up from the couch and started pulling blankets and pillows from their hall closet.

"Will, what are you doing," Sonny called.

"Move that ass," Will laughed. "I'm ready for a little fort action."

Sonny laughed and tackled Will with a kiss as he grabbed the comforter from their bed and wrapped it around them. In between kisses, they spent the next 30 minutes making sure their fort was built solid and warm. When it was all ready, Sonny and Will crawled into the fort and surrounded themselves with the warm pillows and blankets. The fort heated up quickly as shirts were shed and pants were lost.

"I love you," Will said kissing down his husband's abdomen and staring into his chocolate brown eyes.

"I love you too."

"Now what do you say we cap off this perfect fall day by putting this fort to good use?"

Sonny grabbed a hold of Will's ass and pulled him close. They spent the rest of their night appreciating each other and the perfect fall chill in the air as they indeed put their blanket fort to very good use.