Day 1,286 - The Butterfly Bonanza! a.k.a. The One Where We Raised Butterflies

There are lots of things that we as adults can take for granted. Take the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly for instance. It's indisputably one of the coolest things in nature. The way a caterpillar grows through stages of its early life before finally enclosing itself in its chrysalis. Then, the changes that happen in said chrysalis over the next few days leading up to the grand emergence of the butterfly that has resided within. Of course, the great thing about having kids is that their natural excitement and exuberance for life can help adults to see those really cool things through the eyes of a child. Nowhere was that more evident than over the past couple of weeks when we raised caterpillars into butterflies with the kids (I know; that seems shockingly apparent based upon the beginning of this blog).

Our journey of being butterfly parents began on May 10th when a cup containing four tiny caterpillars arrived on our front step. Actually, for the record, it technically began five days earlier when we placed the order for them on my sister-in-law's Amazon account (Have to take advantage of that free shipping!). We had actually discussed raising butterflies with the kids for a few years but the timeline never lined up correctly until this year.

As soon as I opened up the delivery box to find the cup of caterpillars, Ethan was very interested to see what it was all about. He was very good about not touching the cup and just looking with his eyes (except for a few occasions). It understandably took a bit for the caterpillars to feel comfortable with their new surroundings but soon enough, they were climbing all over their cup and exploring every inch. Ellie, for her part, was just as excitedly to see them once she got home from school that day.

Day 1

Over the next three days, we took photos each day charting the growth and development of our four new friends. If there was any single development Bethany and I missed, Ellie and Ethan were certain to let us know. Finally, on May 14th, the caterpillars made their way to the top of their cup and formed into a chrysalis where they would remain until the following Monday when I moved the lid of their cup into the butterfly habitat. 

As you can see, our caterpillars changed quickly over the next several days.

Over the next few days, Ellie and Ethan became more and more excited for their butterflies to "hatch". Each morning and night, Ellie would check on the growth of the chrysalis and proceed to ask Bethany and/or me when the butterflies would come out of their chrysalis. Unfortunately, Bethany and I are not experts in the butterfly life cycle and only knew that they took seven to 10 days to emerge.

On Saturday the 21st, the momentous day finally arrived. While I thought I noticed slight movement from the chrysalises early in the morning, I just assumed I was seeing things. Later that morning though, Bethany and the kids came inside from a stint of playing outdoors to find that one of the butterflies had emerged. Soon enough, another two emerged although we sadly had not had the opportunity to watch them do so yet. Therefore, we were bound and determined to watch the last one break forth from its chrysalis state. On Saturday at 1:50 pm, it did just that. Lucky for us, we were right there to watch it happen. I even was able to record the moment!

Over the next three days, we continued to care for our new butterflies as they adjusted to their new life. Each day, Bethany used an eye dropper to place several drops of homemade nectar in their home for their consumption. It was at all uncommon for us to find Ellie and/or Ethan sitting on the floor in front of their home watching them crawl around and practice using their wings. Finally, on Monday night, the time came for us to release the butterflies into nature. While the first was more than happy to leave his home, the other three had a little more trepidation in doing so. Soon enough though, each of the four left their home and fluttered into the trees in our backyard where they will hopefully make a new home for themselves.

If we needed any justification that our kids had enjoyed raising butterflies, we received that rather quickly as soon after walking back in the house Ellie asked when we would raise them again. Honestly, I wouldn't have expected to say this at the start of our project but I honestly can't wait to raise butterflies again either. It was a really fun process to watch and being able to do it with my kids made it all the more rewarding. Now, I know this is a long blog post so I've attached a "too long, didn't read" for your benefit.

TL,DR - We raised butterflies with the kids over the past couple of weeks. It was fun!

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,281 - The Things Ethans Say

I like blogging because it allows me to chronicle these big moments in the kids' lives that otherwise might be lost to time. For example, something that doesn't need to be remembered for years to come was the three of us finishing the second season of "Green Eggs and Ham" this morning. Hardly worth remembering in 20 years but still a crazy fun series to watch. In fact, I still can't get the theme song out of my head!

There are many other things that deserve to be chronicled though. One example would be the silly things that comes out of Ethan's mouth. To him, I'm sure these things really aren't all that silly. They probably come from a place of seriousness and at that moment in time, they are the truest, deepest thoughts that his little body can dream up. One of these so-called "silly things" burst forth from Ethan's lips just yesterday as we had ourselves a little morning adventure.

Our adventure started out as a simple trip to the post office and nothing more. However, when one doesn't really have any strict deadlines to meet, then it's easy to veer off course and do something like go to a park. In case you're wondering, going to a park is exactly what Ethan and I decided to do with our morning. Seeing as how Hobby Hill Park is located right down the street from the post office, it made sense for that to be our park of choice.

I personally really like Hobby Hill Park because it features an outdoor gym meaning that I can exercise in between stints of pushing Ethan on the swings and the zip line. Ethan for his part also likes the outdoor gym. He specifically loves the exercise bike which is somewhat strange seeing as how his feet don't even properly reach the pedals. After Ethan tired of playing at the playground, he wanted to go on a walk around the park so that's exactly what we did.

FEEL THE BURN!!!

At about the halfway mark of our journey, Ethan noted a field off to the north complete with disc golf baskets where he reminisced about the time we played disc golf with some friends. From there, it was a short hop and a skip across a bridge where Ethan found a bench on which to rest his weary legs. When I asked what he was doing, his reply was simple enough. "I'm probably getting tired so I'm sitting on the bench." Now, don't ask me why he was only probably getting tired, but he was. Perhaps this was a preemptive break to prevent him from fully getting tired. When I pressed him for additional details on the severity of his tiredness, he had no additional information to offer.

I wish there were some pigeons for him to feed.

There was one additional statement from Ethan yesterday that I do want to share. After the park, we headed to Target to purchase two items. Specifically soap. We needed soap. Both hand soap and body soap. That's clearly the kind of trip to Target that should be over and done in about ten minutes or so. However, Ethan subscribes to the same train of thought that most women that shop at Target do. That being that he needs to explore every single aisle in the toy department before we can leave. While he's normally pretty good about not asking for things, he did ask for one thing on this occasion. "Dad, can I have a skateboard when I turn five?" Now, I'm not sure why he has earmarked five in his head as the appropriate time to get a skateboard but he had. My response was the old parent standby of "We'll see, son. We'll see."

For the record, I assumed Ethan would forget about the skateboard. That is not the case as he was talking about it again today and how he was going to get one when he turns five. As a result, I'm now wondering if I should go ahead and book an ER and/or Urgent Care visit for his birthday two years from now or if I can just wait until the day of. Anyone know the answer to that? #DaddyWrite

Day 1,275 - The Fort to End All Forts

When I was growing up, I often wondered what it would have been like to have had a sibling. That's not to say my childhood was bad. On the contrary, there were definitely a lot of good things about being an only child. However, there were definitely times a playmate would have been nice. Also, it's fun to hear stories from Bethany and her siblings about their many adventures from childhood (both good and bad).

Taking all of those things into account, it's understandable why Bethany and I decided early on that we didn't want Ellie to be an only child. In fact, we wanted her to have a sibling so that she might always have a constant companion. We also hoped that Ellie and her future sibling would be best friends. Lucky for us, that has certainly been the case for Ellie and Ethan up to this point. While there are certainly the occasional squabbles, the two really do seem to be each other's best friend and they genuinely love being together. 

As Ethan has gotten older, it's become more and more common for the two siblings to engage in playtime by themselves. What's also cool is that those playtimes often end up being pretty creative and imaginative due in no small part to Ellie. She's always coming up with activities that the two of them can engage in together. Ethan, more often than not, is more than willing to go alone with what Ellie's grand idea of the moment is.

Late last week, the grand idea of the moment happened to be fort building. While Ellie and Ethan have been known to rearrange our kitchen chairs and/or living room furniture on occasion to make a fort, she certainly raised the bar with her fort-related adventures last week. Instead of repurposing our living areas, she instead decided to turn their bunk beds into a fort.

Ellie, started up on the top bunk with a couple of blankets and meticulously started tying them together before attaching them to the railing of her bed. Then, Ethan helped out by bringing some more blankets up the ladder for Ellie to use. Once the blankets were properly attached, Ellie began tossing them over the railing, effectively creating an enclosure around Ethan's bottom bunk. Then, with the fort properly constructed, the two could start the next stage of their adventures.

The next stage of their adventure consisted of several phases. In phase one, the two worked together to load Ethan's bed with every stuffed animal in the room. Then, they added any and all blankets and pillows left in the room. Finally, the two managed to find room to snuggle together in Ethan's bunk while Ellie read books aloud to Ethan. In case you're wondering, this entire activity took place after Ellie got home from school one evening and lasted until dinner time.

While the fort didn't last long that night, it didn't take long for it to return the next morning. In fact, Ellie took great strides to ensure that the fort was bigger and better than before. Ethan, for his part, was again more than willing to serve as the Troy to Ellie's Abed (That's a Community reference for those in the know). Now, I can't guarantee how long he'll be happy in that subservient role. However, the current phase that the two are currently engaged in is pretty fun to watch. Here's hoping it doesn't pass too fast! #DaddyWrite

Troy and Abed in a fort!!!