March 14

We are seriously getting our use out of our Botanical Garden/Butterfly House membership! We went again this week (I think that marks three weeks in a row) with my friend Jen and her kids Caleb and Hannah. They had never been to the Butterfly House, so Caleb and Daisy were excited to show their friends their favorite parts.

We happened to be the first visitors this morning, and were treated to front-row seats of the daily butterfly-releasing. (One of the workers informed me that they intentionally have no host plants there, so the butterflies won't lay eggs. Instead, they bring in chrysalids from a butterfly farm and hatch them on premises, then release the newborn butterflies.)

"Releasing butterflies" sounds much more romantic than it actually was; because these guys were freshly hatched, they had never flown before. That meant they were hesitant to leave the box, and had to be unceremoniously dumped out. Kind of like the mama bird kicking her baby out of the nest?

Still, both Calebs were a little bit nervous. 

(Those blue blurs are the Blue Morpho butterflies falling out of their box.)

Eventually, they enjoyed the spectacle.

Hannah, however, was terrified, especially when one landed on one of the flowers on her boot. Apparently the butterflies are more apt to land on you right after they're released, because they're still novice fliers. Hannah was so traumatized that poor Jen had to carry her around for quite a while, despite the fact that carrying is a bit awkward with the 37-week-pregnant baby bump.

Eventually, Hannah recovered and Daisy was happy to take her by the hand and lead her along the paths. It was pretty much the sweetest thing I've seen this week.

Except that then the Calebs decided to hold hands and explore, too. And then my heart nearly exploded.

Sweet little girls. I'm so glad they're friends! (Also, Daisy is not actually that much smaller than Hannah - it's just a funny perspective.)

When we got too hot (they keep it at 85 degrees in there!) we came out and the kids did some jungle-themed puzzles.

This girl loves puzzles!

Then we played outside - despite the fact that it was windy, gray, and 37 degrees out - until Jen and kids had to leave. We headed home, where Daisy promptly began fussing. She didn't want lunch, she didn't want a nap (it was only 10:30, so I couldn't blame her), she just wanted to fuss. Poor girl has been running a temp of around 101.8 for the past day and a half, but I can't figure out what's wrong. Eventually Caleb, Daisy and I settled on the couch to snuggle - one on each side of me. Ten minutes later, Daisy was tucked under my arm and snoring away. Poor baby.

After I took her to her crib, Caleb discovered these butterfly wings that he made at our friend Mary's birthday party last year.

I love that nearly a year later, he's still delighted by them.

Then, Caleb demonstrated his newest skill: balancing on one foot. He wanted to make sure I got a picture of it.

That is one happy boy!