Our Pet {tank only}

In lieu of the events this morning, we have now purchased and prepared a fish tank for our future fish! The kiddos LOVED helping prepare it along with all of the extras that daddy so graciously bought! I captured Wesley chanting "Go, Daddy, Go!" on my phone, so *hopefully* I can figure out how to upload it!

Daddy bought a tank that has a color changing LED light!

Daddy cleaning the gravel

Daddy adding the gravel

The kiddos LOVED watching and telling daddy where to put the seaweed and robot!

Can your 2 year old do this?!?!?

I went into the boys this afternoon to find many rows of hotwheels lined up on the floor. I was not sure who made this mess and I was not going to argue, so I just cleaned them up. As I did, I realized that these rows had been sorted! There was a row for the trucks, the corvettes , the police cars, and finally one row with 2 garbage trucks and rescue vehicles. When I got to that last row, Wesley entered the room and did this. . .

With those tears, I was pretty sure who had made the mess. I calmed him down and tried to have a conversation with my baby - it went like this:

Me: I am just cleaning up, Wes.

Wes: No! No! No!

Me: Stop crying, sweet baby,. We can do it again.

Wes: I NOT baby. My cars.

Me: Want to take a picture?

Wes: {tears stop} ha-ha (his way of saying yes)

So, he stopped crying and I was able to capture the last row containg the garbage trucks and rescue vehicles! I still can't believe that he was able to sort them. . . and correctly identify corvettes!

So Long, Farewell Mr. Swimmy

As feared, Mr. Swimmy did not survive the night. The kiddos came to me this morning quite concerned because he was not swimming. After a quick glance, I realized that he was indeed dead, BUT being the good mother that I am, I informed the kiddos that he was 'just sleeping.' They bought it and it allowed me to return him to his family for a proper fish burial. Daddy is at the store now buying a fish bowl and accessories for the day when we finally get a real, long-lasting pet!

Our New Pet

The kiddos have been asking for a pet for quite awhile. For so long, we had the excuse of "we have a baby." WELL, those baby days are gone and ALL 3 are now asking. . . Okay, so maybe just 2, but Wesley repeats everything.

We knew we wanted to start our *small*. I would be fine with something that is furry, but the husband disagrees for now. Something slithery and slimy is completely out of the question. The only pet of sorts that we could agree upon was a fish. . . We told the kiddos that we would *ONE DAY* get this scaly creature and they were overjoyed! The deal is, when they all make VERY GOOD CHOICES for an entire week, that we can go to the pet shop and get one. . .

Fast forward to Monday - the cheese ball container is finally empty and Little Robert decides that it would make a perfect fish bowl! Add to that the fish in our neighborhood pond that we feed at least once a week and we have our first pet! I was ever so grateful when it stormed Monday and Tuesday so that I could just ignore his requests. Today, however, it was beautiful and I had ABSOLUTELY NO excuse. . .

We gathered our bread bag, the 'fish bowl,' the kiddos, some bottled water, and the wagon and headed to the pond. Let me just say, it felt great in our backyard, but as soon as we started walking, it became HOT and FAST! We arrived at the pond just in time for the ducks to come and start swarming in high hopes for some food. We obliged their neediness and even gave some to the poor unsuspecting fish. The kiddos stepped away from the water while I dipped the bowl in an attempt to get a pet and as luck would have it, I got one on the first try!

So, we now have a *VERY* temporary first pet for the kiddos! They have named him Mr. Swimmy Riker! We are going to return him to his mommy and daddy first thing in the morning as we do not want to be the reason for his early demise! :-)

Robert and Hannah with Mr. Swimmy

He is at the bottom - At about 5:00