This is Cutie.
He is cuddling with Barbie’s puppy. No lie. This is how I found him.
But I’m way ahead of myself. Really Natalie found him on Friday at recess and brought him home in her hand. We quickly ruined one of my brand new ziploc storage containers so he could have a home. Because we all know how long caterpillars live.
Anyway, 20 minutes (did you hear me? 20 minutes!!) later, Cutie was gone. Missing. AWOL. We’d last seen him on the couch in his home. The home with the hole in the top. The hole that was big enough for a wooly bear to climb out of.
“He’s probably going to die, mommy. Because he doesn’t have water.” Natalie said somberly.
“Yes, sweetie, he’ll probably die. But that’s okay.” I assured her and she ran off to play.
Fast forward to Monday morning….. zzzzzzzppp!
I’m in a total rush trying to get Ainsley and her little friend off to preschool, shoving lunches in backpacks, matching socks, and forcing shoes on feet. As I reach for Ainsley’s ski hat (it was freezing here Monday morning) who should I notice but Cutie curled up nice and warm on Ainsley’s hat.
Seriously. Somehow (and by somehow I mean by crawling on all 10 of his sticky little legs) he managed to get from the couch to foyer coat closet and find a nice warm spot to nap. For all I know it took him three days to get there and he’d just curled up after the exhausting trip.
Ainsley quickly swooped him up, stuck him back in his home, and happily carried him off to school to show her friends.
Cutie has now survived in our house for almost a week. This morning, this is what Natalie and Ainsley carried him to the car in….
A miniature baby carseat. Yes. Yes they did. They put Cutie in a carseat to keep him safe. They were looking out for his best interest.
And in that vein Natalie said to me Weds. night as I was putting her to bed, “Mommy, I’m going to let Cutie go. He needs to spend his last days playing outside. If I keep him too long, he’ll die.”
“Okay, sweetie,” I said. “But let’s do it in the morning.”
“Good idea. That way the birds and the squirrels won’t eat him tonight.”she said matter-of-factly.
I’m not going to tell her that birds and squirrels sleep at night and eat during the day. That’ll be my little secret.
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Comments (7)
AWEEEE how precious!!! I love this entry! All the photos were beautiful I liked the carseat part! :o)
That sounds like a story in the making. The Hardy Caterpiller. Miss N is wise beyond her years.
I loved the caterpillar story! It is something Natalie will remember forever. You are one great mom!
Too funny..perhaps Cutie is planning a coccoon very soon Perhaps you should keep him ’till spring when he’s a beautiful butterfly !!
Such sweet nurturing girls, all the way down to the infant car seat! That made me smile!
oh my gracious. this is so funny! i love all the picture of CUTIE playing, er, i mean, living amongst all of your girl’s tiny toys. The carseat bit is just perfect! what a pet=-)
The carseat was so sweet! Enjoyed the caterpillar story.
Have a great day.