Little Pixie is a big fan of birds, probably even woodpeckers because 3 year olds are seldom known for discerning taste. Of course, 3 three year olds are often big fans of a lot of everyday things, and that’s part of what’s awesome about them. Can you imagine being totally bowled over because you saw an ant? Chappy is so enthralled by them that he tries to stick his fingers in the anthills out back every single day.I’ve been wanting to take the kids back to the zoo, but it’s been too hot. I totally should have just saved the money on a family pass because Petsmart* is both free and air conditioned. Toddlers don’t really get that tigers and chimpanzees are significantly more exotic than goldfish, kittens, and canaries. And they can get way closer to the animals at Petsmart. So we went there instead and saw the sweetest dogs that are probably totally obnoxious as soon as you get them home JUST LIKE TANK and we visited the birds, whose cages are low enough the kids could easily see in. They’re also plexiglass instead of bars on the side the kids were on, so no finger nibbling or bird poking. I told the kids what type each bird was, which I bet was pretty impressive because they can’t read the tags themselves. Remember when you were little and your parents always knew everything? The two most important skills for instilling that kind of confidence in your parenting are: reading the obvious labels and informational signs around you, and making the rest of it up.
Pixie likes birdies so much that she even has her own nest. For herself. She drags her comforter off the bed and around her room to wherever and then empties half her laundry out of her drawers and piles it on top. I have her help me put her laundry away and make her bed, but every few days she remakes her pile and we’ll find that she’s abandoned her bed in the middle of the night for it. It’s funny now, but I sure hope she grows out of it. It’s way less cute to sleep in a laundry nest when you’re 20.
*In case you don’t have one near you, Petsmart sells small pets like rodents, birds, and fish, and they partner with animal shelters to adopt out cats and dogs, plus they sell supplies and food for all of the above. They aren’t a “pet store” in the colloquial because they don’t sell puppies from breeders like the crappy shops you used to always see at malls all over the US.
**Image copyright Angela GS, used under Creative Commons Licensing
