the caterpillars have arrived

For Christmas (yes we celebrate it even though I'm not Christian. We celebrate it as a family holiday to get together, without any mention of the religious origin of the holiday) my son Leo received a butterfly kit as a gift from us. It has a net-like enclosure for the mature butterflies, and a postcard to send away for caterpillars when the weather is warmer. We mailed the postcard last week and they arrived yesterday. Leo was so excited when David told him at the end of school that he raced back inside to tell his teacher. (We gave a second kit to his teacher to use in the classroom, and her caterpillars should be arriving soon.) He had David page me at work to call home so that Leo could tell me all about them. The enthusiasm of a six year old is very special. He showed them to me as soon as I got home. The ten caterpillars come in two jars with their food and windows to watch them. He wanted to carry them around with him and have them sleep in his room with them, but we realized that if they are to survive he shouldn't carry them constantly. It will be fun to watch them grow larger, spin their chrysalis, emerge and grow.

I was impressed that Leo learned the word "chrysalis" in kindergarten when the classroom had silkworms. When I was a kid we just called it a cocoon. It's good that he's being taught the correct terms when young.


Leo did something yesterday that I thought would make David furious, but David just shook his head about it. We had our friends Gareth and Analisa and their kids Alec and Kaylin over for dinner on Saturday. David made two new dishes, a baked risotto with spinach and asparagus, and roasted sweet potatoes with pecans and a sweet topping. Leo wanted more, so David went to the store, bought more ingredients and cooked both dishes yesterday just for Leo. Leo looked at them and announced that he wasn't hungry for dinner and didn't eat a bite of either one. All that work and he didn't eat a bite.


I also wanted to introduce a new follower, jennrubenstein. Welcome Jenn. Your profile tells a lot about you, and I encourage people to check it and your blogs out.