The drive was uneventful and went well considering I had a 22 month old as my traveling companion. The money spent on the DVD player for the car has already paid off several times over. And so have the Elmo DVD's that Granny and Grandpa have supplied us with!
Saturday morning we had big plans for breakfast with the butterflies. Despite the griddle problems that caused breakfast to be late, the food was pretty good, although not exactly as plentiful as we hoped. Rachel was more than happy to share though....
They offered the opportunity to make a butterfly mask, but Rachel was not at all interested and we made our way to the conservatory where the plants, fish, and butterflies were plentiful. First stop was the frog. It was a pretty big hit with all the kids because it was something that could be climbed and/or ridden.
Rachel had the opportunity to get a butterfly tattoo. She even gave it some thought...so to encourage her, I got one too. But once she saw that the sponges were not there for cleaning and that a stranger was going to touch her, that was the end of that idea. Nana showed her the fish and how to play in the water, where she happily spent about 30 minutes. I was grateful she didn't try to remove her shoes and socks and go wading...
We finally convinced her that releasing a butterfly would be pretty fun. We were given two packets and once she saw how it all worked, she was very interested and LOVED to watch them fly, which illicited giggles and smiles.
As we meandered along the path, several butterflies were congregated on some hyacinths, including a big, beautiful monarch butterfly. I snapped a couple of pictures, including this one of Rachel's cute, chubby toddler finger pointing to the pretty orange and black butterfly.
To bad we couldn't have just frozen it here... anyone with a little person knows what happened next. The same chubby fingers grabbed those folded wings for a closer inspection. While I'm telling her NO! We don't grab the butterfly... the deep gasps and screeches of horror from 3 old women standing nearby cause Rachel to tighten her grip. They throw in a few "Let it go!" type phrases as Mom and I try to pry the butterfly from my now crying daughter's fingers. It flitters off, injured, to a safer place with the mean old ladies tisk tisking about how you can't touch their wings and "how sad". Off to a quiet corner we go where I try to comfort Rachel and explain that butterflies should be looked at but not touched. A completely different message than she had 3 minutes before when we released four butterflies that had been crammed into a small envelope for her entertainment...
The fun of the butterflies was definitely over- so we went back to the fish pond for a few minutes to calm our nerves. Rachel wasn't too interested in the butterflies after that...but found the fish to be safe with no yelling old ladies. I guess we can cross entomologist off her list of future career options.
As we were leaving, Mom shared our tale with one of the park department employees. She wasn't at all concerned about the butterfly...but rather horrified that these ladies ruined the butterflies for Rachel. I felt so much better when she made light of it by reminding me that none of the butterflies are endangered and it really was ok that Rachel touched/pinched one. After all, she's not even two- and the only way she can learn is by trial and error.
I hope that Rachel, Mom, Dad O. and I can all return to the breakfast with the butterflies next year. I just hope the mean old ladies have pancakes at home!
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