Easter Innocence

Our Saturday started out innocently enough. We went to a City Easter Egg Hunt. It was freezing so we didn't really hang around. The boys found some eggs and quickly traded them in for the candy. Then they were ready to leave.

If you notice above, poor Kaden has his hands in his jacket pockets and is holding the basket through his jacket. I should've put coats on them it was so cold. We left the park and headed to Target to get Aaron's birthday presents. His birthday is on Wednesday and according to Kaden that's also when his little sister is going to be born. Due to Brad's schedule we really didn't have any other time to go shopping, so we decided to just get it done. Once we finished at Target we went over to Wal-Mart and wandered over to their "pet" section. We talked the night before about possibly getting a few fish for the kids to take care over. When we left we decided to run over to PetSmart really quick and see what options they had in fish. We also wanted to compare prices and all that. They kids had fun looking around and Kaden now really wants a guinea pig. Brad feel in love with the parakeets and started talking about getting a couple of those instead of fish. We came home and I started pricing things out on the internet to see what we'd be getting into if we got birds. I figured the costs would be similar to the fish considering we'd be buying everything (cage vs. aquarium, food, filters, etc.) to get started. Brad had to go into work so I figured we'd talk about it more the following week. He called me on his way to work and asked if I was going to go buy the birds while he was gone.

I ended up having my parents watch my kids so I could go buy some birds and supplies. I really didn't want to take a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old with me while I'm 9 months pregnant and buying a bird cage and birds... that's just a little much. Anyway, while I was gone my mom did a wonderful job entertaining the kids (and there were a lot of kids there to entertain). They colored eggs and then made bird nests (pictured above and below). I think it's just those hard chinese noodles coated in chocolate, shaped into a nest, then a couple of robin egg candies placed in the middle.

Aaron had to show off his last egg that he snuck into his mouth right before I took the picture. I turned a movie on for the boys and slipped into my bedroom unnoticed so I could get the cage set up for birds. We wanted it to be a surprise.

I finally got the cage ready and got the green bird put in the cage. She made me feel good because she didn't try to get away or anything. She let me pick her up out of the box and put her into the cage. No struggle, no fight, no flight, minimal biting. I felt confident as I reached in to get the blue bird. Once he cleared the box he took off. I spent the next 5-10 minutes trying to chase him down. Just picture this big pregnant woman trying to chase down a bird. I was climbing on the bed, running around the room. I'm sure it would have been quite the sight! I finally caught him and put him in the cage. Man, he bites hard! And he even managed to poop on the bed sheets while he was fluttering about.

But they really are beautiful animals and we're all excited to have them join our little family. The boys love them already. Kaden named the green one Cookie and Brad named the blue one Swift (because I had to chase him so much). I think Aaron would spend the whole day looking at them if he could. Both of the boys want to hold them, but that's not going to happen until they are older (my kids that is).

Now, these birds are supposed to live for like 10-25 years. I was thinking about that today. That's a really long time to have a pet. Kaden will be 15-30 before these guys die. That's a long time to be buying bird food... So Happy Easter everyone! And don't get tricked as easily as I was! Stick with the simple fish!!!