Two New Beasts in the Family

I don't know how to start this post off except to just say it: In addition to two canine beasts, one human beast (and one on the way), we are now officially the proud owners of two amphibious beasts -- pet frogs.

(And a dead snail who lives with them, but we're working on that situation.)

Because Mark and I know how fascinated Nathan gets while watching fish (and by fish I also mean the lobster tanks at any seafood restaurant), we had been toying around with the idea of an aquarium for his birthday. We eventually ruled it out because the expense (and energy!) required to keep up an aquarium are a bit much for us right now, and because we didn't really have a safe place for Nathan to enjoy it without destroying it.

But Uncle Nick (and Barbara too) found a compromise: African dwarf frogs who live in a tiny little box aquarium that acts as its own ecosystem. Cool, huh? (They have a friend who is a buyer for Learning Express who is extremely in tune with what's interesting and fun for kids... so pretty much everything N&B get for Nathan -- especially on said friend's recommendation -- is a home run.) They only have to be fed a couple of times a week, and their home stays clean on its own, we just need to wipe down the sides a couple of times a year. The snail is supposed to do most of that cleaning work for us, but seeing as he's notsomuch alive.... yeah like I said we're working on that situation.

Nathan has named his frogs Wilbur (after my dad's cat, we assume) and Nathan. He changes his mind about their names at least once a day. Please don't ask me which is Wilbur and which is Nathan. The snail doesn't have a name, since we're carefully avoiding mentioning him to Nathan in the hopes that he'll think it's just a rock, not a dead pet. Good parenting at its finest.

Nathan and Wilbur Frog arrived at our house on Saturday during the shower; since (human) Nathan's birthday at the end of July, the frogs have been living at Nick and Barbara's. And Nathan is loving his new pets; he asks to see them all the time. Right now we have them up on the mantle in the family room, and in his zeal to talk to them (and kiss their box... no I am not kidding) he has been climbing up on the (rolling) ottoman and standing up on it. Yikes. So I think the frogs' box will be finding a new spot in our home soon, but I'm not sure where yet. (We'll take care of that when we take care of the dead snail, I assume.)

Anyway -- welcome to the family, Wilbur and Nathan Frog! We promise to take good care of you for your expected 2-year life span, and we can't wait until you mature a little and start singing to us!