Ohhhhhh.....I think that butterfly needs to be with Jesus.

Lola has been exposed to death, being a vet's daughter, but she doesn't understand it. I am very careful to never say "Fluffy is being put to sleep" for fear she will think sleeping is a forever thing. Still, I hate it when she comes upon a dead bird left by our naughty cats. Better yet, often we open the front door to discover a dismembered mouse, or sometimes just a pile of mouse guts. Try explaining that to a two-year-old.

Anyway, we have a very large yard and love to plant flowers. We were recently at the nursery picking out new plants, when Lola spied a tiny blue butterfly. This butterfly, unfortunately, had not heard of the Darwin Awards, and would probably qualify if animals were accepted. The tiny thing allowed Lola to walk up to it and poke it over and over. Each time it would fly several feet, and land again. Then the process would repeat itself. Lola thought that this was the greatest game ever! The little Mennonite girls that lived at the nursery also thought that this was a wonderful thing. Keep in mind that these girls were likely quite sheltered, and probably had the same respect for all life that I try to instill in my own daughter. While Wil and I paid for the flowers, Lola somehow managed to capture the not so smart insect. She brought it to me, clenched in her chubby little hand. I knew before she opened her fingers that the butterfly probably was never going to be the same. She showed me her catch, and I was sad to see its little wings were tattered, but that it was still alive.

"Go give it to Daddy, I think it needs to be with Jesus."

Dear Lord. My daughter mangled one of the sweetest symbols of grace and perfection on God's green Earth, and right in front of those sweet little girls too. Lola had a look of sad understanding on her little face. She knew she had hurt the butterfly, and hugged my legs remorsefully. Broke my heart!

Then we went home, only to discover our cat with a tiny wren in its mouth. Wil grabbed the little bird and I looked it over. The wounds were too great to save it. Before Wil put the tiny bird out of its misery, Lola got to hold it. She held it ever so gently. She petted it with one finger and said "does it have an owie, Mommy? Can you put a band-aid on it? Make it better!"

Ouch.

The silver lining of this sadness was that Lola finally seems to be developing a sweet gentle compassion for other living things that really touches my heart!

Moving on to happier things:

Today, we went up into the woods to hunt for mushrooms. Not the kind you are thinking of, you sickos! Morels....the most tasty of fungi. Of course we got shut out...again. We never find any. It was fun though, walking through the woods with Lola. We found a woolly bear caterpillar, and I had to really work hard to convince Lola that we couldn't possibly keep it as a pet.

Lola received a little tree from a lady at the farmer's market. She and her daddy planted it today, and it was so adorable! She tried to step on her little shovel just like Daddy does to get a big hole made for the tree. She was so proud of herself. During all of this tree planting, Rowan hung out like the lazy little slug he is in my front pack. I will need an ibuprofin tonight for the back pain he caused! He is getting so big!

After a long day of working outside, Lola went to bed without complaint in her Big Girl Bed. She has stayed in it every time we have put her there for naps or bed, and has only fallen out once! She loves her princess bedding, and thinks she is quite special. Now, we just have to tackle the potty. Mommy doesn't want to be wiping butt until she is 14.