That's Our Aubrey

Aubrey is absolutely enchanted by anything that moves, crawls, or breathes. She is constantly looking for bugs and can look for hours at animals in the pet store or in books. Every time we are out driving about she asks, "Can we go to the Pet Store and look at the animals?" The one time I said yes she got so excited she exclaimed, "you are the best mommy in the whole world". With that kind of praise you'd think I'd go more often. Unfortunately for Aubrey her Mommy is about the least animal loving person around. I wish I could understand her enthusiasm (and her Dad's animal enthusiasm for that matter) but I just don't get it. So I try to get really excited when she finds a new bug or shows me her latest stuffed animal that she has locked up in a cage or tied up in some way, but when she asks on a daily basis for the new pet of the day I just have to shake my head, no. So here is a typical day.

Aubrey: "Mom, when can we get a barn with a horse"

Mom: "Probably never"

Aubrey: "Mom, when can we get a dog"

Mom: "When you are a teenager and can take care of it all by yourself"

Aubrey: "Mom, can we have a lizard?"

Mom: "Probably not"

Aubrey: "Mom can we have a guinnea pig?"

Mom: "Aubrey you have a cat, she'll eat the guinnea pig"

Aubrey: "Mom, can we sell Sunny (the cat) and get a chinchilla?"

Mom (exasperated at this point): "Aubrey, let's be thankful for what we have!"

And so it continues. This note was taped to the door of our room the other day. It is so classic Aubrey I had to take a picture. The other afternoon, a very tired Aubrey had a major meltdown before going to the park because we couldn't take Sunny (the cat) on a leash. Then yesterday, walking through the kitchen I stepped on grashopper (that was supposed to be in the bug catcher OUTSIDE) that had been loved to death. It was missing a leg and an antenea. She is often heard speaking terms of endearment to her latest beetle or cricket. My favorite story is of Aubrey at about age 3, never very interested in dolls, but she found a caterpiller and named it Shoe. I walked in her room one day and found her rocking the caterpiller in the tiny cradle of her doll house. She still talks about Shoe, the caterpiller she found in our home in Charlotte, NC. She can't name any friends or remember the house at all, but Shoe the caterpiller is always in her heart.