Frog - EEP!

My cupcake is curious! She also loves animals, insects, and amphibians too. The last two have been a stretch for me. BUT I don't want to squash her learning or her interest in the world around her. So most days I try really hard to be ok or scream a little less when we cross paths with bugs. Snakes - I'm not making any promises.

Last week Cupcake had a friend over to play in the backyard for the morning. We had the splash pad sprinkling, pinwheels blowing in the wind, the beach ball bouncing around, and I was even blowing a steady stream of bubbles for them to pop, chase, and watch drift off into the sunny sky. It was a perfect albeit hot summer day. Then Cupcake saw it. She started focusing on the ground and taking small steps. I said my normal "Please God, don't let it be anything that bites, attacks, or stings." Then I went closer to see what she had discovered. It was a frog....a tiny, baby, no bigger than a dime, frog. We all stood over it and watched it's tiny little jumps. Cupcake looked at me with the biggest sweetest eyes and said "Mommy! Please get it!" My heart sank feeling the weight of the moment. So I took a deep breath, reached down, and picked it up. I was screaming inside but also melting as I saw the look of pride in Cupcake's eyes. She looked closer, watched me hold him, giggled, clapped, and then she even brought me a little bucket to put him in. We had to take pictures. I was only sad that I couldn't hand my camera to a 2 year old and ask her to take picture proof that Mommy was holding a frog. We even let the frog swim in the splash pad which was abosolutely thrilling for cupcake. When it was all over I, of course, made everyone wash err SCRUB hands. In the midst of soaping up to our elbows Cupcake threw her soaps arms around me and said "thanks playing with frog, Mommy." It's moments like those that make me a little warmer to our amphibian friends. It's pictures like these that will hopefully help me remember these moments for years to come: