The Honey Birds

You should have been there with us at the pet store a few weeks ago when we went in for the SINGULAR and EXPRESS purpose of buying nectar for our hummingbird feeders.

The feeders had been empty for several months, but Abby noticed those tiny, speedy birds occasionally searching for a treat, hovering around the empty feeders.

One warm sunny afternoon we stopped by PetSmart on our way home.

My children love animals passionately.  They were communally sad that no puppies were out and about at the pet store, but the cats were still a huge hit.

(CAN WE PLEASE HAVE A CAT, MOM? PLEASE?!

WHO WILL FEED IT AND CARE FOR IT?? OH, I WILL, MOM. I PROMISE! WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME??)--5 year old.

(Mommy! Kitty! Go home wif kitty?! Pweeeeeeese???)---2 year old

As were the lizards.

(MOM?! CAN WE TAKE HOME A LIZARD? I LOOOOOVE LIZARDS. I WILL FEED IT EVERY DAY AND LOVE IT AND TAKE IT FOR WALKS. LIZARDS ARE SOOO AWESOME!!)--5 year old

(Mom! Wizard for Audgey Kate? Pweeeeese?)---2 year old.

As were the fish.

(MOM? I LOVE FISH. LOOK AT THIS ONE! IT IS SOOOOO COOL. MOM! YOU HAVE GOT TO GET ME A FISH. I WILL FEED IT EVERY DAY AND YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO DO A THING! I WANT ONE SO BAD. WE NEED A PET AT HOME. COME ON MOM!)---5 year old

(Oooooh. Fish, momma! I wike fishies! We take it home, pweeeeeese?!)--2 year old

As were the ferrets.

(OH.MY.GOODNESS. THESE ARE THE CUTEST LITTLE FURRY CREATURES IN THE WHOLE WORLD, MOM! THEY ARE SO SOFT AND CUTE. OH MOM! PLEEEEEAAAASE CAN WE TAKE ONE OF THESE HOME?? I WILL LOVE IT SOOO MUCH AND CLEAN UP ITS MESSES. YES I WOULD I PRRRROOOOOMMMMIIISSSSEEE)--5 year old.

(Oh. Cute Fewwets. I wooooove fewwets momma! I keep it??)--2 year old.

As were the birds.

(OH IT WOULD BE SO NEAT TO HAVE A BIRD FOR A PET, WOULDN'T IT MOM?? WHY NOT? YOU DON'T LIKE BIRDS?! OH, WELL, THEN, WE SHOULD HAVE ONE FOR A PET! BUT WHY NOT? YOU SAID YOU LIKED BIRDS!!)---5 year old.

(Biwdies! Pwetty biwdies in de cage. Why dey in de cage momma? Hi pwetty biwdie in de cage. You come home wif Audgey Kate??)--2 year old.

As were the spiders.---ugh.

(MOM CAN WE HAVE A SPI....Ok.)--5 year old

(Spidews! Yuck!)--2 year old.

Well, we eventually made it out of the pet store without a cat, lizard, fish, ferret, bird or spider...

and we filled the feeders for our hummingbirds once we got home.

Audrey Kate calls them Honey Birds, and I refuse to correct her. I really don't care if she goes to kindergarten saying it, or middle school or high school or her wedding day. And if any of you tell her the correct way to say it, I will be happy to tell your children the truth about Santa Claus.

(Which also reminds me that Abby still calls acorns "pine corns" and I am not correcting her on that either. It is just too cute.)

I spent countless minutes (I wanted to say hours, but I really didn't spend hours) with my camera in hand attempting to get a picture of the Honey Birds as they twittered around our feeders. But in living up to their reputation---those fellows are fast.

They are amazingly cute and tiny. We love watching them while we sit down for a meal.  Don't you want to just hold that little guy in your hand and pet it!? Just me?

It almost makes me want a bird for a pet.

Ha! Almost...