The Butterfly Pavillion

A few weeks ago, we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. It was their 15th anniversary, and admission was only $1.50 each. The weather was great, and we made the trip. Kyle did say that it wasn't on his list of things to do before he died, but I think even he enjoyed it a little bit.

You may notice that Rosie (the tarantula) is not a butterfly, and the kids all got to hold her. The truth is that they have about 150 (more?) Rosie's that they rotate on and off the public stage. They are all females, though, because the males tend to be more easily agitated by all that attention (to which I had no comment).

Daniel held Rosie, didn't move an inch, and was glad when it was over. If you look closely, you'll notice that he's wearing shorts. Isn't that just typical Colorado? The temperatures will swing from unbearably frigid to 50 degrees and sunny, which is then considered a heat wave! Well, it was one of those "heat wave" days.

I chose not to hold Rosie, so you can stop looking for that picture.

Rachel takes the best pictures, and this next one is one of my favorites. Honestly, she gets credit for most of our great pictures.

The misters and heat in this tropical forest made that room so humid! Anyone with "challenging hair" knows what humidity does to it... we felt like we were in New York or Alabama in the summer time!

It was really beautiful, though.

The next picture is of cocoons, and you can sit and watch these amazing little butterflies emerge.

The butterfly action can be a little slow for some people, which I'm guessing is why they put in this zip-line.

We took so many pictures of this butterfly on Rachel, you would have thought that we'd never had a butterfly land on any of us in our lives. It made no sense at all. Rachel was dressed for the butterflies, though, and it worked!

Part 2 Daniel and swimming lessons

Well, my great idea and our attempt at swimming lessons were a failure. Daniel didn't even get in the water this time, and we left early (hence, no fun swimming lesson pictures!). If I thought this was just a battle in stubbornness on his part, I would deal with that, but I know that's not it.

He did ask if he could try again maybe when he's 7 or 35, like when Kyle's allowed to drive.

Daniel and swimming lessons

Well, many of you know that our little Daniel can be quite shy and reserved with new people. He's never been one to jump in and just play with someone new. We encourage him, but we've never pushed him. It's unusual enough that if he were playing with someone (not in his family) that we all stop what we're doing to point it out and watch. Also, if you're a stranger to Daniel, DO NOT touch him! That will not go over well at all. He doesn't like surprises and really has to have an understanding of what's going on before it happens. I think I could count on one hand the number of people (outside of family) that he has let hold him. He prefers to keep his distance.

This isn't something I really worry about, because I believe he'll basically outgrow it. We've also seen some small things recently that have been HUGE steps for him. At church this past Sunday, he knew that there were Starburst candies in my purse. I had let him have a couple, but then told him that if he wanted another one he had to pick someone to share a Starburst with. It couldn't be someone in his family. I got to talking with someone, but about 10 minutes later Daniel came back with 3 little girls. Hmmm... progress, right?

So there are swimming plans in this coming summer, and I thought it would be a great idea for Daniel to take swimming lessons! That's a normal thing for many kids to handle, and Daniel definitely likes the water. I also think that swimming is a life skill that everyone should have, just in case. So we talked about swimming lessons, other new kids in the class, and a teacher that wasn't his mom, dad, or sibling (remember, he doesn't like surprises). He was excited and dressed for his lesson 2 hours early. I thought that was a good sign, and we were off to the YMCA!

Well, he stiffened almost as soon as we got to the pool, and I began to wonder about my great idea. I stood with him at the edge of the pool for quite a while. He knew I wasn't going anywhere, and he knew the water wasn't going to be over his head at that part of the pool. But he didn't know that teacher, and he didn't know those 3 other little kids. He stood there for a long time while everyone else was in the pool, turned and looked at me with his lip quivering and tears in his eyes and whispered, "I'm just not ready..." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, it was so cute!

So we watched the lesson and the kids for a bit and talked about what they were doing. Daniel said that he could do those things and decided to get into the pool, but he wanted to use the ladder (safety conscious, right!). I was shocked and didn't really care how he wanted in... he was getting in! Well, the teacher thought that was great and started walking towards him to get him. All the while I'm screaming in my head, "Please don't touch him! Please don't touch him! Please don't touch him!" Well, he touched Daniel, helped him get to the wall with the other kids, and Daniel didn't freak. Huh. OK. Daniel stayed in the pool for maybe 5 minutes, and he was done. He said he just couldn't do it, and I'm not willing to throw him in and leave him there (even if you're thinking I should!).

We stayed at the pool and watched the whole lesson, so now he knows exactly what happens there. He knows we're going back to try again on Wednesday. He and I are asking the Lord to help him and give him courage.

I'll let you know how it goes!