Bonding Over a Frog

Last night Hayden was walking around the house with his little hands cupped around something. When I asked what he was doing he presented a frog to me. Just like that. As if it were normal to be walking around with a frog inside the house. Some children might carry around Matchbox cars, action figurines, GI Joe dolls (oops, sorry, my brother always used to tell me GI Joes are not dolls). Anyway, most children play with nonliving objects in the house. Not my Hayden. He has always been fascinated with bugs, frogs, and worms from a very young age.

I agreed to let his new friend stay in the house, so long as it lived in his bug habitat. We got the critter set up with some water and grass in his new home. Hayden even named him Billy, after his favorite tv show Billy the Exterminator. (Does this surprise you that his favorite show would be about an exterminator?)

This morning we got up and Hayden helped me make monkey bread. I was cleaning up the kitchen following breakfast when I heard squealing and hysterical laughter coming from upstairs from both Hayden & Jarrett. This struck me as odd because all morning they'd been fighting, pushing each other's buttons, and tattling. Curious, I walked upstairs and followed the happy sounds to our master bedroom, and then to the master bath.

I found the boys side by side, both in t-shirts & undies, intently watching something going on in my shower. As I approached I discovered the source of excitement: Billy the Frog had been let loose and was hopping around in my shower. (Mental note: spray shower floor with scrubbing bubbles cleaner & scrub before entering.)

I sat there and watched the boys before quickly running for the camera. Who would have thought that a frog could have caused these brothers to go from bickering to bonding on a bathroom floor?

With cinnamon still on their faces from breakfast,
Hayden & Jarrett share a moment with Billy the Frog.