Kellah, the amazing butterfly!

Our family had an amazing experience this weekend! Nathan brought home a Live Monarch Chrysalis (butterfly) that he got from a co-worker. We received the butterfly in the Chrysalis (cocoon) phase. Alex is such an animal lover, we knew she would freak! Over her bed, we have butterflies floating in the air, and butterflies have been her theme since day one. Her preschool is even named The Butterfly School. You get the drift.

Here is what it looked like when Nathan brought it home.



Of course we had to enforce ground rules as Alex would have immediately taken the butterfly away, hidden it, or fed it to one of our dogs.

Alex was amazingly patient. She wasn't allowed to touch any part of the butterfly. It about killed her, but she sat at the table and patiently learned about the process of metamorphosis. A very cool thing to teach as a parent! She decided to name it Kellah (?!) As in the city of Keller in Ebonics? We have no clue where she came up with Kellah, but that is what we named her!

On the card attached, Kellah's due date was October 26. We had Kellah for three days before she hatched. On Saturday morning, we knew she was about ready to go because the Chrysalis turned from a Jade green color to a dark black.



Sure enough, within 12 hours, Kellah was born! (As if this was our child)- ha ha! She was born on October 25, so just one day early. We couldn't believe how big she was! She was absolutely perfect and so beautiful.




Alex was hysterical! "Kellah HATCHED, she did, she did. Momma, the butterfly is heeeerrrreeee." All of us were amazed. Even baby Carson observed the new family member. It's never too early to learn about nature. Check out that huge grin he gave mommy!



Even Macy, our Yorkie, got in on the action. That poor dog has been put through the ringer.



Kellah flew all over the house and played with us for quite a while. We knew the inevitable was coming....the release. The problem is our child has MAJOR separation issues with anything she loves (as all 3 year olds do). We told her over and over "When Kellah hatches we have to let her fly away to find her family." She seemed totally fine with that idea. Note the pouty face picture below. Here are a few pics of us interacting with Kellah outside. We expected her to immediately fly away, but she didn't.




Finally, it was time to say goodbye. We decided to place her on a leaf on the tree in our backyard. We watched her until it got dark and she still hadn't left.

There is quite a bit more to this story.....the video explains everything. Enjoy!

If you are unable to view the video, check it out on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4Y1sa0dd4