Catch a Froggy By The Toe

This has been the first weekend of summer, definitely. Temperatures in the 80s, humidity to turn my hair into a chaotic pile of mess, and the girls clamoring to get outside in the sprinkler. Last night, we finally dragged out the Whale Pool.

The Whale Pool is one of those giant inflatable swimming pools, kind of shaped like a whale, requiring an air compressor to fill it up so as to not cause hyperventilation. As the pool was filling up, The Princess and Pumpkin romped through the yard and then squealed suddenly.

Why? Because they saw a frog. I made them leave it alone so I could grab my camera (what?), and then The Princess inched closer to it. It jumped when she glot closer and she shrieked and flinched backwards. Pumpkin got close, gave it a little poke with her finger and laughed when it bounced away. Eventually Hubby caught it in a little bucket and put it in their wading pool. The girls ooh’d and aah’d over the frog for awhile until The Princess decided she was about ready to let it go. She went to scoop it back in the bucket… and screamed again. She dropped the bucket AND the frog back in the pool and backed away.

“Pumpkin,” I called. “Why don’t you let the frog go?”

My three year old swiftly scooped him up in the bucket and in one move, let the frog out on the grass to hop off to its salvation. Whatever that might be for frogs. Pleased as can be with herself, Pumpkin’s face was lit with a huge smile.

My children never fail to surprise me. Did I think Pumpkin was going to be this champion frog-scooper-amphibian-catching whiz kid? Nope. Did I think The Princess, lover-of-all-things-Bindi-The-Jungle-Girl would be so easily squicked out by a frog? Nuh uh.

I love these moments of seeing their differences.