Our Painted Ladies

As an early Easter present, we sent our kids on an egg scavenger hunt with clues around the yard to each find a cup of baby caterpillars. Their reactions were hilarious ... Lyla kept calling them spiders and Liam, ants. 

Once they finally figured out what they were, they were so excited! We left them on the edge of our kitchen counter to munch on their food for a couple of weeks and checked on them every time we walked by. The kids would even tell them "bye" whenever we went out the garage door. The whole process was so fascinating and incredible to watch! So much radical change in such a short amount of time! Our ten tiny caterpillars ...

They ate and ate and ate until slowly making their way to the top of the cup lid where they formed their chrysalis. I think they quadrupled in size from the time they came to us until they were finally finished eating and ready to make their transformation. We'd watch them wiggle wiggle wiggle as they began to disappear inside. After a few days we got to carefully (it was nerve wracking!) transfer them into their butterfly habitat. They finally all hatched one by one. The last one took two days longer than the rest and we were so nervous it may not have made it through the process but sure enough, there he came. How beautiful are they?!

We kept them in the habitat for a few days, feeding them oranges and the sugar water that came with them but we never saw a single one eat until we tried a giant piece of watermelon! The day we set them free the kids had a hard time saying goodbye but it was the most magical experience of all ...

Their individual reactions to seeing one of the butterflies up close and out of their enclosure. Lyla! haha

Liam was so curious, so in awe and wonder. He worked up the courage to hold one on his own finger after I showed him how to do it and he has been so much more brave around bugs ever since (which was a big deal if you know him!) ...

The natural butterfly whisperer and the wanna-be-butterfly whisperer from afar. ;)

They fluttered all over the backyard for a few minutes before eventually discovering their true wings and flying off into the sky.

Look at that little brave soul finally working up the courage to touch it!

We waved goodbye to our painted ladies and decided that a new Easter tradition was born. We saved everything and made promises to get new ones again next year. It was a magical experience!