Walter

Auntie Carrie proved her love for Nathan by catching a lizard for him! Actually it was a chameleon, and Nathan was beyond excited! Carrie had taken Otis and Daisy out to potty and when she came in, she was all excited and yelled for Nathan to come see what she had in a Tupperware container. When Nathan saw the lizard, he was so happy! He named him "Walter" and quickly got busy making a little home for him, adding in some grass and sticks and poking holes in the top. After Nathan got his lizard all comfy, he decided he wanted to play with him a bit and look at him. He was really wanting to keep him overnight and let him go in the morning, but I was worried something might happen to Walter...either he would die or somehow get out of his box. So I talked Nathan into going ahead and letting him go now and then he could also hold him and play with him outside while he does it. That ended up sounding like a good deal to Nathan so outside we went...oh and by the way, it was 11:00 pm!

After Nathan let him crawl all over him and run around on the ground a little, he decided to go ahead and say his good-byes and let him go back to his lizard family. But as soon as he started to scamper into the grass, Nathan had 2nd thoughts and didn't want to give him up just yet. He tried so hard to find him again, and when he did, he ended up getting him to go back onto the concrete to re-capture him. The only problem was that he caught him by the tail...and...well...we all know what happens when you grab a lizard by the tail...

First of all, I've never seen a lizard lose his tail up close like this, and I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by   how much of the tail came off! It wasn't just the end of it...it was the WHOLE thing plus some. When it came off, it kept wiggling on the ground, and Nathan was horrified and intrigued all at once. At first, he thought it was his fault and that he hurt the lizard and was going to get in trouble. He looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry Mommy!" So I explained how it's normal and that's what happens to lizards so they can get away. After I told him that, he thought it was the coolest thing ever and loved looking at the tail-less Walter and his flip-flopping tail! Finally, after about an hour with this lizard, he agreed to let him go for good. He was fun while he lasted, and now Nathan is always searching for a new one whenever we go outside :)