Well...I finally broke down and bought Hayden a pet. Yeah, it's a fish, but that counts! I sort of just came home with it. A nice surprise for Cameron I thought. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind too much.

We bought him at Denny's Pet World. A nice Ma and Pa pet store in Kirkland. I took Hayden there one Saturday while Cameron was working from home, just to get out of the house (it was rainy). They have a mackaw, named Tiki, there on a perch (no cage) and bunnies and guinea pigs in open top cages in a petting free for all. They also have TONS of cool reptiles and lots of wonderful fish.

I almost bought Hayden a fish when I got on the animal kick a few months ago. We went to PetsMart and I was going to just buy a bowl and a goldfish, until the worker told me that goldfish need filtered air, etc. I told her that we had numerous goldfish in bowls on our counter when I was growing up. She said that it cut their lifespan in half, claiming that they would only live a max of 5 years, as opposed to the possible 10-15 years! I told her I was ok with that (ha ha) and she looked at me like I was some crazy fish killer. We left.

But, when I went to Denny's and saw their Beta (apparently the only fish that should be kept in just a small bowl of water) looking so healthy and pretty, I got the fish bug again (the Beta at PetsMart that the lady steered me towards for another option looked sickly and barely moved). So...we came home with a magenta colored fancy tailed Beta aptly named Mr. Fish. He was calling it Mimi for a while, but luckily that faded - he is a boy fish you know (plus, I don't think Aunt Missy wouldn't appreciate that since that is what he calls her too).

The first afternoon home with Mr. Fish was slightly traumatic for Hayden. He wanted to hold him so badly. He likes to pet animals so much. He even pets the worms that we find in the grass at the park. So to try and get across that he couldn't even touch this thing was a feat in itself. He cried and reached out for it lovingly. But, now, he knows that Mr. Fish is happy just swimming in his bowl and he asks to be held "up" to look at him.

So...welcome to the family Mr. Fish! -- mam