Dorothy and The Fawn

The Olmsted County Fair has been going on in Rochester this week, and Matt really wanted to take Jillian. He said he found it puzzling that I didn't already have plans to go with friends during the day, which I found truly amusing. Seriously? My interest level for a hot afternoon with multiple kids at a dirty fair with a bazillion people was at an absolute zero. No way. Much like the circus, a fair seems like it's daddy's territory! So, Matt excitedly loaded up an equally excited Jillian last night and they were on their way. It is noteworthy to say that they left at Jillian's usual bath time (which precedes her 7 p.m. bedtime by about 15 minutes). It is also noteworthy to report that I was unsure if I should send out a search party when I climbed in bed to read at 10:15 and they were not home yet. At 10:45 they came barreling in, and Jillian was dying to show me "a big surprise". Here is my overstimulated 3 year old, with fire still in her eyes, presenting me with said surprise.

Meet Dorothy, her very first pet--a real, live goldfish (for now) that Matt "won" for her at the fair. Jillian cleverly named the fish Dorothy after Elmo's pet goldfish. I tried to contain my excitement (you can imagine how excited I am about caring for this fish...) and show appropriate enthusiasm for this very special milestone. I informed Matt that animals (like plants) fall under his domain--I care for and feed the humans in this home, and he has to tow the line elsewhere. Regardless of my pet hesitation it was pretty darn cute to see her bursting with glee over this. When we finally got her in bed (at 11:30 p.m.!!) she told Dorothy to go to sleep, and then looked at us and said, "Why isn't she going to sleep? How does she lay down?"
Surprisingly, Dorothy survived her first night in our home, and Matt decided we should buy a small filtered aquarium to improve her chances of a longer life, and to reduce the cleaning efforts at home (I was all for that). So, she now resides on the sink in the girls' bathroom in a cute little tank with hot pink rocks and a hot pink lid. I am certain that Dorothy will give us very good cause to have a discussion the cycle of life in the near future.
I asked Matt this morning how Jillian liked the fair, and if they spent time in the baby animal exhibit that everyone had been raving about. He said he tried to get her in that building, but she just kept pleading to "go back to the fawn" so she could ride some more rides. Fair, fawn, tomato, to-mah-to....