Our Growing Gecko

Last weekend, Dave and his sister were talking on the phone about our gecko, Banana Lemon Mulch Big Bad Bob, so I thought I would try to get some better pictures of him. We keep referring to the gecko as a "he" but we won't actually know for a few more months whether it is a girl or a boy. Dave is excited that it seems to be growing, which suggests he is adjusting to his new habitat nicely.

Isn't he cute?! The girls love that they chose the name Banana for him and he likes eating banana baby food off a toothpick!! It's kinda funny and cute to see the little guy lick his entire eyeball with one swoop of his tongue, and he likes my hair ~ he's taken a flying leap into it twice.

We have been trying really hard not to frighten Banana as we pick him up, because when crested geckos feel threatened, they are known to snap off their tails as a defense mechanism, and if this happens it won't grow back. We are trying to avoid that, so the girls are learning valuable lessons in the care of a delicate pet. Banana has been cooperating with letting the girls hold him more and more, but he does get a little jumpy after a few minutes. He seems to be shedding his skin some too, which is a good indication that Dave is right, and he is growing.

Anyway, this is unrelated, but I was so proud of Emma the other day. After school, she and Rebekah were playing tag with four boys in Emma's grade, and Rebekah was IT. She was in ambitious pursuit of two of the boys when they ran under the tot lot bridge and split up, going opposite directions. Rebekah froze under the bridge as if she didn't know which boy to run after. Just as she looked like she was done with the game, Emma ran to the stairs of the bridge, stuck her foot through the railing and called out, "Here, Rebekah, I'll get 'em!"

Rebekah tagged Emma and the game was on again.

I've thought about the brief scene several times since I was watching them play that day last week. I can't get over the feeling of hoping that things will always be that way between them. When one needs help, the other will jump in and eagerly offer it. Now I'm not trying to read too much into a simple exchange, in all honesty, it wasn't really that sacrificial on Emma's part. The boys didn't stand a chance against her. She knows it, and they know it too, which is why they invite her to play with them :-) But it sure blessed my heart to see her run to Rebekah's defense!