Babies, babies, babies!

For weeks I've been terrorized by this bird nearly every time I left the house:



We have two bushes to either side of the front porch; whenever I walked past the one closest to the driveway, this sweet little bird would bolt out of the bush, scaring the crap out of me. (You'd think I'd come to expect it, but I'd startle every time.)

It finally occurred to me that if the same bird kept returning to the same low bush, she probably had a nest inside. So earlier this week I checked. I carefully pulled apart the branches and peeked inside, expecting to find an empty nest that I could show the girls. But what did I see instead?



These guys!



Aren't they the cutest things ever?

Their position in the bush is right at the older girls' eye level, so now every time we go outside we (carefully, quietly, and respectfully) check on the babies. I get hourly reports each afternoon after school:

"The babies are sleeping!"

"The babies are waiting for their mama to bring them some worms!"

"The mama bird was with them, and I didn't even scare her away! I don't think she knew I was watching them!"

I have no idea how long it takes for baby robins to grow up and learn to fly, but I'm sure we'll all be sad when they do. In the meantime, I totally love these little guys. They're so, so sweet.

Plus, being able to feel excited about babies, generally -- even little birdie ones -- helps me feel a little more excited about my own (completely unexpected and possibly immaculately conceived) baby. Look for Quatro to debut in late October or early November. :-P

So there. Now the announcement has been made. But mostly you should gush over how adorable our baby birds are. CUTEST. THINGS. EVER. :-)


~RCH~