A Turtle Named Ella.

My Scarlett. She has had a love for babies and dolls since she was pretty young. Always wanting to hold babies or play with her dolls. Lately, I see Scarlett's love growing in other directions.

Animals.

About 2 weeks ago, Scarlett and I were outside. She was playing in the yard and I was getting some outdoor work done. Weeding our monstrosity of a garden and raking the stone patio of leaves that seem to have come out of no where. I heard her talking to someone.

"You want to eat? You eat grass."

I looked up to see her in the grass, back towards me. I love catching her in these moments of pure sweetness. I quietly walked toward her to see if I could peek at what loving thing she was doing now. Slowly, as I looked over her shoulder, I saw a small turtle. Thankfully for me, it was a stone turtle. I don't know where she found it. Maybe it was something that the former home-owners left behind, (along with their mountains of gardens and flower-work.) But she was busy talking to and patting this little turtle.

"I pet you. I pet your head." She said just as she says to her 8 horsies.
When I asked her what she had, she gave me the sweetest answer.
"Mama, this is Ella. My turkle Ella."

I have no idea where the name came from but it certainly melted my heart. She plays with "Ella" every day that we go outdoors for the last 2 weeks or so. She let's her go out in the grass to eat and then puts her back under a decorative terra cotta pot that sits in the flower bed. We took a trip with my family to Animal Land not long ago. She was captivated by all of the animals. Monkeys, zebras, camels and especially the ones that she could touch. Ty and I were talking and we are thinking about getting her a small pet to love. It's hard to know what to get a girl who is only two. But my Scarlett is not the average toddler. She is very gentle with everything she encounters, especially living things. She is sensitive (if any of you saw the video of her crying as she watched the baby falling on Tarzan then you know what I am talking about), and she is patient. As patient as a two year old gets. I want it to be small and kid-friendly. But no dogs or cats.

Any of you have any pets that work with your small children?