About a year ago, Jake spent about $100 and bought a cherry tree to raise some caterpillars with the hopes that they would turn into cecropia moths. (Read more about that here!) For weeks, he collected leaves to feed his baby caterpillars. It was so exciting to see the teeny tiny caterpillars grow bigger and bigger. Before they cocooned, they were looking like Heimlich, from A Bug’s Life! By around July of last year, all his caterpillars had cocooned. And then… nothing happened. For almost 9 months, those cocoons lay in the giant mesh cage sitting on our balcony.

The mesh cage is so unsightly and Cindy was so convinced the pupae were all dead, she would periodically ask Jake when it was time to throw them away and finally take down the net. Well…it’s a good thing Jake had faith in his little babies because this past week a moth emerged!!! It was so exciting!! And so unbelievable… that they were still alive…after all this time. These moths are one of the largest in North America– they can span sizes of 7-8 inches!

Now that one has hatched, we’re patiently waiting for the other six to emerge. Cindy hopes it’s sooner rather than later. She is eager to take down that net cage and reclaim the patio.

Baby R has no idea what’s happening. She’s just curious and a little scared of the fuzzy, flying moving thing. It’s weird to think about how these moths were a “project” we started before having Baby R! And now she gets to enjoy the excitement with us.

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Other Highlights

Baby R took her first wobbly steps!!!!!

And she got to experience her first LA Marathon as a spectator! She had fun clapping and cheering on the runners. She must have gotten a little too excited because she napped poorly for the rest of the day.