40 Days to Kindergarten: Day 12 | July 23, 2026 | The Butterfly Project

One of my favorite things about becoming a parent is getting to relive childhood through my kids.

During the move, we found an old butterfly kit tucked away in a box in the casita. It was one we’d used years ago when Annika was around four or five years old. On a whim, because it's me 😂, I ordered another set of caterpillars, thinking it would be something fun for Alessandra to experience.

When Annika got home and saw them she immediately smiled and said, “We’re doing the butterflies again?! That was so cool!” I don’t know why that made me emotional, but it did. It’s funny how something so small can instantly transport you back years. What was once a memory with one little girl is now becoming a memory with another.

Ale has been checking on them every single day. Well, today all but one decided it was time to cocoon... except they also all decided to fall off the lid. 😅 Which led to some slight panic and asking ChatGPT for help!

Apparently they’re supposed to hang from the top of the cup before you move them into their butterfly habitat. But ours were instead all piled together on the bottom like they had just collectively given up on life.

Hopefully they’re just keeping us on our toes and we’ll still end up with five beautiful butterflies in a couple of weeks. If not… well… we’ll call it a science lesson. 😂

Sometimes things don’t go exactly according to plan, but that doesn’t always mean they’re ruined. Maybe that’s a lesson for me too.