Meet Gilly

Our newest family member has arrived...in the form of a betta fish named Gilly.  Cassidy has been asking for a pet for a while now, and knowing that we are years away from being able to take in a dog or other cute furry animal, we decided to go with the lowest maintenance pet that we could find as a way to buy ourselves a little time!  We planned an afternoon outing to the Wilmette Pet Store, and the kids picked their fish out within minutes and had him named before we got the front counter.  Since bettas are fighting fish, he has to be the only one in our tank, but he's very fun to watch and enjoys hiding in his little plants.  We give him daily exercise by holding up a mirror to his tank as he puffs out his gills and flutters about trying to claim his territory from this new fish enemy.  Cassidy also made him tiny books out of paper and set them next to his tank in case he gets bored and wants to read.  He gets 2 food pellets a day, which works out perfectly for the kids to each have their own job every morning.  We are enjoying having Gilly around and the kids are very excited to be official pet owners.