Periwinkle, or Winkie as we call her, was our first look into the avian world.

After Timmy's death, Caroline was heartbroken. She decided that she needed another pet to fill the gap. I was stumped on where to get a bird in the first place, so while Caroline did research, I made plans for a visit to Petco.

Upon arrival at Petco, Caroline became a ball of sheer energy while I got more apprehensive by the minute. I wasn't so sure whether I wanted to come to Petco after all. And when the bird manager took out a bird net to capture the birds, I knew that we sure weren't getting my daughter's pet here. Out we went, and I called our newly found avian vet to see where we could get a nice tame bird for a kid of about four. She reccomended a parakeet, and the pet store Newtonville Pet to get it. So plans were made, research was done and off we went again.

The birds at Newtonville Pet seemed much more tame than the ones at Petco. So Caroline picked out a lively blue bird with little spots of periwinkle color on her cheeks. First we determined that it was a her, and then we brought her home.

Once settled in, Caroline dubbed her Periwinkle for the spots of color on her cheeks. This name was a little bit of a mouthful, so we shortened it to Winkie. Winkie decided that she wasn't quite so tame after all, but still enjoyed it when we put on the radio.

Winkie soon developed a habit of beeping along with the oven when it chimed. We find this irresistably adorable.

Winkie rarely comes out of her cage, as it is very stressful for all involved when she does, but she graces our dinner conversations every evening with her cheerful cheeps and squeaks.