The first one: Having to pay a pet deposit and pet rent every month to our apartment complex. Second: If we ever have to move into a different apartment due to school, it's more complicated to find a place that allows pets.
And lastly: Fall semester will inevitably come, and I will be back to hard core school and less hours at home. Next comes nursing school, which will be even worse. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment and I can't bare the idea of leaving a dog couped up all day long while we are both not home. We don't even have a yard that he can run around in while we are gone. It just seems too cruel.
Then, the idea hit me! What about getting a bird? I have always been a bird lover. I had 3 cockatiels in high school (which is a great bird for first time bird owners) and I loved them. I decided I wanted a more advanced and exotic bird. I started searching different types of bird, and found the perfect one for my situation...drum roll please....
A parrotlet! (means "little parrot")
These guys are the worlds smallest parrots, (about 4 to 5 inches long) but they are incredibly brilliant, playful, energetic, and capable of learning to say a few phrases! They are great companions and want attention while you are home, but while you are gone they are content to play with their toys in their cage. (as long as you let them out and give them attention when you return). They are also perfect for apartment life, because unlike most other tame birds they have a very quiet chirp and they are unable to "scream". (other birds screech really loud when they want attention or when they are left alone). So after talking about it we decided it would be fun to get a little baby parrotlet of our own.
The breeder we bought our baby boy from hand feeds them and handles them daily, so the birds are really tame and like people. Our little baby is being weaned right now, and will be old enough for me to take him home in 4 weeks! I am so excited and we have already started buying his toys and cage supplies.
Here is how little parrotlets are:
Here is how tame the breeders have made them:
And here is my exact little baby bird! He is a turquoise pacific parrotlet. Beautiful, isn't he? 
I was going to wait until I officially brought him home to post about it, but I just couldn't wait! We are still contemplating about what to name him and have narrowed it down to a handful of names: Frodo, Jerry (after J. sloan), Tiki, Rio, or chewie. What do you think??
