<center><i>Aiko and Mia, little conures with big hearts, and a whole lot to share with the world.</i></center>

Both these little loves turned One this month! It's hard to work out their exact birthday, as eggs tend to hatch on different days, and its best not to disturb the nest once the hatching starts. According to their paperwork, Aiko is only a week older than Mia, but Mia is likely to have been the last of her clutch to hatch, so the chances are it is more like two weeks between them. To celebrate, we decided to share some of the cuter photos from the past week, and give you a little bit of insight into how amazing these two are. We have decided to put this forward as an entry to the [Amazing Nature Contest](https://steemit.com/hive-127788/@adalger/amazing-nature-contest-february-2020-03), head over and check out the details for an opportunity to share your amazing nature in a place someone might see it! 

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<center><i>"You are such a weirdo Mia..."</i></center>

This one isn't so amazing, but we are starting off with it because it makes me giggle, Mia being a little derpy sweetie pie, closing her eyes and puffing up, Aiko pulling away like what are you doing... She's a bit dippy, and very itty bitty, but we do love our Mia. 


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<center><i>"...but you do give the best cuddles."</i></center>

Ohh this is such a sweet one, it might have to go up on the wall. The endless love and patience these two have for each other isn't just amazing, it's inspiring. They never hesitant to shout at each other, or tell the other off when they are annoying, but they are just as free with their affections. I always feel like I could learn so much about love from these two, it's not just unconditional and endless, the love they have for each other transcends everything, and they can go from squabbling to snuggling in the blink of an eye - because as worked up at they may get in the moment, they know that really, the stuff they argue about doesn't matter. They don't hold back with each other, and it comes down to trust. They can shout at each other, Mia can go full dragon when Aiko is being annoying, Aiko can refuse her affections for a whole hour, but the love is always still there, and they know it will be, and when it comes down to it, they are instantly there for the other.  The undercurrent of caring, the bond they have is always there, and it allows them to embrace and experience their emotions together, sharing them good and bad and only growing closer for it. I know I for one am really bad at bottling up the bad, I never want to tell people when they hurt me, or go too far, but that sort of thinking ends up coming between people, and its so much better to speak up and nip it in the bud (or on the beak hey Mia tehehe)


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<center><i>"She's napping... Again!!"</i></center>

One of the greatest pleasure in life for Mia is napping, she loves to nap, every chance she gets she closes her eyes and puffs up. She isn't short on sleep, or tired, she just enjoys daydreaming. Aiko however, not so into naps, but he still sits with her, keeping her company and letting her rest against him. He doesn't enjoy it so much himself, but he is able to enjoy her happiness, which is a depth of affection that puts plenty of people to shame. 

Mia is missing a toe on one foot, so she can't always support herself, but Aiko is always there for her, ready to help if she needs it.


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<center><i>"I got you babe"</i></center>

These two strike the most amazing balance of independence, and dependence. Mia was born without a toe on one of her feet, its makes life a much bigger challenge for her - don't worry, its one she rises to in full dragon form, but Aiko is there, by her side, making it possible for her to do stuff on her own. She doesn't need much help, but the times she does, she doesn't need to ask. Aiko pays attention to her, and if she is struggling to get a good grip on something with her 3-toed foot, he will let her grab hold of his ankle until she can find a better place to hold on. The same if she wobbles a bit. At night, they sleep back to back in the corner of the cage, he lets her rest her weight against him so she doesn't lose balance. Every now and then they have naps like this, when Mia is really sleepy, and tries to nap on the perch, but can't get her balance, Aiko will push his head under her, then his body, until he has picked her up and she is sat with her bum on his back. He takes care of her, her helps her achieve what she sets out to do, but he doesn't do it for her. He is there for her, but he doesn't underestimate her, or patronize her by doing more than she needs.

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<center><i>["You can lean on me"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9QvaMQ4Z20)</i></center>


Mia is able to depend on him, and through that dependence, find independence. Mia equally does the same for spooky scared Aiko, who finds new things terrifying. She hops over to whatever it is, and normally gives it a good nibble to show him there is nothing to worry about, until he goes over to check it out for himself. If he spooky and flies away, she is right there after him, ready to reassure him where he lands - even if she was quite interested in the very scary apple-not-cut-into-little-bits They are there for each other when one of them falls a little short, but they still see each other by their values, not their short comings. Aiko doesn't see Mia as needy, he loves being able to be there for her when she needs it. Mia doesn't see Aiko as a jerk, although he does act like one sometimes, she has started to really get into the independence that allows her. When these two first came to us, Mia couldn't bare to be more than about 10 cms away from him, now if Aiko is feeling grumpy and just wants to sit and attack the keyboard, she is quite happy to play in the wellingtons by herself. His belief in her is so intrinsic and natural, it's become her belief in her. Her affection for him is so boundless, it is liberating for Aiko. He can not go and cuddle in the wellies, and attack the keyboard, and know she will be perfectly happy to cuddle when he does feel like it, no apology needed.


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<center><i>"Let me love you!"</i></center>

Aiko loves grooming, but he is really bad at it. I mean really bad, he licks the feathers too much, they end up looking bedraggled, he gets too carried away and accidentally gets bit too hard (don't worry, no one get hurts - apart from when he tries to do it to me, he just earn a loud objection from Mia). Mia normally has to redo her tail feathers after he's been at them, but she still lets him spend ages every day grooming her because she knows how much it means to him to be able to express his affection for her. 

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<center><i>"Ooo yeah that's the spot"</i></center>


I have been really blown away by how intelligent these guys are, and not just problem solving smarts, emotional and social intelligence. Mia knows Aiko isn't good at grooming, she knows it makes him happy to be able to do it, and she knows he wants to be able to groom me as well. Now he is even worse at grooming me, he gets carried away and nips me, and then gets heart-breakingly offended if I have to stop him. He has been slowly learning what hurts people, but my partner has much thicker skin than me - literally, so its not easy for Aiko, trying to learn how hard is too hard for different people but Mia understands this. She can see he is trying to be affection and not cause pain, and has started getting involved and helping. She sits next to Aiko when he is trying to groom me, and if he gets too enthusiastic, she helps divert that energy before he actually hurts me. She nudges him, grooms him and distracts him, she doesn't come between us, she is very much facilitating, helping him get the most from the experience. 

<center>~</center>

It is probably easy to read this, and think I am just a little bit bonkers, and projecting all kinds of intelligence and emotion onto these birds, but nature is a lot more amazing than we give it credit for. As endless bird owners websites will atest, having a conure in your life is more like being good friends with a toddler than owning a pet. Their emotions are a bit different to ours, and in drawing parallels I probably do anthropomorphize to some degree, but they are capable of empathy, they understand human emotions, and they can very much express their own. Yesterday, Aiko broke a bracelet I wear all the time. He knows he isn't allowed to play with it, but if he is struggling to try and groom me he does sometimes go for it. That wasn't what happened yesterday though. he was getting too carried away trying to groom my clothing, and nipping me though the fabric, and I eventually had to stop him. That upset him, he was annoyed at me and wanted to let me know, and turned around, and bit the bracelet really hard. He got a metal link just right in his mouth to bend it, allowing the clasp to slip off. It broke, and fell on the floor, and my heart dropped with it. I was maybe a bit too upset for a bracelet, but it was early in the morning, and the bracelet means a lot to me for who it is from. His reaction was instant, his emotions changed right away, from being angry with me to soft and tentative licks. When I had to go to work a little later, he shouted after me, he doesn't ever really do that, but it very much felt like he wanted to make sure me and him were okay. When I got home in the evening he really really wanted to be able to express affection towards me. Sometimes its so palpable in him, hes like a little shook up can of I WANT TO LOVE YOU!!! These guys never cease to amaze me with their intelligence and understanding, I know this was long, and thank you so much to anyone who has actually made it this far, hopefully we managed to share some of the light and inspiration these amazing little guys bring me every day. 

<center><i>That's all folks, hope to see you around again!</i></center>
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