Ethan's Catch-up

Oh Ethan!  Ethan finished off his fourth grade year at Hobble Creek Elementary with a bang.  He truly loved his school year but loved having it end more.  He definitely loved the Hershey Track Meet.

He competed in three events again this year:  The 100, the long jump and the softball throw.  As he was competing in each event, however, I noticed something somewhat peculiar.  Ethan seemed to be particularly interested in listening to the announcer and  not paying attention to his own events.  So, he didn't do the hottest -- which is okay -- but I was so curious as to what was going on.  And then it hit me.  Ethan was listening for "Katie Kat's" name.  Katie Kat is the girl with whom Ethan has a crush.  Her name is really Kate and he just calls her "Katie Kat" -- because pet names mean "it's for real" as he told me.  When I asked him what "it" was he said he didn't know. He just knew It was important because Everyone says that "It" is what you want.  I told him that Kate would probably want him to do his best in all his events, but they were all over by that time.

Man, he is so stinkin' cute!  I can't hardly stand it sometimes.

So even though Ethan blew his events at Hershey he had a fantastic time and that is all that matters.  His crush on Kate was definitely to my advantage as I had leverage for him for several months.  All of a sudden he was interested in brushing his hair and teeth.  I hope his crush continues until next year.

Ethan did well  on all his end of level tests and stressed over accidentally marking 'false' when an answer was clearly 'true'.  We got through that setback easily with the aid of a limeade slush from Sonic.  He breezed through several field trips including one where he learned that an eagle can pick up a small deer and carry it in flight with its talons for over a  mile before letting go and allowing the deer to fall to the ground.  Ethan was both terrified and fascinated by this fact.  

He's also been fascinated with his little sister and how she is growing in me and how she got there, and so forth.  We have had a great many conversations on our way to school.  He understands pretty much how it all works, thanks to living in an area with so many farms and farm animals having their babies, but he still insists that "birds poop their eggs. It's the only way it makes sense."  We're just going with that.

Ethan has been a tremendous help for me and I love him so much.  Everyday I feel grateful for him and that I can be his mother.  His personality is such a joy and he will be a fantastic big brother.  I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs of the adventures we have had so far this summer, but this would be way too long.  Instead, I will just fill things in as summer rolls along.