The BEST thing about Second Grade!

On the first day of the school year, Tyler burst into the car, so excited he could hardly contain himself.

"Mom, you know what the coolest thing about 2nd grade is?????"

Me, so excited and proud that my son LOVES school and values his education, lost in a fog of pride over his eagerness to learn new things........

"What, buddy? What's the best thing about 2nd grade?"

He squealed,

"WE HAVE A PET GERBIL IN OUR CLASSROOM!!!!"

{WHHOOooooosssshhhhh <<<< the sound of my mama-pride deflating}

I joke. We are very proud of our son, who eats up math problems like it's a little bitty cheez-it. Who is constantly formulating and thinking about what comes next. Who remembers just about every single thing he reads and can recite the information back to you days later. Who uses what he read to formulate his own opinions and think of new solutions. Who is often too smart for his own britches and needs to be reminded that facts are just a part of the story. Who is always, always, always paying attention and storing away. 

So this gerbil.......

Tyler had been asking us since day one if we could bring him home over the weekend. He wanted to have this little creature in our house, to show his siblings the pet that gets to learn with him everyday.

Tyler's teacher had told the class some things about Gerby.But for my son, learning tidbits about "Gerby" was not enough (it's gender was ambiguous, but we think we cracked it! --not literally of course!) He wanted to learn all about gerbils. He read and read, and then read some more. He devoured every thing he could find about gerbils, and then shared the information with us. At the dinner table. It was just as lovely as it sounds.

He learned that gerbils like grass, are most active during the day, are mammals, are related to the rat, and they generally live about 3 years. He told us that some have red eyes, some have dark eyes, that they do not grow very big, and that they like to burrow and dig tunnels.

Clearly, he was into this gerbil. We told Tyler we'd love to host Gerby for a weekend visit. So his teacher packed up Gerby's suitcase and sent him off with us. 

The kids LOVED this little thing! Evie could not stop squawking over him, from Friday afternoon til Sunday night. She could hardly handle the excitement. Kaiti and Jack fought over whose turn it was to hold him. Tyler pet him but wasn't as interested in holding him. Once Gerby pooped on Kaiti's hand, Tyler was content to let his siblings hold Gerby. He's a smart kid.

Here's a video we got on Friday of Evie going crazy over Gerby.

Suffice it to say, we might be gerbil shopping sometime soon.......

I apologize in advance to the entire gerbil population. If you see the Nelsons coming,

HIDE!

*just in case there is a group out there that protects the best interest of the gerbil, please know that I was kidding, and that gerbil received more love and attention in 72 hours than I have received in the past 72 days. heh heh heh.