We were there for quite a while, and I thought by the time we were ready to leave, his passion for this "machine", as he calls it, would have diminished. I explained to him the money situation and asked him how he planned on paying for it. Clever kiddo...he found some kind of large machine in the store, and it was here that he "scanned" it and "paid" for it, complete with button pushing transactions on invisible buttons (*he has an ENORMOUS imagination and can concoct the most intricate scenarios with nothing but a blank slate in front of him).
In the end, we worked out a deal. He would have to work extra chores to earn the machine. We came home and wrote out our list. He has never been so eager to finish a job!
A few days later, after he had earned his dues, we were at Wal-mart and we found the same calculator. In an attempt to test Ethan's desire, Chris and I took a trip to the toy section and offered many different options:
"Would you rather have this cool squirt gun or the machine?"
"Would you rather have this cool fire engine or the machine?"
"Would you rather have this cool Nerf gun or the machine?"
Each time, Ethan's response was, "I want that next time. I want the machine this time."
He has been carrying that machine around with him all over the house, crunching numbers for us and printing out receipts.
You can buy most kids their birthday gifts from Toys R Us. For Ethan, get him a gift card to Home Depot or Staples....
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