Friday, March 17, 2006

Daddy Goes to School

Last night was really fun. My school had a "Daddy Goes to School" night. All the Daddies and their kids were in school and we had an abbreviated version of my usual school day. We started with circle time. I quickly picked my favorite spot---right next to the teacher, and settled in. Since there were so many Daddies and kids, i was pretty crowded in the circle, but happily we still had a good spot. I also found a magnet with my name on it and chose my responsibility. I picked the toilets, which seem like one of the most interesting responsibilities since they involve water and machinery (flushing), which is always a good combination.

After going through the calendar to figure out what day it was and the weather report (dark--a new type of weather rarely seen during my daytime classes) we were off to work with materials. First, we worked with graduated cylinders. We took them out and had to figure out which slots each cylender belonged. We also built a kind ofcity of cylinders.

Next, it was off to the scales for the weigh-in challenge. The idea is that they have various weights adding up to 100g and a balance scale. You have to figure out which set of weights leads to balance on the scale. My favorite weights were the whopping 500g ones. I referred to these as the "big dog" weights since they reminded me of my Daddy's driver---the biggest golf club in the bag. We did lots of other fun stuff before driving home. I had a great time. I think Daddy learned some new things too.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Tea Time

I was sad because I missed the Mother's Tea at my school. This took place while my leg was hurt, so I couldn't go. Mommy and I decided to have a tea at our house last night instead. Mommy helped make the tea (gingerbread tea, which smells great but doesn't taste nearly as good). I put out a tray with the desserts to go with the tea. I decided that each person would get to shamrock cookies. In addition, I decided that the green shamrocks needed some additional color for their "leaves" so I added a bunch of raw carrots. I gave Mommy and Daddy their cookies and carrots while Mommy brought out the tea after dinner. As a good host, I waited for Mommy and Daddy to finish before eating my own dessert. Everyone was very happy with my great manners and pretty arrangement for the tea.

Aidan's Top Five Games

I thought I would report to you my top 5 games played recently. They are:

1. Dragon Tales Puzzle Game
2. Don't Break the Ice
3. Crazyball (not a board game, more like catch with lots of craziness)
4. Tackling (despite my earlier injury, I still like doing this)
5. Competitive Mardi Gras dancing

Deal or No Deal

Last night, I got to see the show "Deal or No Deal" for the second time. I really like the lights, the music, and the shiny silver suitcases with the numbers on them. I even think Howie Mandel is okay too. Anyway, this morning I suggested to Daddy that we play Deal or No Deal---the home version (I pick up on things fast!)

We set up 13 "models" to hold the suitcases. Our models were various Little People. The suitcases consisted of playing cards turned face down. Each card represented a cent amount from 1 cent (Ace) through 13 cents (King). I was the contestant while Daddy played the Howie Mandel role. Since the models don't do much on the real show, the Little People worked perfectly for that part.

So far, I haven't been too lucky with the game. In the first game, I ended up choosing a suitcase worth 5 cents, but making a deal for 4 cents after opening nearly all of the suitcases. In the second game, I picked a really good suitcase (worth ten cents), but got nervous about the range of money and ended up taking the banker's deal for 6 cents after opening up 4 suitcases. Deal or No Deal is lots of fun, and it's interesting to figure out what decision to make.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Fun and Games

This was a great weekend for games. We played some of the standard ones, but we also played some that Daddy made up. Here are the latest of these:

The Mystery Letter Game

In this game, the contestant introduces himself and describes where he lives and his job. I like to invent lots of funny names and jobs for contestants. Here's one:

Name: Bayden
Location: Inside a cave
Job: Winemaker

In some cases, the contestants pass out samples to the judges and the studio audience. For instance, Bayden passed out the delectable combination of cotton candy and chardonnay to the folks in the studio.

Then it's time for the game to begin. Using my magnetic sketchpad, the contestant has to get five mystery letters before he gets three strikes. The host of the show (Bob) says the name of the mystery letter in a kind of stage whisper:

The mystery letter is "S"


Then it's the contestant's job to write the mystery letter on the magnetic sketch pad. The judges rule as to whether a letter looks sufficiently like the standard version of the letter to count as a correct answer or a strike instead.

At the end of the game, the contestant either wins lovely parting gifts (in the event of three strikes) or a "fabulous prize". The parting gifts are pretty funny. They consist of the home version of mystery letter, a case of Turtle Wax with clearcote shine, and a year's supply of Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat. The fabulous prize (also described by "Johnny" who seems to help the host Bob) consists of various denominations of money. I like the quarter the best.

G-Force Stadium Ultimate Rally

While the Mystery Letter game has an educational component, the G-Force Stadium Ultimate Rally has absolutely none. This game consists of running Hot Wheels cars down a long ramp, through a loop, over a jump, and then down the hall. The difficulty for the cars is to stay on their wheels coming off of the jump. The winner is the car that goes the furthest down the hall (that's the rally aspect of the game.) Amazingly, the fire engine was one of the start performers at this game. Another star, and a car who has the best name, is the Little Red Roadster. At the end of each rally, I award trophies to the top 3 cars. There's also a penalty system, any car that cannot consistently complete the course gets kicked out of the next rally in favor of a new car.

Daddy and I had many rallies among the cars. Including lots of sports "commentary". So much so that Mommy headed to the other room so as not to have to listen to us.

Friday, March 10, 2006

A New Cousin

My cousin Emma is now a big sister! Her brother, Evan Hugh Morgan, was born on March 8. My Nainnie (grandmother) was visiting and got to see him already. They tell me he is a pretty big guy-- 22 inches long and 7 lbs, 15 oz. That's over 3 pounds more than I was when I was born and about a pound or so more than Emma, I think! Aunt Julie and Uncle Dave are very happy. Mommy, Daddy and I are going to fly to Orlando to visit them in a couple weeks. I am very excited about visiting Emma!

We will also visit my older cousins in Miami-- Matthew, Libby and Meryl. I remember when Uncle Ted and Aunt Holly visited us about 2 years ago. We went on the Tilden Park train together. Fun! It will be fun to see my cousins. I last saw them when I was a much smaller guy-- a couple months after I turned one I think!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Little People Mardi Gras


Two days ago, the Little People celebrated Mardi Gras. They formed a big snaky line and paraded through the streets to the song "Iko Iko". I also learned that beads are a big thing at Mardi Gras, so I got out all my beads and crazy hats and wore them as I danced around with them. Mardi Gras seems like a very fun party. To celebrate, the adult Little People had wine (Chardonnay of course) while the boy and girl Little People had juice. Daddy told me that Mardi Gras is a big celebration in New Orleans and, as you know, I like all things to do with that city. I asked Mommy and Daddy if we could go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans next year. They seemed to think that I would enjoy Mardi Gras more if I were a little older though.