More Stuffed Animal Fun

As you know, sutffed animal fun is the name I give to little plays and performances by my stuffed animals. While Daddy's initial version of this game involved creating plays like "The Three Tigers" and "Nordy and the Beanstalk", it has changed over time. One big change is that I'm taking charge of the adventures rather than letting Daddy or Mommy come up with them. The stuffed animals do all sorts of things but usually these involve some traveling. In one story, the stuffed animals (and Aidan) went to a Wiggles concert. Amazingly, Aidan drove the car to the show. When they arrived there, the Wiggles invited them onto the stage to sing and dance with them. The stuffed animals thought this was fantastic.

Other times, the stuffed animal stories are about more prosaic situations. For instance, in one story, Mommy Duck was trying to get Baby Duck ready to go on a trip. Baby duck, however, didn't want to do anything. He refused to take off his jammies, put on his shoes, or anything. Mommy duck kept encouraging baby duck to try. Somehow, this story reminds me of some things that happen in my own life.

Speech Stylin'

I like to add a little bit of panache to my speech when asking for stuff I especially like. I find that one way to do this is to ask for things using my "street stylin'" argot. This mainly consists of omitting the last sounds from the words I'm using (sort of like the French) and running all the words together. For example, I wanted some angel food cake for dessert today. So I asked,

May I please have some ange'foo'cae'?

Notice how I added the please and the nice phrasing to the request while still "stylin'" with the money phrase. Unfortunately, Daddy had no clue what I was saying. Mommy understands my lingo but insisted that I ask in a way that all could understand. I offered them the correct phrase but was definitely perturbed that they didn't like my stylish approach.

I've also added a couple of other "cool" phrases that I picked up from Daddy to my argot including:

That's gotta hurt.

when my Hot Wheels cars or Little People crash or fall off things. Actually, Daddy tells me that he stole this phrase from Bob Costas who used it to describe violent sports collisions. I also like the one-word phrase "useless" to describe things that are of no interest to me. I also like to use the word "goofy" whenever possible. Mommy is less than enamored of these phrases.

Miami 2006

Here are some highlights from my recent trip to Miami. Check them out here.

Orlando 2006

Here are some highlights from our recent trip to Orlando. Check them out here.

Happy Easter

Easter is one of the best holidays. For one thing, it involves lots of...chocolate. But it also involves lots of other good stuff including decorating and eating eggs, searching for eggs in Easter Egg Hunts, and meeting the Easter Bunny. I was very excited, so I got up extra early for Easter--620 in the morning. Daddy persuaded me that Mommy would not enjoy getting up so early so I went back to sleep for a bit.

I quickly went on a "patrol" around the house in search of Easter baskets and found one in the sunken room. It had lots of great stuff in it. Stuffed animals, chocolate, Hot Wheels cars, and some really neat "pills." If you put these pills in water, they dissolve and turn into sponges in interesting shapes like boats and cars.

I got dressed for church and, as a special treat for Mommy, I wore a button shirt and a cute sweater as opposed to my usual preference for "soft" clothes. Everyone thought I was very cute in church, especially the minister. As we were leaving the church, I held out my hand to her to shake and said a merry Happy Easter.

We then did a big photo shoot. You can find the highlights here.

Happy Easter everyone!

Traveling with the Little People

Much like real travel, the Little People face many hassles when they want to go on a trip. This morning, Daddy and I played Little People go to Pennsylvania. The first key difficulty for the Little People is that their family, which consists of Mommy, Daddy, Maggie, Sarah Lynn, the twins---Eddie and Eddie, and a baby, have no car that is big enough to fit them all. As a result, they had to walk to the airport. This made them tired. Then they had to go through the security line. Unlike (or maybe not) real security lines, this security line made the Little People take off nearly all of their clothes. Then there was a big mixup as to whose clothes belonged to whom.

Finally, they made it to the gate. Things were going well until the Little People discovered that the plane only had two seats. The family would have to go on their trip with the plane shuttling back and forth to pick people up. I helped to figure out the flight arrangements. On the first trip, the baby flew on the plane alone with a stranger (Farmer Jed) and then wait in the terminal in Pennsylvania for the others to arrive. Next Maggie and Sarah Lynn (two unescorted minors) got to fly. Next, Mommy and Daddy got to fly together. They commented on how peaceful the flight was without all those kids. Finally, the twins, Eddie and Eddie, got to make the flight. When all arrived at Pennsylvania, there were still no cars big enough to fit, so the family had to walk. Traveling is tough in Little People land.

Gardening

We finally had a break in the endless rains on Saturday. Since it's already April, it was time to get our garden kicked into gear. We went to one of my favorite stores, Yardbirds, and quickly picked up a whole bunch of bags of planting mix and soil amendments. Actually, Daddy picked u these bags. I tried to pick one up and soon decided that trying to haul a bag is about equal to my wieght (40 pounds) was a bit too much to ask even for strong Aidan. After that, we got down to the really fun part--picking out what to plant. This year's selection includes, of course, several different kinds of tomatoes, a whole bunch of lettuce, some celery, and some watermelon.

After we got home, we added all the amendments to the garden and put the potting mix in our big tomato pots. Daddy used a shovel to turn the soil and the amendments together. I used my hands to scoop the stuff out and mix with the garden. It really seemed to improve the consistency of the soil from the clay that it usually is. Next, we planted all the plants. Daddy made small holes where the plants go and I put each plant in very carefully. I love gardening.

The next day, we picked up some seeds to plant as well. These included carrots, pumpkins, broccoli, and, my favorite, sunflowers. I put in the seeds all by myself. I can't wait for them to come up. I think our garden looks really nice. Last night we had some rain so all the plants got a nice drink. I hope they grow big.

Big

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 4-year-old checkup (slightly delayed). While I was initially promised no shots by the nurse, there were shots---3 of them! The doctor said that I had to have these 3 sometime before kindergarten, so he and Mommy decided to get them out of the way now so I don't have to be so anxious about doctor visits in the future. I don't like shots at all. Happily, the doctor tells me that (barring tetanus shots) I won't need another shot until I'm around ten years old. Yippee!

I also had my first hearing and vision tests. I was very good at hearing the beeps and raising my hand. The eye exam was kind of neat because it reminded me of Thomas the Train. My eye chart had various shapes on it of different sizes, including a bunch of "level-crossing shape"(s). Most people would call this a "plus," but I guess they are not as familiar with railroads as I am! The nurse got a huge kick out of my name for that shape.

They also weighed and measured me to see how I'm growing relative to other 4 year old boys. If you'll recall, shortly after I was born, I was in about the 5th percentile for height and weight. Eventually I made it into the 15th and then the 25th percentile. Well, I had a big growth spurt this past year. I'm now in the 75th percentile for height and weight. In other words, I'm big!

On the Road- Deal or No Deal, etc.

Deal or No Deal may be the best game ever. We played it a lot during my trip to Florida. Everyone seems to like this game. When we were in Orlando, Emma played this game where we used the Little People as the "models." She has lots of Little People that are different from the ones I have. I was especially intrigued by some of the Little People from the manger set. One Sonya Lee character, who was dressed as a wise man, had a funny hat. It reminded me of Nainnie "potlid" character, so I referred to her as "Potlid Sonya Lee".

Newborn cousin Evan did not play the game, but I'm sure he will when he gets older. Right now, he sleeps, eats, and sucks his "plug" (pacifier) a lot. People seem to really like to carry him around since he can't move around much by himself yet-- although I did see him roll onto his side by himself. He seems nice. When he gets bigger, maybe he can build couch forts and play with Emma and me.

Daddy and I also played with lots of different kinds of cards and lots of players in Miami. In one game, my cousin Libby (also known as "The Mighty Libby") was the host, I was the banker (borrowing Daddy's cell phone to call the host), while cousin Matthew was the contestant. I love Deal or No Deal.

I also love building sand furniture. Cousin Meryl intiated this on the beach at Key Biscayne, and we soon had a cluster of 6 sand chairs, all complete with sand cup holders and sand iPods! Matthew's remote control boat was also tons of fun to power around the pool.

I was sad to leave all my Florida cousins. I hope I see them again soon!

Is it real or is it glass?

When I was in Miami visiting my Uncle Ted and his family, I got to see one of the neatest gardens ever. They were having an exhibition of work by a glass sculptor named Chihuly at the Fairchild Tropical Garden. Mixed in among the ponds and the gardens were glass balls and plants by the artist. I loved the colors and the patterns. I was very good at figuring out which things were glass and which were real. Here are a couple of pictures.

I'm going to Disney World!

Actually, I went to Disney World last week. It was so much fun. I got to meet lots of great characters including Pooh and Minnie Mouse. While many people seem to prefer Mickey, I actually think Minnie is far more interesting. She always wears more pink things, which is always good since pink is a very nice color. My current two favorite colors are still green and yellow, but pink and purple have been moving up in the ranks lately.


I got to go on some great rides including the teacups and, best of all, the cars. I got to drive the cars while Mommy and Daddy operated the gas pedal. I've never driven before, but I think I did a very good job of keeping the car on the road and turning at the right time. Daddy was very impressed with my turns. I also got to see the new and improved "It's a Small World" ride. This was truly unbelievable. I've never seen so many mechanical guys. Finally, there was a light parade with lots of light up floats. Some of you will recall my early fascination with lights (or "ights" as I liked to call them when I was really little.)

Disney is great. I announced that I wanted to go back maybe next week. Mommy and Daddy seemed a little doubtful about this though.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

The Super Bowl of Letters

I have a number of foam letters in my bathtub. Yesterday, I invented a really exciting new game to play with these---the Super Bowl of Letters. The way the game works, there are 6 letters playing. They randomly match up with one another to form "words". The letters that form real words get points while those that don't get no points. Once I put the words up on the board, I have to sound them out to figure out if the letters have formed a word or not.

In one of the most exciting matches, the letters AEOLR and N competed. They formed words like:

EL, NO, ON, OR, AL, LA, EN, and ARE

Some failures included:

LORAEN, AR, LNR

This was great fun.

I'm never tired (except maybe sometimes)

As you know, I'm never tired. On Saturday, it was pretty hard for me to prove this. It was my first day back to California after a great trip to Pennsylvania. I hadn't seen Daddy in a while, so it was a great day to hang out with him. We figured out all sorts of interesting things to do. First, we needed to go on a mission to the supermarket to get food. We got one of the fun shopping carts with a car on the front of it, but I decided I wanted to walk around rather than ride. We walked all over the store, and I got to demonstrate how strong I was by picking up things. Some heavy things I picked up included: 2 liter bottles of Fresca, a big thing of laundry detergent, 1 gallon of milk, two containers of orange juice, and the piece de resistance, a giant vat of Metamucil. Daddy said we didn't need nor want the giant vat of Metamucil, but I wanted to demonstrate my strength.

Later that afternoon we got to do something we hadn't done since my leg injury---go scooter riding. We rode all the way up a big hill and then down the hill again. I had to rest several times on the way, but I pointed out to Daddy that I still was not tired since the rests were only zero minutes long each.

At dinnner that night, I was having a lot of trouble keeping my eyes open. But, as I told Mommy and Daddy, I was still not tired. I just looked a little tired. Shortly after dinner, I got to play some "stuffed animal fun", heard some stories and songs and then went to sleep. Even then, I still was not tired although I thought I'd humor Mommy and Daddy by immediately falling asleep.

I'm never tired.