crafty update

I kicked off this weekend at an Engineering Gingerbread Competition (where they loaded graham cracker and icing structures to see how much they would hold - Some held over 175 pounds - seriously! - and the winning house looked like the olympic bird cage stadium), while J and Aiden went grocery shopping. J's favorite thing to do is get out of the house when he's on his own with Aiden. So they cruised the grocery with an elmo balloon (J ignores the stares around him and talks just like elmo for Aiden's giggles).

Then the next day there were tons of craft fairs that are fun to visit because they are so festive. We went to breakfast at Friendly's (Liz and David will be jealous!) and then hit three fairs. None of them compared to the craft fair at Brown last Thursday. It's all Brown employees, and it is excellent. There was lotsa variety and really good stuff. They also give out free desserts, cider, and cocoa ;) I participated with leftover knit hats, pocket tissue covers, and photo cards. I didn't make out as well as I did last time (with nearly $300 that time), but I walked away with almost $50 and bartered for three sets of earring and a necklace.

Aiden generally likes to visit fairs because he can wave at people, look at shiny things, and if we're lucky he can hold our bags for us. There was one fair where santa was arriving just as we walked in, and Aiden was not excited to see Santa at all. He would yelp and hide his face in daddy's coat. This fair also had "roll-ups" which I guess is a Portuguese tradition. It's essentially paying to unroll little pieces of paper and if your paper has a star you win a prize. Aiden loves paper, and it only got better when we won a doggie calendar! Then the next room had a table with two new stuffed hippo friends. When we picked them up he was literally kissing at them. That fair was by far the best of the season.

At this point, Aiden seems to be in good spirits, but maybe a little sleepy. There was a horse stable with caroling hay rides, and since the weather was so nice and it was so close to our house, we thought we'd press our luck on nap time and stop by. I forgot to mention that Aiden was super enthusiastic to eat some pancakes, cole slaw and drink tons (almost a whole glass) of water at Friendly's earlier. We were excited that he seemed to like cole slaw even though I was a little worried that he wasn't quite ready for the vinegary mayo or whatever goes into cole slaw. So as I was reading him a story with his puppet while he was in his car seat, he chucked up all that and more. Yep, all over himself, his puppet, and the car seat - it was pooled in the seat under him. I know, gross, but I figure if you're reading this far into my post you can probably handle that kinda story ;) My immediate reaction was to drive to the doctor, but then Aiden started giggling at me. Once we got him patted off with what seemed like a whole roll of paper towel, we went straight up to the bath. He played in the bath like it was the most fun thing to do in the middle of the day. He didn't seem lethargic or even tired. He was bubbly and happy, no temperature, and we decided to just keep an eye on him. He seems to be back on track, slept well, and never had a fever... so I guess we're in the clear. He's just now giggling and roaring in bed, so I better go scoop him up... Oh my goodness, I just looked out the window after typing this obliviously for a half hour and we're covered in a blanket of light white snow!!! ohhhh, I can't wait for some snow play today!