So....after my playdate today....I saw an ad for a cute baby contest at the Eagle Flight Days. I thought, my baby is cute...so why not check it out. After telling Justin of my intentions, he said I could go on my own (haha). I headed over to Eagle with my future champion in tow. As I was getting out of the car, I started seeing babies everywhere! My competitive side started thinking...."Can I see that baby? Is that baby cute? Is my baby cuter?" It was so funny. Just like I would scope out the competition prior to races in college, I found myself doing the same thing as I was getting out of my car with Macklin.
Sidenote....The contest started at 5pm and I arrived with a happy baby at 4:45pm. Macklin had been super happy all day and I thought he was doing great, but not quite as smiley when I arrived.
Contintuing....I walk up to the tent where the contest will take place thinking "Am I really going to do this?" Then I rationalize that it is a community event and it is only right that one of the newest residents should participate! I walk over, sign my boy up and get a #6 sticker to put on his shirt.
I don't know how I thought it would all go down, but after the procedure was explained, I started feeling bad that I was bringing my son to this! There were 27 babies (under the age of 2) and we were to hold our child and walk past the table of judges. I think there were about 10 categories for which your child could win. Some of those categories were....best smile, best eyes, biggest dimples, cubbiest feet, most vocal, best hair, best relative look alike, best swim wear, best hat, and best theme outfit. Each parent can decide which category to enter your child and then you line up, walk past the judges, and show off your child for each category. You can enter as many as you would like, but can only win a prize once. They did 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes.
At this point, I am still looking around at the "competition" and thinking about who will win each category (there was no "cute baby" category, just lots of little ones). I am just too competitive! I am also thinking about what category Macklin could compete in....He doesn't have much hair (if you would consider that he has any)....I think he looks more like Justin than me....His feet aren't really that cubby....He doesn't make any cool vocal noises on command....I didn't dress him in swim wear or the theme of the day....He has one tiny dimple on some occasions...I am feeling as though he only has a shot in three categories...eyes, smile, and hat. I brought this sweet hat from Tracy but that is just because I always have it with us to protect his head from sun.
Now it is 5pm and we are about to get started. Macklin is doing well, but I see that he is starting to get hungry. He should be ready to eat about now. So we line up for the "best eyes" round. After this, there are a few categories that don't apply, as explained above. Then, Macklin decides that it is really time to eat! I had put off nursing so that he could participate, but he has decided he is done. So, Macklin starts crying and as I am debating whether to feed him or try to calm him down, over comes the host of the contest and puts the microphone in his face. "We got a baby being vocal here!" (making my baby's cry heard by all those in attendance at the Flight Days!) I said, "I don't think crying because he is hungry counts as winning a contest about being vocal." She quickly replied, "Well, no other baby is making any noise."
So, Macklin went on to continue crying, louder and louder. I did not walk him by the judges for any more categories. I did feed my baby just a few minutes later. Since I was talking with a friend, was curious about the results, and still feeding my child, I waited to hear the winners. Many predicted winners and some surprises. "And for the next category, we only have a 1st place winner and no runner-ups. The winner of Most Vocal is Macklin Brandt!" I quickly stopped nursing him and grabbed his blue ribbon and $20 to the local toy store!
Looking back on this experience, I still feel kinda bad for imposing my competitive nature on my tiny son. Of course I was a kind competitor, saying how precious everyone else's kids were (and I mean it when I say it) and not showing my inner feelings. I did feel proud to take home some prize for my boy. I mean, I think he has the best smile and the best eyes, (what parents of a baby don't) even if the judges didn't get the chance to see them? There were some good things that came out of it....Mack did win $20 to the toy store. And, I did get to meet more people with kiddos in my community.
Bottom Line...Macklin has one more year to compete and I am sure we will be back next June!
-from the mom of a Blue Ribbon Winner
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