Jennifer Jones of Medina “absolutely” believes that her daughter Jayden is the cutest kid in the world. Unlike other adults who feel the same about their little ones, Jennifer may have documentary evidence soon.
Jayden, 6, a first-grader at Buckeye Elementary, is one of the finalists in the “cutest kid search” by the syndicated series Live! Kelly and Michael.
On Monday, Jennifer, Jayden, Jennifer’s mother Kim Jones and Jennifer’s sister Tiffany Gilbert were preparing for a flight to New York City, a photo shoot and appearances on Live! today through Friday. The show airs at 9 a.m. weekdays on WEWS (Channel 5). Starting Thursday, viewers can see each finalist’s photo gallery and vote online (http://dadt.com/live/contest/cutestkid/12/vote/final/cutestKid Finalists.html) in two categories: Baby (6 to 48 months old) and Big Kid (4 to 8 years old).
The winner in each category, to be announced Friday, will receive a seven-day Norwegian Cruise Line trip for a family of four. And the top vote-getter overall will receive a fully loaded 2013 Dodge Journey.
For Jayden, the competition began in early June, when the Live! show began soliciting cute-kid photos. Close to 100,000 photos came in, with the show’s staff narrowing the field to 30 in each category.
Over two weeks in August, six contestants a day were shown, with viewers voting on their favorite. From the 20 top vote-getters (one each day in each category), the staff picked the six — three in each category — for the final viewer vote. Those six were announced Monday.
It was grandmother Kim Jones who entered Jayden.
“My mom is retired,” Jennifer said, “and she’s been watching the show. She’s the one who saw the contest and sent in [Jayden’s] picture. … Then she said, ‘I hope you’re not mad at me.’
“I was not!” Jennifer said with a laugh.
And how does Jayden feel about all this? “Ecstatic,” Jennifer said.
