A Boot Camp Birthday

Whew!  Thomas’ 8th birthday party wore me out.  He requested an army party, so I managed to get my act together and put together something entertaining for Thomas today.  Michael helped a lot with the set up!

When the boys got here, we gave them their dog tags, assigned them to alpha and bravo teams, and painted the faces of those who were interested in camouflage makeup.

Then Chris lined them up and put them through some ceremonial drills.

Then they went on a road march.  That speck is actually boys.

Of course, we can’t do a party without the obstacle course.  It has become a tradition. 

They had to swing across

Walk across a low balance beam and high scaffold then army crawl under the “barbed string”

Through the “jungle”, beat up the “bad guy”, and then up the ladder

Down the slide and under the deck to safety.  (or in this case, silliness)

We let the boys all have a dry run before we set out the “mines” (water balloons) 

After blindfolding them and having them help each other through a minefield, we turned them loose on each other with about 150 water balloons and squirt guns.  Our cameras aren’t waterproof so there aren’t any pictures of that.  Needless to say, the boys had much fun and got plenty wet and dirty in the process.

I let them play “carry the wounded soldier” for a little bit to help them unwind before being asked to be civilized long enough for cake and cheese puffs.  (Thomas requested the cheese puffs.)

I’m going to go a bit on a tangent for a moment and share about the cake.  Thomas requested that I make the batter camouflage, so I mixed it up in 4 different colors and plopped it into the cake pan.  Here’s what the cake looked like when it was mostly done, but before I added the detail work.

And after (Michael said “wow” enough times to make me feel good about all the time I put into it.)

The guests seemed to get a big kick out of it (even though the cheese puffs tried to steal the scene)

Thomas blew the candles out and the cake was history.

There was a quick exchange of gifts before the boys got busy with their water guns again.  They picked up goodie bags and their certificate promoting them from recruit to private on the way out the door.  They all left wet and worn out.  Most of them complained that they had to go home, so I’m assuming they were having fun.  I got a kick out of all the water wars.  Too bad I missed getting those pictures though.

Helaina!

I am feeling a bit guilty that I am just getting around to posting about my darling little niece’s arrival, but I’d rather spend time visiting her than blogging about it.
Helaina Nicole Martin arrived on Thursday, November 12, at 10:16 am weighing in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21.5 inches long. I am so stinking proud of Valerie. Her water broke around midnight, so she and Kane headed to the hospital since they were scheduled for an induction that morning anyway and there was some question about how clear the amniotic fluid was. They got Valerie started on the pitocin drip. It is my understanding she was at 4 cm and a couple hours later, asked for an epi, got it, got checked again and she was at 10cm already and ready to push. She got a little rest while the medical teams for the actual delivery got in gear then pushed for about an hour before Helaina was born. Whoohoo!
We went to go visit her the Saturday after she was born and then again the next weekend. She nurses like a champ and is growing like a weed. They were monitoring her bilirubin there for a bit, but as soon as Val’s milk came in, that all fixed itself. She has this lovely pointy chin just like her mother and her coloring reminds me of her father. She makes those sweet little newborn noises and when she cries I have to resist the urge to go love on her and nurse her. I think she may have been put down once or twice in her life so far because everybody loves holding her.
She already has definite moods and lets us all know when she is unhappy. She likes to be snuggled up tight and squeezed when she’s held. Diaper changes are pretty noisy since she protests having herself embarrassed and put into such an unladylike position. She reminds me of an accordion when she cries as she vocalizes on both the exhale and the inhale. It’s very easy to tell when she’s eating as well, since she makes sweet little vocalizations with every gulp and breath. Valerie says she sounds like a chicken.
Thomas got a big kick out of holding Helaina in his lap. I’m not sure why, but he has the tendency to put her butt higher than her head. He’s very gentle with her and enjoys loving on her. And then he’s off to play with his siblings or uncle who can run around and wrestle with him.
Daniel has come up several times while I am holding Helaina and pronounced her a baby. He hangs around looking at her without touching as though he wants to interact with her but isn’t quite sure how. When invited to hug her he gets all tickled looking, grin, leans in with a big “oo-wee,” and walks off looking quite pleased with himself.
Gloria merely informs us of when Helaina is crying and tells us to fix it. She doesn’t seem to have much interest in getting too involved with her at this age. I have a feeling that once Helaina starts smiling and laughing that Gloria will spend a great deal of time figuring out how to entertain her and keep those smiles and laughs coming.
Michael has gotten to hold her several times during our visits. He enjoys being able to hand her off when she has a dirty diaper or needs to eat and gets to enjoy the sweet, snuggly, sleepy Helaina.
I have had the pleasure of burping, rocking, snuggling, and even “slinging” little Helaina during lunch. For those of you not familiar with the term, “slinging” simply refers to carrying the baby in a sling type baby carrier. Slings are lovely, simple contraptions that snuggle baby up close to Mommy. There are numerous positions that you can use from the cradle position where they feel all swaddled up to sitting up to riding on the hip. I found it extremely comforting for my little ones when they were newborns. They felt secure and swaddled, and the motion of me walking around doing daily chores helped to rock them to sleep and keep them content. There was much less fussing when they were in the sling.
Back to Helaina! I will have to take pictures this Thanksgiving while I am here. I am terrible about forgetting to grab my camera. I prefer to enjoy the moment I am in rather than spend them all behind a camera and miss out!

Halloween!

I am aware that it has come and gone. Nevertheless, the cuteness must be shared. (Thomas was at his father’s this year, so we don’t have pictures of that.)
As many of you probably know, Gloria is in LUV with Tinkerbelle, so it was only logical for her to dress up as this fairy. At first, Daniel was to be a lost boy, but I got over the size differences and just had him be Peter Pan.

Peter Pan:
I found a peasant top tutorial online and modified it by replacing the elastic around the neck with a drawstring and cutting a short slit down the center front to make it look more “pannish” and less girlie. His pants were fleece pants from a pattern I use regularly for both kiddos. I guessed at the measurements for the hat, made out of the same fleece as the pants, and came up with something fairly presentable. I got lazy with the belt and just cut a length of brown fleece and tied it. I am truly proud of his little elf shoes. Again, I modified a pattern I found online to make some cute, pointy, soft soled elf shoes that fit Daniel for about a week before he outgrew them. (Good thing I made them close to Halloween!)

Tinkerbelle:
This turned out practically elegant. They had this lovely shade of green satiny fabric on sale at Hancock’s the day I went looking. I took the standard jumper I use for many of Gloria’s dresses and just cut the bottom jagged and lined the entire thing because the idea of hemming the bottom just boggled my mind. Daddy insisted on bloomers, so those were added from the same fabric. There was just enough after that to make her some sweet little slippers (same pattern minus pointy toes). The wings were in a bag of dress up clothes a friend handed down to Gloria. Whew! No stressing over bent hangers.

The day before Halloween we took a little trip to see Daddy at work all dressed up. There is a neat area with some ferns under the trees that just seemed perfect for little fairies and elves.

Exploring the Ferns

More Tink

Tink in the Ferns (I absolutely adore this one!)

Peter Pan with no hat

Lookin for his shadow? (maybe his hat!)

Ta Da

Ta Da Again (And the only decent shot of Tink’s wings)

Tink spent a good while having to sit still while her mother configured her hair into the traditional Tink pouf-bun the best she could with that baby fine hair.

Peter Pan was ready to go! He even wore his hat-for a few minutes.

This picture is fuzzy, but Daniel is smiling, you can see Gloria’s do, and the neat pumpkins Michael carved are visible.

This next one just cracks me up. The look on Daniel’s face, the position of the kids’ pumpkins, the pose just all look so funny to me.

Halloween evening was a little bit chilly, so we added a white turtleneck and fleece pants. And no, no socks. Those little slippers are lined with more white fleece.

Another view of that topknot.

Evil Tinkerbelle, shooting me with her magic stick.

Enjoying his candy
 

Finally smiling for the camera on purpose!
 

Two Bits?

So I have been pestering Melissa for about 2 months now, saying that we should get Daniel’s hair cut.  So finally today she decided it was time to get everyone’s hair cut (except hers).

So Daniel went first:

In the chair…

The preparation:

The Cut (shock the mommy)

Just keep that candy coming:

I have her right where I want her:

That was easy!

Gloria was supposed to go first, but bumped her head on something while we were waiting so we thought we would give her a break and let Daniel go first.  She didn’t want to go second either though, so Thomas went next:

He, of course, was just fine with having his hair cut, but he did request to keep his sideburns (like Indiana Jones).  I didn’t get a picture, but I think his haircut now looks like Spock.

Gloria didn’t want to go after Thomas either so I got my hair cut.  Nothing interesting there, except that for having no hair on top, she sure got a lot of hair off of my head somewhere.

And finally Gloria:

Can you smile? (Daniel did!)  I recommend click on this picture to see the full size version.  That way you can see Daniel smiling in the background:

Oh you were talking to me?:

Look in the mirror:

But the only way this was possible…

She had to sit in daddy’s lap:

Thank you Miss Amanda for being so patient with us:

And just so you know, haircuts cost a lot more than two bits and you don’t even get a shave with it.

Da Cruise Pictures-Part 2 Cozumel

We spent approximately 8 hours in Cozumel.  Only about 5 of that was on the land though.  The rest of that time was spent on the Holiday.

The view from the ship:

Two other cruise ships docked close to us:

The gorgeous blue water:

On the island, we visited "Discover Mexico" where they had all of these really neat scaled down models of the various ruins throughout the country.

Then some colonial models:

And modern day architecture:

Then some evil mystery bug bit/stung Thomas:

But he was brave and let an iguana sit on his shoulders in spite of his injury.

Then we went to Chankanaab park to eat lunch and swim.  (Had to look at the picture to spell it!)

The "lagoon"

Complete with cool coral formations:

Before swimming, we ate lunch:

And complained about the heat

And enjoyed the view

And listened to the local musicians serenade Gloria

Then we went SWIMMING!

Daniel, Michael, and Thomas all went swimming, too, but we didn’t have enough hands to hold everyone and a camera at the same time!

Then we went back to the ship and crashed!

The Day After

So this morning, the day after the party, Thomas got up at 6am, got fully dressed and then came to snuggle in the bed with us.  At about 7:30 this is what my bed looked like.

The boys were sound asleep and Gloria was saying, “Please, wake up, Thomas, please.  Pretty please.”

He Read 139 Pages!

And that’s not 139 pages of pictures or words in large print.  That’s normal sized, normal margins, and no pictures my “little” boy is now reading. 

Thomas came home with this REAL book in his bag and managed to read the entire thing over the weekend.  (There was a lot of rain.)   Since he was at his dad’s house, I was a little skeptical, but he gave me a plot summary with no trouble.

I am impressed.  It wasn’t long ago that he was still sounding out words and reading picture books.  Now it’s novels!  Sometimes it’s hard to remember he’s only 7 when he does things like this.

I can sense many library trips are in store for this summer.

Indiana Jones, er, Thomas’ 7th Birthday!

Today was my handsome guy’s birthday party!  The theme was Indiana Jones and Thomas dressed to play the part of the ruggedly handsome hero-minus the scruffy whiskers.  The shirt is one of Michael’s.  Thomas found the hat in the woods a few weeks ago.  I made the bag-plus one like it for each of the other guests.  We didn’t have any pants dark enough so I dipped some old khaki ones in some coffee, spun them out, and dried them in the drier.  He smelled yummy!

Even though the party started at 10, the guests trickled in slowly.  They spent the first 30 minutes in the front yard with their magnifying glasses (from the bags) looking for “clues.”  In this case, bugs.

Then we started some music (via the xbox) and Thomas/Indy explained that he was on a search for stolen treasure and passed out the first clue.

The first clue led them to the “Mummy Gallery.”

There they had to wrap each other up in toilet paper to find the next clue, which was skillfully hidden INSIDE the rolls of paper.  They were a little shy about it at first, but they really got going with it.  Even Gloria got in on the wrapping.

The next clue told them to go to the “snake pit!”  This was designed and built by Indy/Thomas himself.  The snakes were also artistically placed by the little man.

The adventurers got busy finding the clues and snake wrestling.

The rolled up clues, under the snakes, told them to go to the “crocodile creek” for their next clue.

I added more leaves and debris between the above pictures and the party.  At first the kids had no clue as to how to go about their task.

Soon enough, they began reaching in to feel around…

…until their fearless leader saved the day and found the first clue!  (He even read most of them since he’s such an awesome reader.)

This clue sent them to “Pankot Palace Banquet”…

where they had to feel around inside some gross food to find the next clue…

…and then assemble the three pieces so they could read it!

Their final clue told them to go to the “airport hanger” where they found the treasure…

…and made short work of stashing it away in their bags.

All of this only took 20 minutes!  Hours and hours of preparation and it only took 20 minutes.  It was sprinkling off and on, so that made things move along faster.  I was still amazed at how quickly they accomplished their mission.  I guess hunting for treasure gets kids motivated.

While Michael grilled the burgers and dogs, the kids made up their own adventures out in the back.

The rain started to pour down and put a damper on that.  Thankfully, the food was almost done by that time.  Michael set up a card table in the kitchen, so we had 12 seats over tile for the messy kids to have lunch! 

Then it was time for THE CAKE. (That I had soooooooooo much fun doing!)

We all sang “Happy Birthday” (much to Gloria’s unhappiness!)

There was NO question about it.  The kids ALL wanted to eat the boulder for some reason, even after I explained that it was cake crumbs smashed into a ball shape.

It got as quiet as it ever was during this adventure after the cake was passed out!

Then the guests all went home and the four Phillips passed out themselves.

What happens in Vegas…

Will be posted on the blog.    At least, anything that might be interesting. 

So far, I got here with a major headache.  Probably should have had some coffee before I left and maybe eaten a little something.  I did finally eat lunch at 4:30 Birmingham time, which was only 2:30 here.  Then I went and registered for the conference, took the “goodie bag” back up to my room, and went and bought a camera.   I bought a Canon A590.  It is nice and small, and I have a Canon at home that I like.  It wasn’t a bad price either.

I am staying at the Venetian, which is a very nice Hotel and Casino.  One of the nicest in Vegas as a matter of fact.  It should be noted though, that when the lady at the check-in desk says “it is in the more secluded area of the hotel” that is code for “it is a REALLY long walk to get anywhere”.  I think that would be the case anyway, but still..

The first year I was here I had a view of the Treasure Bay casino, and they have a pirate show they do a couple of times a day.  that was  a really nice view.  My view this time:

  Better luck next year?

I did make it to the Expo this evening.  Basically, it is where you walk around and let salesmen (and women) try to sell you software products.  It was a little crowded:

I didn’t really talk to anyone yet.  Hard to hear with that many people all talking at once…

Happy Birthday!

On Friday Gloria turned 2.  On Sunday Thomas turned 7.  So on Saturday we had a family celebration where we celebrated BOTH birthdays, but mostly Gloria’s since Thomas will have his Indiana Jones birthday party with his friends NEXT Saturday.  Here are some pictures I managed to catch.  There were other cameras present, so I may come back and add more.

First, “the cake.”  I did the baking and frosting, Mom did most of the decorating, and Michael artistically placed the fairies and candles.

The princess was NOT happy about us singing “Happy Birthday” to her-at all.

But she did like blowing out her candles!

And EATING the cake

And playing with her brother

Then Daniel got really, really tired…and passed out on Cousin Gilah.

The expression on Gilah’s face is just priceless here.  And I love how all the colors (hair and skin tone) all just go together.

Then the gift opening began!  Gloria actually got the idea this time.

Hmmmm…What’s this?

It’s Dora!

A camera!

Dishes?  Gee, thanks, Mommy.

Another camera.  This one says “You’re beautiful!”

“Big Tinkerbell!”

“Open it, Daddy!  Open it right now!”

An absolutely gorgeous smile from Daddy.  (That’s the smile I see a lot, but can’t get on camera!)

Daddy demonstrates how to love on a doll.

But Gloria wanted to look at her instead.  “No hug Tinkerbell.”

Meanwhile, Thomas opens his OWN presents

Hmm.  This looks pretty cool.

A transformer!

Then Michael told Thomas he needed some help finding something outside.

He found it!

He was a little intimidated by the idea of the hills in our neighborhood, so Michael stuck right next to him to give him confidence.

He promised he wouldn’t let go, and he didn’t!

We had much fun.  NEXT week, we will have MORE!