7 Year Old Phineas and Ferb Birthday

B celebrated his 7th birthday in September {Yes, I'm aware of the fact that it's October and I am just now posting this.  I'm on Fall Break so I have time to do this now.}

This year he told me that he wanted to have a Phineas and Ferb party.  After I picked my jaw up off of the ground {He has had 4 Toy Story Themed parties in a row for his 6th, 5th, 4th, and 3rd birthdays}.  I jumped at the chance to implement new party ideas!

A little Phineas and Ferb background:
Phineas and Ferb are brothers who challenge each other to make the most of their summer vacation.  Each day they use their science skills, along with some imagination, to build new outrageous contraptions.  Mysteriously they are able to create and enjoy their new machines, without their parents ever seeing them, despite their older sister's best efforts to bust them.

Invitations:

Brent found a Phineas and Ferb font. I used the it to create the invitations and he used it to create the banners.

Outside

Inside

Thank You Notes:

**Email me at uniquelyerinnicole@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing invitations or thank you notes.**

Decorations:

Brent created this banner that we hung on the front door. 

He also created this banner.  We hung it in our front room because the guitar rock out session would be held there {more on that later}.

I ordered the tablecloths online.  B picked out the blue plates, napkins, cups, and silverware from the dollar store.

Recycled cans from fruit were used to create utensils holders.  I wrapped them with yellow scrapbook paper and added a green strip with a character sticker attached to it.  When the party was over I saved the cans.  The covers can be taken off and the cans can be re-decorated to match the next party theme.

I always like to put a Sharpie out next to the cups so people can write their name on their cups.

I ordered the party bags online.  B and I went to Party City and found some Phineas and Ferb party favors to fill the the bags with.

Members of our family wore these shirts that I created from a website I found.  I bought the shirts and transfer paper at JoAnns.

B's shirt says:  Happy 7th Birthday Brayden.  Brent's shirt says: Blast you Perry the Platypus.

I found the onesie at Target.  It was in a pack of 3.  The other 2 onesies had patterns on them so I used the solid color one.  There is a picture of Candace, Phineas and Ferb's older sister, on it with a caption that says: "Mom, Brayden's having a birthday party!{Candace is notorious for trying to bust Phineas and Ferb}.

Activities:

Rockets 

We used recycled water bottles to create rockets.  The kids got to pick out nose cones and wings made from pieces of colored paper that Brent already had cut out.

They then taped them to the rockets.  I would suggest having multiple rolls of tape on hand for this activity.  We made it work with 1 roll, but it would have been easier to have 2 or 3.  It was also helpful to have other adults to assist the kids with the holding and taping.  {B is in this great, I'm 7 and I take goofy pictures phase, so please excuse his expressions in these pictures.}

After creating the rockets we took them outside to launch them.  We attached a cork to the needle of a bicycle pump.  Brent held onto the bottle and the cork while the kids pumped air into the rockets and launched them into the air.

After a few launches with the bicycle pump Brent got a great idea.  He tried launching the rockets using his air compressor.  The kids loved how their rockets flew higher!  {As each rocket was launched Brent added his Tim the Tool Man Taylor 'man' grunt.}

Rainbow Volcanoes

Once the allure of the rockets died down we moved on to making Rainbow Volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar.

I found the small containers, seen in the picture below, at the dollar store.  There were 10 of them in a package and they only cost $1.00 {I thought the price was right!}  I also liked that there were lids for the containers so I could easily prep them before the party started.

I put baking soda in containers so that each child got 2 containers with baking soda.  I used other containers to put vinegar mixed with food coloring in. Multiple kids were able to share a container of vinegar.

The kids used eye droppers to pick up the vinegar and drop it into the baking soda.  I found packages of eye droppers in the pharmacy department at Wal Mart.  Once the vinegar and baking soda met they created a chemical and it bubbled and fizzed like a volcano.  G was disappointed that his volcano didn't actually bubble over like a real volcano {Sorry to burst your bubble there buddy, but it's not that kind of a volcano.}

These are 2 of the baking soda pods after the food coloring vinegar mix has been dropped into it.  The kids loved watching the baking soda bubble up as the vinegar mix was dropped into it.

Rocking out with Guitars

Next, we decorated guitars.  I ordered these inflatable guitars.  I bought some permanent markers from the dollar store to decorate them with.  I was a little leery about giving the kids permanent markers, but surprisingly, they didn't make a mess at all.

When the guitars were decorated it was time to have a little jam session!  I ordered a Phineas and Ferb sound track for the kids to rock out to.  As an added bonus these stylin' glasses came in the box with the guitars.  The kids loved them!

Food:


I served snack foods that included: apples, bananas, cheese balls, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and Phineas and Ferb fruit snacks.

Cake:


The birthday boy and his Perry the Platypus cake {Again, here he is with the goofy 7 year old looks . . . aggg how long will this phase last?!}

I used a 13x9 pan for the cake.  Perry's eyes are made from powdered sugar donuts and black jellybeans {I used a toothpick to hold the donuts onto the cake securely}.  For his hat I used mini Hersey's bars.  His feet and beak are made from orange Airheads.

We all had a lot of fun celebrating Brayden's 7th birthday in Phineas and Ferb style!  Now I'm onto planning Baby M's first birthday!

My World Changed

7 years ago today, at 11:21 PM my world was forever changed.

I was blessed to become the mother of none other than, Brayden William-Lawrence.

He was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.  He had 10 toes and 10 fingers and a head full of  dark hair.

He was absolutely perfect in every way.

It was on this day when I learned what it means to truly love someone and put another person's needs before my own.

No book or article could have ever prepared me for all of the lessons that this one little boy has taught me and continues to teach me each day.

On the day that he made his way into this world I turned down the opportunity to attend a Colts game with Brent.

He had been given free tickets from work.  The idea of climbing bleachers and squeezing next to some random stranger while 9 months pregnant lacked a certain appeal to me, if you know what I mean.

Brent's cousin was happy to take my place at the game.  When the guys returned home from the game I had dinner ready.  We ate, his cousin left, and Brent and I went about our typical Sunday night routine.

As I was sitting on the floor coloring something for the preschool class that I was teaching at the time I began to feel slightly crampy. 

I decided to stretch out on our bed for a few minutes thinking this would relieve the cramps.  Much to my surprise my water suddenly broke!

We called our families and quickly headed to the hospital.  We did stop to drop off lesson plans at my assistant teacher's house {it was on the way}.

When I quickly learned that I was already dilated to 7cm.  I was informed that if I wanted an epidural I needed to get one quickly or it would be too late.

The thought of a needle going into my back terrified me, so I chose to go without the epidural.

Considering the fact that my water broke around 7:30 and I was holding my sweet baby by 11:21, I'd say my first birth experience wasn't too bad.

I know I'm not alone when it comes to reminiscing about my little boy being born.  It is amazing how quickly the time has passed.

While we have had our ups and downs during his short 7 years with us, I know that began our family circle.

Becoming a parent has solidified our marriage and pushed us to limits we could have never imagined.

No matter what, in the end, we are a family.  We love one another and that's the bottom line.

Happy Birthday Brady!  Mommy and Daddy love you!

4 year old Hippo Birthday

You may recall that G recently turned 4.  For his 4th birthday he chose to have a Hippo themed party.  He was set on this theme and I was not going to change his mind regardless of how many different tactic I tried!  For the record, I only tried to change his mind because I thought it would be rather challenging trying to find items for a Hippo party.  I was, however, WRONG . . . there I admitted it.



Invitations and Thank you notes:

The outside

The inside

I put a wallet size picture of G from the party on the outside of the thank you note.  The note was written on the back.

Email me at uniquelyerinnicole@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing invitations or thank you notes.

Utensil holders:
I removed wrappers from cans of fruit and washed them out.  I then wrapped covers around the cans that had hippos stamped on them along with the hippos I made for the invitations.  The covers can be removed and the cans can be recovered for another party.



Activities:

Binoculars:

First we made binoculars to use on a hippo hunt.  We glued 2 toilet paper tubes together and wrapped card stock around the outside of them.  2 holes were punched to attach yarn.  The kids decorated them with stickers.

Hippo Hunt Song:

After making the binoculars we put them on and sat down for a song.  I googled 'We're going on a Bear Hunt' and found a YouTube video with song.  We sang the song and did the movement with the song.  We said hippo hunt rather than bear hunt in the appropriate places.

The Hippo Hunt:

We followed clues in search of a hippo.  The clues lead us to several different areas both inside and outside.  The hippo was hiding in some grass!

Showing the hippo some love

Hippo Toss Game:

I used a poster board to create this hippo.  My husband used wood to make the stand to attach the poster board to.  It can be removed so we can create a new poster to use with future parties.



Cake:

I was so surprised when I was able to find these hippo plates and napkins!

Party Favor Bags:

I stamped 'Thanks' on the outside of a white paper bag along with a stamp of a hippo.  I took G to the dollar store to pick out some goodies for his friends.

4 Years Ago . . .

This is from his 3rd Birthday Party

Today is G’s birthday.  In light of this special day I’m going to share his birth story with you.

It was 3:00 AM on March 12, 2008 and my water broke.  My worst fear had come true, I went into labor and my husband, Brent, was at work.  At the time he worked the 12-4 shift at FedEx along with his 8-5 day job (No, that’s not a typo those are the correct times.  He got very little sleep!).

I immediately reached for the phone and called him.  He didn’t answer . . . GREAT!  Now what am I supposed to do?  I tried to stay calm, but my mind was racing. 

Next, I called my friend.  We had already arranged for her to watch B when the baby came.  When we had the discussion I didn’t think I would have to call her at 3:00 AM.  I felt so badly for calling and waking her up. 

Without hesitation she came to get B and offered to take me to the hospital.  In between the time that she and I spoke and when she arrived at the our house I was able to talk with Brent and he was on his way home.

Brent and I drove to the hospital.  They checked us in and there I sat . . . waiting.  When I had B my water broke at 7:00 and he was born at 11:21.  By the time I got to the hospital I was dilated to 7 centimeters.  Seeing as how this was my second baby I thought things would go more quickly . . . I was WRONG!

A few interesting events occurred while we waited for G to make his appearance.  First of all, we had the pleasure of meeting the Attending doctor from the hospital.    I’m not really comfortable with male doctors when it comes to this birthing stuff, so he made me SUPER nervous!  He came in asked a few general questions and appeared to be writing my statements down.  He came across one question that he didn’t or maybe couldn’t ask aloud.  He pointed to the question and said “Have you ever had this?”  While he was doing this he gave Brent an odd stare.   After answering the remainder of the questions he tried a little small talk by asking who Brent was.  I explained that he was my husband.  After he left Brent could hardly wait to ask what the question was.  I told him it asked if I had ever had Herpes.  Brent found this to be the highlight of the day and still laughs hysterically about it when reminiscing!

It is standard procedure to get an IV in the early stages of labor.  The first time I ever had an IV was when I had B.  At that time I was extremely nervous about getting the IV.  This time I knew what to expect so I was more relaxed about the situation.  The nurse who was giving me the IV was new.  She tried 3 times and was unsuccessful.  Another nurse had to do the IV.  I was left with several bruises on my arm and it was pretty sore.

G was not actually due until April 3.  Earlier in the week I had the Group B Strep test (This test indicates weather the mother is a carrier of bacteria that can be passed to the baby and cause an infection during birth) done, but the results had not come back yet.  To be cautious the nurses put me on an antibiotic drip through my IV.  The antibiotic combined with the contractions caused me to need to use the restroom FREQUENTLY!  Because I was hooked up to several wires I needed Brent to assist me in the process . . . this was just lovely!

The next obstacle I came across was my raising blood pressure.  I have never in my life had an issue with my blood pressure, why did it have to start now?!   I was instructed to lie on my left side to help keep the pressure down.  After about 45 minutes of this my shoulder and hip began to ache from the thin mattress that I was on.

Finally, around 8:45 the nurses told me my water had been broken for too long and that they needed to try Pitocin.  They had offered to use it earlier; however, I had asked to wait.  I went so quickly with my first child and I had heard terrible stories about how intense it made the contractions.  Knowing what I know now, I would have allowed them to use it the first time they offered.  It isn’t bad.

About 45 minutes after being on the Pitocin I told a nurse that I felt like I needed to push.   She agreed that it was time and informed me that the doctor was on her way, but if she didn’t get there in time the Attending (You know the weird, uncomfortable, MAN from earlier) was waiting in the hall.  As much as I wanted to hold my baby, I didn’t want that guy all up in my business.  Shortly after the nurse shared this information with me I said, “I’m not trying to be rude, but I go to an all FEMALE practice for a reason.  I am not comfortable with a male delivering my baby.”  I vividly remember praying “Please let my doctor get here quickly!”  My doctor walked in the door and G was beginning to crown . . . my prayers were answered, my doctor made it!

A few short moments later I was holding my beautiful baby boy.  He weighed 5 pounds 15 ½ ounces and was 21 ½ inches long.  He had 10 fingers, 10 toes, and light colored hair.  Still to this day I can remember how tiny he was; considering he was born at 35 weeks he was actually a pretty good size.

He is such an amazing little boy.  G has taught us that laughter is the best medicine.  He has such a happy go lucky personality.  Each day I am thankful to have been chosen to be this little boy’s Mommy.