Brenna's Pillow Pet Party

Pin It

Brenna's idea for her birthday party this year kind of threw me for a loop.  I searched for ideas and came up empty handed.  With how popular pillow pets are, I thought for sure there would be something out there to help me.  No such luck.  So this is what this Mama came up with.  And it seemed to be everything she dreamed of.  Good thing my girl is easy to please!

 There are lots of pillow pets around here, but I was relieved when she requested the ladybug.  This seemed manageable (if by "manageable" it means working until the wee hours in the night).  I got really excited after Cale came into the kitchen to check out the finished product and started doing his high-pitched laugh.  He said some really sweet things to me, making me even more excited for Brenna to wake up the next morning to this:

 

This year I bought a helium tank (at Walmart) and filled the balloons myself. 

Soooo much easier and definitely worth it.  Each kid got to take a balloon home with them.

 

All of Brenna's guests brought their pillow pets (look at this pile!) and dressed in their jammies too.  They were such great kids the entire time, making it so much fun for me to play with them. 

 

 

 

We sang "The Pancake Man" and then enjoyed making our own for lunch. 

 The kids thought it was so funny that we were having breakfast for lunch.  Who heard of such a thing?  I mean, breakfast for dinner is reasonable, but for lunch?  So silly!

 

We played musical pillow pets, where the only boy in the group won. 

 

We made sleeping masks so that we can all get our much-needed beauty rest. 

We decorated mask-shaped foam with foam stickers, jewels, and tied with a ribbon. 

 

{I fed paper bags through the printer and held with mini clothespins.  Bags were filled with mini sugary cereal with spoons attached, flavored milk straws, eggs and bacon made out of pretzels, white chocolate, and yellow M&Ms.  Not shown but included were twisty straws and a sheet of brightly-colored stickers for each child.}

 

And here is the birthday girl, beaming from ear to ear, after being a gracious host and center of attention at her very own pillow pet party! 

 



Averie's Baptism

Pin It

Averie was baptized on her real 8th birthday.  It was a great day to share with our family and friends.
 



I wanted her to remember this day so I put a lot of thought and effort into the details.  I feel this helped her to better understand this very special occasion.   

 

We did a few things to prepare for the big day.  Leading up to her baptism, we had several Family Home Evenings on baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I love those sweet occasions where the spirit is felt during a lesson as a family in the living room.  Averie also had an interview with the bishop and he shared with us her mature understanding and sweet spirit.  In addition, back in June while in San Diego, Averie's auntie Chelsea took some beautiful pictures of her in her baptism dress.  Here are a few of my favorites:

 

 

The Program

Perriton cousins practicing beforehand

Daddy and Averie all dressed in white.  Averie was very happy to be baptized in a white dress, not a jumper :).

When Averie came out of the water, she leaped into her Daddy's arms, it was the sweetest thing.  I have never seen her smile so big in her life!  That image will be imprinted in my mind for the rest of my life. 

Wonderful Grandparents, who are all such great examples to Averie.  She looks to them for guidance and faith.

 

 

It's Great to be Eight!

 

Mom and Dad back in the day at their baptisms [along with uncle Cory and Grandpa Peterson].

 

 

Cream cheese mints, white chocolate mousse, almond cupcakes, soft sugar cookies, white chocolate-covered pretzels.

 It was a beautiful evening, something to be cherished forever!
[Notice the slide show in the background.  This was a special project I made for Averie.  It was a labor of love and fun to see how my firstborn has grown up and changed over the years.]

 

[Swim at Your Own Risk]

Pin It

Kempton usually doesn't request/want/beg for things so when he asked for a pool party, I was a little taken back.  Not wanting to squash his dreams, the planning began.  And since he is slightly obsessed with sharks, this theme was the perfect fit for a swimming party! 

 (Custom Shark Attack! Party Pack is available at my etsy shop.  Check it out!)

Kempton invited his close friends and their siblings.  We spent most of the time swimming.

 

 

We then ate pizza and shark cupcakes.

 

 

Sang a little Happy Birthday song.

 

Opened some presents [this kid was SPOILED]!

 

And each kid left with some "shark bait." 

aka Goldfish, Swedish Fish, Sour Octopus, and Salt Water Taffy

 



 

[Here are the little bag tags]

Kempton is still talking about his Shark Party.  It was a fun day for him, which makes this mother's efforts worth it.