ABC Show 2011

The ABC Show is the largest annual domestic trade show for juvenile, infant and maternity products. Every possible thing you have ever thought about purchasing for your kids (and a lot of stuff that you haven't even heard of) is at this show. Fisher Price, Graco, Chicco, Nuby, Nuk, Boppy, Bright Stars, Munchkin and The First Years are just some of the "big boys" that exhibit at this show every year.  There are tens of thousands of attendees--including everything from Exhibitors, Vendors, Retailers and Big-Box Buyers, Distributors, Sales Reps and Agents, Media, Special Services Personnel and Guests. Baby Banana Brush has had the opportunity to attend this show for the past three years, and many of our major clients found us as a result of our presence at the show. This year the show was held in Louisville, instead of the usual Las Vegas destination, so the attendance was a little bit less than usual. However, despite the lower number of international attendees and regular customers, we still feel that we had a very successful show. We placed lots of orders and we worked very hard, now we are busy with all of the follow-up that comes after attending a show of this magnitude. 

 We did have a little bit of downtime for some "monkey business" in the booth.

 We passed out LOTS of samples of our new product, The Baby Sharky Brush.

 I asked Moms if we could snap pictures of their babies using the brush whenever I could.

 Babies using and enjoying the product is truly the best marketing we could ask for.

There were MANY people who came by the booth saying, "I just saw a baby over there going to town on one of these things", or "I've seen these before, my neighbor/sister/friend's baby has one", etc.

 Our theme this year was "Sharks" but we tried to mesh it with our Banana Brush theme too. Having this big Shark cut-out was only scary for us inside the booth (just kidding). It actually made a lot of passers-by take a second look at our booth.

Here's how the booth looked at the end of set-up on our first night. We were right next to a lot of really big retailers, but the layout this year was weird, so some people had a hard time finding us. 

 Janet was our dutiful accountant and she worked very hard all week long. Getting up early, going to bed late, long hours on our feet without eating, making lots of compromises, having to keep many different clients information straight, and staying organized amid mild chaos were challenging for all of us, but Janet did a great job of managing everything.

At the end of the day, we barely had enough energy to eat dinner before crashing into bed. We thought we should do at least one notable thing while we were in Louisville, so we asked our taxi driver to take us to Churchill Downs, which is the huge racetrack where the Kentucky Derby is held each year. We expected this to be in the middle of a rural area surrounded by green, rolling hills--we were wrong. It is in the middle of two major freeways and it is surrounded by dilapidated, cramped, old-looking houses. The building itself was very pretty, and spread out over many acres. The surrounding neighborhood was shady at best. Our cab driver said the people who live there charge like $20 per car for parking and when the Derby is going on they can make about $6,000 per day. You'd think they could use some of that to touch up their peeling paint and dangling roof shingles. I guess not. 

All in all, we worked hard, had some success and bonded while we were in Kentucky last week. 

Happy Birthday Sierra!

Sierra turned 16 years old today!! Mom and Dad can't believe that they now have a grandchild who is old enough to be driving and (equally scary) dating! Here is a picture from her first date at the homecoming dance last week! She looks so beautiful!

Sierra has entered such an exciting time in her life. She is preparing for college, working hard at school and church activities, and maintaining a very active social life. Sierra gets up SO early (4:30) and stays late at school in order to do participate in all of the activities she is involved in.

Sierra has lots of friends and I am very impressed at what a good example she has been to them. Sierra is an excellent missionary and she has a strong testimony.

Sierra is an awesome big sister too! She loves her little brother and her little sister, she is affectionate, responsible and caring.
  


She honors her parents and treats others very nicely. Plus she has a great sense of style--her bedroom is totally darling!
Sierra is also super-duper talented! She plays the piano and writes her own songs, she is a fabulous actress, and she has an awesome voice!

 Plus, she isn't afraid to sing in front of a bunch of people. Check out the link below for proof. (You have to have facebook to see it) Sierra sang the National Anthem at a minor league baseball game, and rocked it! She also signed autographs for the little kids in the dugout. A star is born!!
Sierra Rocks the National Anthem!
Here's a picture from Sierra's play "Alice in Wonderland" last year where she played the Caterpillar. Its always so fun to watch her perform!

Sierra and I have always been buds! She was the first baby who I ever lived with and got to take care of. She and I would watch "The Little Mermaid" for hours on end. Sierra and I are actually closer in age than her Dad and I are, which we always joke about. I was only 12 years old when I became an Aunt for the first time, 16 years ago today!

We love your sweet spirit, your upbeat personality, and your confidence...We love you! Happy birthday Sierra!

Happy Birthday Troy!

Happy birthday T-bone! This is my nickname for Troy, its from a Seinfeld episode like 10 years ago and it has just stuck since then.

Troy is extremely talented. I think we all know that there is pretty much nothing Troy cannot do. He doesn't just attempt to do things, he excels at them.

Troy is an amazing artist, which is probably where Erica gets her abilities from. He is also musically gifted and can play the guitar and other instruments. Most people who do well with the arts are not also mechanically inclined, but not Troy. He loves fixing things around the house, and he even re-did the landscaping of his backyard all on his own. He is also very good at fixing cars--he has revived a few Phillips vehicles from the dead, and kept many other cars running well past their prime. Troy is also very athletically inclined. His favorite sports are wakeboarding and snowboarding.

Troy is also a very talented designer. We know he uses these skills in his work at Raytheon and in his CAD designs for the Baby Banana Brush products, but he has also been putting this talent to good use in creating apps. For those of you who haven't yet seen Troy's productions, please go to his website check them out. The original, "Shatterball" is challenging and fun for all ages. "Balloon Maker" is fun and a great way to keep your kids occupied during long car rides. And, if you have a little girl, she will love "My Fairy Princess", there are hours of outfits, shoes, and crowns to play with. (I have to admit, I've played this one a few times myself and its pretty fun!)

If you have an iphone, itouch, or droid you should leave a review for his apps, because that helps with his reputation as an app designer, and that can contribute greatly to his growing business. Not that he needs help, because Troy's apps have been doing very well. He was even recently recognized for his "Balloon Maker" app, because of its ability to help autistic kids with their visual tracking and hand-eye coordination. You can find his apps here

Aside from Troy's talents, some of my favorite qualities about him are his generosity, his positive attitude, and his vast knowledge of "The Simpsons". Troy has always laughed at my jokes which makes me feel good too.

Last but not least, Troy is a wonderful husband and father. I'm sure he would rather be playing with Legos and Erector Sets, but instead he plays Barbies and Princesses. He has always treated Nancee very well, and that is the best quality of all!

 We love you Troy and we hope you had an awesome birthday!

Happy Birthday Brayden!

Happy Birthday Bray-Bray! Brayden is now officially in the "double-digits", with his 10th birthday today. And, contrary to popular Phillips myth, he did not turn into a girl. Hahah. Brayden is definitely all boy. He likes sports and active adventure-type things like mountain biking. Grandpa Tutu got to go on a weekend trip in Zion National Park with Brayden and his Dad camping out in the wild and doing extreme mountain biking. They had lots of fun. 

Mom and Dad were happy to be involved with Brayden's baptism 2 years ago. 

 

 Like his Dad, Brayden is very interested in scientific stuff--like germs, bugs, blood, dinosaurs and especially rocks. He has a big collection of rocks on display at his Dad's office. He has also started to collect lots of different knives too. He is doing great in scouts and will probably beat his Dad to the eagle rank.

Did I mention that Brayden has awesome hair? I tease him about being "Justin Beiber".

 He likes Laser Tag and go carts and he was a master of video games when Mom and I got the chance to take him to Mulligans Theme Park a few months ago. Mom and I were very impressed at how well Brayden interacted with the server at Chili's and all of the people at Mulligans. He and I had to wait in a very long line to play laser tag, and he was so patient I couldn't believe it! He was also very patient sitting through his sisters 3 hour long dance recital--with no complaints!

 Here he is demonstrating his excellent coordination. A while ago when we were visiting Temecula, we got a chance to watch Brayden play with his basketball team, which was very fun. He did good, and he really hustled up and down the court until his cheeks were red. Way to go Brayden!

Brayden is also very gracious, he always says "thank you" right away when he is given something, which is a very nice quality to have. He is very appreciative and really has the best manners.

 Like his sisters, Brayden is growing up to be quite good-looking! Luckily, he still thinks girls are "gross", so we don't have to worry about that for awhile. :)

 Brayden is an excellent reader, and he is a big fan of Harry Potter. He told me that his birthday wish would be to go visit the new "Harry Potter" ride at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. (I'm sure your Aunt Jennifer and Uncle J.J. would love to take you).
We love you Brayden and we hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Beginning Basement Beautification

We have officially started construction on the basement! This is very exciting for us because we plan on having a finished basement in time for Christmas, in order to lure as many visitors as possible this season. Roo and Annie are already confirmed, and J.J. and Barratt and their families are also strong possibilities. We plan on having 3 finished bedrooms (with sleeping capacity for 10 or more) and 2 finished bathrooms downstairs by the time winter sets in.
The first step was getting all of the walls and ceilings blown in with insulation. The next step is going to be putting up drywall, which will be a very loud, messy, and dusty process. On Friday the construction guys delivered huge 12 foot sheets of sheetrock to our house. They had to use this huge crane that was perched on the side of our hill, and one of the guys was controlling it by a remote control. Dad showed us some good videos of it, and it was pretty crazy to see how close the thing came to the pillars in front of our house!

Dad said the guys put the needed sheet rock into each room, and they really struggled to get the sheets off the crane and into the house. Once they got it in the house, they used a dolly thingy to deliver the sheetrock to the different rooms. Each individual sheet weighed about 230 pounds, so this was the best way they construction team could do it.

The doggies were very excited to be involved in all of the activity, and Dad even let them come inside and watch for awhile.

Minnee has a sticker because she went to the vet for her shots and she was a very good girl!

More updates will be coming as we get the sheetrock put up, carpets put in, painting, tile, toilets, and my favorite part--decorating!

Extreme Baby Sports

Nolan has conquered a waterslide at only 4 months old!  

We expect him to be skydiving by his first birthday.

He's Home!

We are delighted to report that Austin (still no middle name) Phillips came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. Mom and Dad spent the weekend with Ryan & Heather's family to help them out while they adjusted to having a new family member. Mom even took Marissa and Mallory on an overnight campout at the zoo! She's the coolest grandma ever! 

Here is Austin snuggled up with his big sister Marissa! He looks happy to finally be at home. 

Happy Birthday Erica!

Erica turns 4 years old today! She is having a real birthday party, with 15 of her closest friends, and they are going to decorate cupcakes.

We got to spend lots of time with Erica this past summer when she visited us with her Mom and sister. Erica is super sweet to Sadie, and it is so cute when they play together. Erica acts like a little "mom" sometimes.

Erica is an excellent artist, she loves coloring and drawing. I am very impressed by how well she stays inside the lines in her My Little Pony coloring book. She also loves to read stories and have them read to her.

She has just gotten into her "asking questions" phase, and she has another question for every answer you give her. I actually think her questions are really smart, and tough to answer sometimes.

Erica has always been very girly, and that has not changed since she was a baby. She loves to wear dresses, makeup, jewelry, and heels. She loves purses, barbies, and princesses. She has also started dance and gymnastics and is doing well at both.

We love you Erica and we hope you have a wonderful birthday!