Sunday, June 7, 2009

It' Party Time!

Three days and counting before the official first birthday!


Were you around for that first tentative blog post? Probably not. I was so afraid of "putting myself out there" that I didn't even tell my husband what I was doing until I'd written several posts. Even then, it was my sister-in-law who kicked my blogging butt out of the closet when she outed me to the world on her blog. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be blogging in secret.

Wow. Aren't you lucky?

Of course, the birthday isn't until June 10. Yes, I rolled out my birthday gift / blog makeover a little early. And then I left town. And left you with nothing to read.

Oooops.

I suppose I should feel bad, but I don't. I'm back now. And before I get into my little party contest, I have to tell you that the kids and I had a great week at the beach - as evidenced by the amazing pictures Andrea shot (with comments by me):



Here's a shot all three girls on the beach, about 1.2 seconds before that wave out there washed up to their knees. No, we didn't take the "during" shot - we were all too busy running. Then we were drying eyes. And Emily's panties...


Here's Ella. She's beautiful, isn't she? My hubby can't even look at this picture. Of course, what he doesn't know is that Andrea shot 45 pictures prior to this. My big girl CANNOT hold still to save her life. She yells "cheese" as she's running away, "cheese" as she's squinting into the sun, and "cheese" as she's bending over to pick sand out of her toes. The only reason we managed to get this shot is because I was standing behind the camera saying, "DON'T smile, Ella. Whatever you do, DON'T look at me and smile." Funny how my oldest child can't help but disobey...





Then there's Emily. Thinking I'd learned my lesson with Ella, I told her the same thing: "DON'T smile, whatever you do." You know what she did? She obeyed! We have a whole selection of pictures of her staring blankly at the camera. It turns out it works better for Miss Emily if I just say, "OK, look at the camera and smile pretty!" And then just walk away.





Here's Evie. My happy girl always smiles, but for some reason this is my favorite shot of her. It's a more classic "Emily look" (and if the pictures weren't labeled, I'd probably get them mixed up), but here Evie is looking at her reflection in the lens. Precious...




And then there's "Ty-Ty, Sugar Pie," as big sister Ella calls him. No, Andrea didn't have any difficulty getting this shot. Nope. No story here. Just my sweet, happy boy.

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Well enough about our trip to the beach, which - did I mention? - was glorious. I've got a party to prepare. And you've got some work to do.


Hopefully you noticed that the name of my blog is no longer "Surviving 4." Put Me in the Zoo, by Robert Lopshire, is one of my kids' favorite books. When I was trying to come up with a new blog name, it was the first idea I came up with. Because, well, I live with five monkeys. (C'mon - of course I'm going to count my husband!) Plus, it was a lot easier to come up with a blog design in a zoo theme.


In honor of the birthday and the name change, I'm giving away a copy of Lopshire's Put Me in the Zoo.



And in case you already have the book, you don't have kids, or you're still waiting for grand kids, I'm also throwing in a $10 gift certificate to Ella's favorite store.

Target!!!
(Actually no. Her favorite store is the Home Depot. So it's really her second-favorite store.)

All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this blog, telling me the name of your favorite children's book. That's it! On Wednesday, I'll pick a name (randomly, I promise) from the list and announce the winner on my blog. (Note: If you leave an anonymous comment, make sure you write your name in the actual comment somewhere, so I know who you are!)

Have fun and good luck!

19 comments:

MindyMac said...

We are gathered around (mom and dad are here) oohing and ah-ing over the pictures. That picture of Ella.....are you kidding me???? Breathtaking is the word we all agree on. My favorite children's book? I have to choose one? Hmmmmmm.... 2 favorites that come to mind are "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" and "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". (Mom says I'm stealing Alexander, but I'm not!) I also love all the "Froggy" books. So funny! I'll tell you my least favorite book...."A fly Flew by"! Actually, it's a tie between that and "Are You My Mother?" Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!! Both Evie's picks! : )

Anonymous said...

I'll have to say that my favorite is Guess How Much I Love You. I read it to both my boys and just love the sweetness! The beach pictures are beautiful!

Thanks,
Tiffany Paterline

Anonymous said...

Are there rules against an aunt participating?? If I get this comment to go through, I deserve the prize because I never have been able to get the site to take my comments yet and I've been a blog devotee from the start! My favorite book is Noisy Nora with Quick as A Cricket a close second. I don't know what my girls would say...The pics are beautiful..part credit goes to you and part to your talented sister! OK, I guess Tyler gets a part too!

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

Well, those are absolutely amazing, incredibe, stupendous, artistic, gorgeous photos!! I have GOT to get copies - I promise I'll advertise for the soon-to-be-famous Andrea. Of course, she does have fabulous subjects to work with! OK, my fav kid's book - I really did think of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" first. But I might also add "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", as well as "Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots" and the very simple "Good Night Moon". Lily

Jackie, Chris, and Camden said...

Love the photos! Your sister is amazing and your children are beautiful! I love the new name and the blog makeover! Our fav book around here is...
"Monday the Bullfrog"
The book is a giant puppet frog that eats crazy things every day and at the end on Monday...well I don`t want to spoil it for you. (;

Beth said...

my favorite is 'i invited a dragon to dinner'. it's a collection of really witty poems that are pretty funny for both kids and adults.

the pics of your kids at the beach are so cute!

Jenny said...

I cannot believe it (and you probably won't believe me), but while I was reading the contest rules, I was already thinking... "Definitely Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day" How funny is that? Mindy, Linda and I should start a fan club, apparently. So... I think my 2nd favorite book is currently "Fancy Nancy"... I think I have a little Fancy Nancy in me waiting to come out (this poor little girl on her way!).

Um... your post has too much to comment on - how BEAUTIFUL your children are; how excited I am about your 1 yr bloggy birthday; so much fun!

akamilby said...

Oh my goodness, we've had a busy week/weekend, and I can't even think of my favorite kids book right now. All I can think is that I hate to read "The little engine that could." For some reason it always puts me to sleep. I second, or third, the Alexander book pick . . . I've had a copy since I was little. Jack loves any Curious George, and Caroline loves books you sing along to, like Baby Beluga. I have too many favorites to list, really.

On another note, those are great pictures of your kids. I'm glad you had fun at the beach! I just started my own blog last month, since my mom is in Papua New Guinea and doesn't get to see the kids very often, so I'm impressed that you've kept yours going for a year. Any tips? Congratulations on one year!

Lauren said...

Just started reading your blog, and I love it! And those pictures are absolutely stunning! Abi's not old enough for Alexander, but she LOVES "Baby! Talk!" by Penny Gentieu. I think my favorite might be "I Love You All the Time" or our newly discovered "Baby Giggles" with the line "Ballet baby, don't pick your nose!" Sometimes I think I'd rather sit down with a good kids book than a grown up book.

Chris Via said...

Wow, Kari, your girls are beautiful. That picture of Ella needs to be published. Quite the beautiful family you have, I must say. :)

My favorite children's book is probably "Corduroy." Remember that book? I think I want to read all those old school books to my kids (no, not yet). I want them to know about Corduroy, Paddington Bear, and all the rest.

Chri said...

Wow, almost forgot about Ty. Please apologize to your husband for me and tell him that his big boy already looks like an Auburn football player. :)

Heather said...

love the post! i was wondering if you were roughing it in Africa!?

the pictures are gorgeous :) [by the way, having known Tyler from birth - i think baby Ty is HIS twin]

My favorite children's storybook is Guess How Much I love You ... b/c my kiddos could 'read' it with me from an early age.

welcome back!
HH

Cstargel said...

LOVE YOUR NEW BLOG!!!! That is so great and the pictures of the kids are BEAUTIFUL! wow....

My favorite book is "Guess How Much I love you..." We even loved the book so much that we had a mural painted in the boys nursery from floor to ceiling - wall to wall of a page in the book! It was the one thing that made me sad about selling that house!

Drena said...

Great pictures!

Oliver's favorite book is "My Little Love Bug" It blinks and sings!

Kim said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kim said...

Ok, I totally botched my first entry, so I will try again, this time spelling the name of the book correctly! We love the book "Goodnight Moon" or at least I love reading it to the kids at bedtime. I just read it to our 10 month old daughter tonight for the first time. Your family is so cute--glad you got a little guy for # 4. We were excited # 3 was a girl...so much fun!

Anonymous said...

Hello Kari! Congrats my friend! Your blog is so fun. I love the book Lama Lama Red Pajama! Cracks me up everytime! Love ya! Rachel Price

carrie said...

LOVE the pics. Can't wait to have Andrea do ours. I think my favorite book is The Very Hungry Catepillar, probably because we really it ALL the time.
We need to chat soon.

Andrea said...

Darn it! I missed the window for the gift card! Oh well...

One of my favorites (because you know it's too difficult for me to make a FINAL decision) is "The Velveteen Rabbit"...although parts of it make me sad. Especially when the "real" bunnies are making fun of the stuffed bunny... (leaving to go silently sob in the corner)