Whatever You Grow Up to Be by Karen Kingsbury {Children's Book Review}

Disclosure: I received a sample copy of this book to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Warning: read this book with tissues on hand.

I've been a fan of Karen Kingsbury's writing for years, and her voyage into the world of children's books has certainly not been disappointing. Her latest release, Whatever You Grow Up to Be, is a beautiful storybook that tells the tale of a mom watching her precious little boy dream and imagine his way through childhood.

The rhyming words are almost lyrical and take readers - old and young - along on the journey of this family. From learning to walk, to building forts and rescuing backyard friends in a firetruck, all the way to graduation and college, this book is colorful and fun, but nostalgic at every turn.

I'm in the place of the mom in the first few pages - my kids have already learned to walk, but we are deep in the years of fort-building and backyard shenanigans. Even though I know time is going fast, it's easy to become frustrated when the days seem long. Picture books like this one make me cherish the moments I am spending with my little ones - because whether it's always obvious or not, the time is fleeting. I can't read this story without tearing up.

The illustrations by Valeria Docampo are beautiful and inspiring. We will treasure this book for years to come - and maybe someday, when the pages are well-worn and the cover is ripped, I will read it with my grandchildren. And like the mom in the story, I will know with absolute certainty that these precious moments of childhood flew by too quickly.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for my review sample of this book. I received no compensation for posting a review and all views expressed are my own.

Zoey's Attic Personalized Gifts Review + Giveaway {Lucky Little Ones Blog Hop}

Disclosure: I received a free product sample to facilitate my review. I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own.

Welcome to the Lucky Little Ones giveaway hop with Irresistibly Green, Just Add Cloth, Our Piece of Earth, and a collection of other awesome parenting bloggers. This hop is all about your little infants and toddlers! Aren't they lucky? Each blog is offering a baby or toddler related prize valued at $20 or more for you to win for your lucky little one!

I have so much fun planning birthday parties for my kids. I love picking a theme and spending lots of time trolling Pinterest to find all of the perfect elements to put together the party. Lincoln turned three last month, and I debated a long time before finally settling on a "firetruck" theme for this year's party.

I knew I wanted him to have a special outfit to wear at his party, and I searched for a long time before I found the birthday shirt I loved at Zoey's Attic Personalized Gifts.

We received this adorable Firetruck Raglan shirt for Lincoln to wear at his birthday party. It was the perfect birthday boy outfit! The firetruck design and personalization are digitally printed on the shirt, and I was very pleased with the quality. The shirt is super soft and comfy, and Lincoln (of course) thinks it's awesome to have a shirt with a firetruck on it!

Erin Delanty, the owner of Zoey's Attic, was inspired to open her business after the birth of her daughter in 2006. In addition to birthday shirts, she offers a wide variety of unique Big Brother/Big Sister shirts, Sibling shirts, Maternity shirts, Holiday shirts, personalized pillows, and so much more! The selection is amazing - I think there is something to fit any occasion or theme!

I do recommend checking the size chart before you place your order, since personalized items are not so easily exchanged if you happen to order the wrong size. Lincoln needed a bigger size than I would have anticipated in this particular shirt. It has enough room that he should be able to wear it for the rest of this year. Who says a birthday shirt can only be worn at a birthday party?!

Another huge bonus when you're ordering personalized clothing for preschoolers - chances are, they're learning letters and maybe even beginning to recognize those used in their names. Having a personalized item helps reinforce their learning and makes it fun for them to point out the letters they know throughout the day!

Our little firefighter looked the part in his birthday shirt, and we couldn't be happier with it. His party was a smashing success! You can follow Zoey's Attic and keep up with the newest product releases and updates on their Blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Giveaway

One Director Jewels reader will win a $35 Gift Code to Zoey's Attic Personalized Gifts! This giveaway will end on March 31 at 11:59pm CST. This giveaway is open to US readers only. Winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or prize will be forfeited.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below (you may need Javascript enabled to see the form and it may take a moment to load)! Once you complete the first entry, the other options will open up so that you can complete them as well. All of the "extra entries" are optional - you can do just one, or as many as you want! Winners will be contacted by email. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

When you finish entering this giveaway, make sure to check out the Grand Prize offering over $240 worth of eco-friendly baby gear for one lucky winner. The Grand Prize includes:

3 WAHMies one size pocket diapers. (Cow, Blue Dot, Pink Dot)
2 WAHMies pail liners in light blue
1 large WAHMies wet bag
1 medium WAHMies wet bag
1 tube Grandma El's Diaper Rash Remedy and Prevention
1 tube CJ's BUTTer
1 small Planet Wise wet bag
3 Fuzzibunz Perfect size pocket diapers in choice of size and color
1 pack of fleece liners (10)
1 Jellystone Troika teething necklace

You can enter the grand prize giveaway here. Be sure to hop to the other blogs below for a chance at their fun prizes!




Disclosure: Prizes ship directly from sponsor unless otherwise noted. Irresistibly Green bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment. Please contact the blogger through whom you won a prize should issues occur. Grand prize is fulfilled via Irresistibly Green and is available to U.S. entrants only. All prize winners are chosen randomly and notified via email. Thank you to Zoey's Attic Personalized Gifts for providing my review shirt and the giveaway prize! I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Giveaway Policy and my Disclosure Policy.

The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Trucks Versus Wild DVD {Review + Giveaway}

Disclosure: I received a sample DVD for review purposes. No other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own. 

Lincoln has been obsessed with trucks since he was old enough to push a vehicle toy around the floor, so it was no small wonder that he loves The Adventures of Chuck & Friends. This happy little dump truck has lots of heart and lots of friends - and they're well represented in our collection of vehicle toys. We were so excited to review the newest DVD release this spring - The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Trucks Versus Wild!

Since we don't subscribe to cable, we didn't know about this show before we saw it on DVD. The TV series can be found playing on The Hub TV Network in the U.S. and on Treehouse in Canada.

Lincoln loves watching the show and playing with his Chuck and friends toys - sometimes I find them all parked in front of the TV like they are at a drive-in movie. Definitely funny.

Trucks Versus Wild features ten exciting episodes from the series and includes a brand new sing-a-long, as well! Here's the episode list:

1. The Checkup
2. Chuck’s Perfect Plans
3. Trucks Vs. Wild
4. Kid Stuff
5. As The Engine Coughs
6. Beach Blanket Uh-Oh
7. Fender Bender
8. Sleep-Driving Chuck
9. Mind Your Own Business
10. The Pothole

The characters are likeable and kids can easily identify with them, as they seem to have normal kid problems - even though they are vehicles! Chuck and his friends Digger, Handy, Rowdy, Biggs, Boomer, and Flip are always up for an adventure and are happy to take vehicle-loving kids along for the ride! Retail price is $12.97 and it is available at retail locations and online now!

Giveaway

One Director Jewels reader will win The Adventures of Chuck & Friends: Trucks Versus Wild DVD! This giveaway will end on March 28 at 11:59pm CST. This giveaway is open to US readers only. Winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or prize will be forfeited.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below (you may need Javascript enabled to see the form and it may take a moment to load)! Once you complete the first entry, the other options will open up so that you can complete them as well. All of the "extra entries" are optional - you can do just one, or as many as you want! Winners will be contacted by email. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Thank you to SHOUT! Factory Kids for providing my sample DVD and the giveaway prize! I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Giveaway Policy and my Disclosure Policy.

11/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Lincoln - Even firefighters stop to eat breakfast.
Addie - The Pooh and DocMcStuffins love continues.

 

Linking up at Practising Simplicity.

Celebrating Lincoln's 3rd Birthday in Kansas City

Lincoln turned three last month and we had a great day celebrating his birthday. Andrew was able to be home half a day, so we went out on a birthday adventure! But first, we got in some awesome firetruck playing when he woke up.

When he turned two, we took Lincoln to Crown Center in downtown Kansas City for a celebration. He loved it so much that we decided to visit again this year. Our first stop was Fritz's, the restaurant where you order by phone at your table and have your food delivered by train!

It is for sure one of the coolest kid restaurant destinations in our city. The kids love it. Addie was shouting "choo-choo" anytime she heard a train whistle blow. Neither one of them wanted to leave.

Lincoln even got a giant free birthday sundae. He was so excited. He very rarely eats ice cream, so it was a big deal.

After lunch (and a potty break - yay potty learning?), we headed to this spring's free children's exhibit - 75 Years of Oz, Oh My!

The kids loved this exhibit. They ran themselves completely ragged. Thankfully, there is only one entrance/exit to the attraction, so we were able to keep track of them pretty easily.

Addie on the yellow brick road? One of the cutest things I have seen in ages.

We are always impressed by Crown Center's children's exhibits, and this one definitely did not disappoint. We want to go back again before it closes!

After our trip to the land of Oz, we headed to SEA LIFE Aquarium, where we were so excited to take a tour of all the sea creatures. You can read my full review (and enter to win tickets if you're local) here. We loved the aquarium so much! I can't wait to go back again.

While we had a super fun time, all the excitement definitely wore the kids out. They fell asleep on the car ride home. It took some coaxing to get everyone away enough for Lincoln to be interested in opening birthday gifts.

We gave him some new books (my go-to gift for every occasion), a giant talking firetruck, a firetruck coloring book, and a big ambulance. Emergency service vehicles are the most desired items around here right now.

Since I was in the midst of planning his big firetruck birthday party, we just picked up a cookie cake from the grocery store bakery to celebrate with the evening of his birthday. Not the best choice when you are trying to eliminate unhealthy foods, but he was pleased with it. And he was so excited to blow out his candle!

It was a pretty great day for our little three year old. I don't know if he will remember this birthday or not, but I know he enjoyed it - so that is good enough for me.