Do you hear what I hear?

Lilliana jumping!

So the other night we were at a friends house for a party and Lilliana borrowed her friend's jumperoo. She absolutely loved it. I would love to have one of these at our house but first off we don't have the room and second of all I have been warned by some pediatricians that they are bad for their hips. So sad, I guess the saying that "the good things in life are bad for you" starts at childhood :) I don't mind if she enjoys those things every once in a while though.

Wordless Wednesday!

6 month's old!

I can't believe that my baby girl is 6 months old today. It is crazy to think how much she has changed my life in 6 short months and how I feel like I am such a better person because of her life. She is my world and I can't imagine a single day without her. I love waking up and going to get her each morning and seeing her beautiful smiling face. She is such a happy baby and she just lights up when she sees me. I do believe that her belly laughter is by far one of my favorite things about her. Every time I think that I would like to just freeze the stage she is in currently, things just get better and better. I really love her more and more each day.Today we actually threw Lilliana a 1/2 birthday party. Just a little snippet of what's to come when Miss Priss turns the big 1. We had playgroup at our house and Lilliana and I baked a cake together yesterday. She enjoyed a fun morning with some of her friends and then after lunch we dug into the cake. Actually, Lilliana did not get any cake even though peer pressure almost got the best of me and I nearly caved, but I stuck to my guns and decided she would just have to hold out until her first birthday. :)After Clay got home we went downtown to the Rendezvous for dinner and enjoyed some of Memphis' best ribs. I am not a huge barbecue fan but I do love ribs from Rendezvous. We gave Lilliana her gift which was a DVD of all the School House Rock songs on it. I remember those songs from when I was in elementary school. I couldn't believe when I found it at Target. Clay had downloaded a few of the songs on iTunes and Lilliana just sits and stares at it. Now of course we aren't really going to allow her to watch TV at this time but at least when we allow her to what she will be watching will be educational.(I do have to give props to my friend Trish for the creative juices on Lilliana's cake)

Pictures from 1/2 party!

Lilliana's cake






the birthday girl, with her cute


hat made by mom :)






Lilliana with her friend's: Chloe, Quinn, and


Julia (Davis was snoozin during the festivities)






sweet kisses from the big girls :)



Lilliana with her cake






Lilliana and sister Maggie, they are the best


of buds






Hey Mom!






playing with Daddy






strolling downtown after dinner in


her big girl stroller!




with Mommy

Wordless Wednesday!

Oxford

On Saturday Lilliana and I headed down to Oxford with one of my best friend's Amanda and her son Wilson for a birthday party for a precious little girl named Elizabeth. Her party was at The Grove and everything was just so cute. There was another couple there from our old Sunday school class and we had such a great day together. After the party we headed to the Square where we ate lunch at Proud Larry's and then shopped around at Oxford Kids Company, Square Books Jr., Neilson's and other's. I couldn't believe that our husbands trusted down there shopping on our own but they were preoccupied at the Stanford St. Jude Classic all weekend so it was a good time to get some quality girl time in. We really enjoyed ourselves and the kids were so good being out all day. Of course since Clay gave me strict orders to make sure our little one didn't stay down there too long due to the fact that we are True Blue Memphis fans. We didn't want any of those rebel fans to rub off on Lilliana :)

Pics from Oxford

sweet Wilson and Amanda


Wilson


Jason, Steve and Amelia


a little tummy time at the party


Mommy and Lilliana in The Grove

Faith Baptist playgroup

A few month's ago some of the women from our connection class at Faith Baptist decided to get together and start a playgroup for those mom's who stay at home with their babies. There are about 5 or 6 mom's in our group and our kids ages range from 1 month to around 4 years. Typically we meet at each other's homes on Friday mornings around 10:00 and after a hour or so of playing we fix lunch for the kids and then us moms sit down and eat a little lunch ourselves while the kids play a little more until we all head home for nap time. This week we decided that we would meet at the park in Lakeland and allow the kids to burn some energy before meeting for lunch at Chick-fil-A. Of course, Lilliana along with the other's that are around her age sat on a blanket under the trees and just enjoyed "playing" with each other. I am so glad that I have been able to connect on such a level with these women and I think it will be great to see our kids grow up together!



watch out Wilson, there is another
boy in Lilliana's life!


aren't they cute?


sweet Quinn :)


my precious Little Lilliana


sweet Palmer


the babies (minus Adrienne)

Wordless Wednesday!

Lilliana's Routine :)

I dare not call it a schedule because we are not very strict about sticking to it, but for the most part this is what a typical day looks like for Lilliana.

8:00 wake-up / nurse

8:20 ish - 9:30 playtime

9:30 - 11:00 nap

11:00 awake / nurse

11:15 ish - 12:30 playtime

12:30 - 2:00 nap

2:00 awake / nurse

2:15 ish - 3:30 playtime

3:30 - 5:00 nap

5:00 awake / nurse

6:00 - 6:30 Clay and I eat dinner and Lilliana eats her oatmeal

7:00 bathtime (every other night) and get ready for bed

7:30 nurse and rock to sleep

All of this is typically plus or minus 30 minutes or so. If we are at home during the day she typically will take most of her afternoon naps but if we are on the go then she likes to cat nap. We are doing much better during daytime naps at sleeping in her bed. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt to get her down, actually who am I kidding, it typically takes at least 2 if not 3 attempts to get in a full nap, but like I said we are working on it. I still won't let her "cry it out" and I don't think my opinion on that is going to change. She like to be completely asleep in my arms but wakes either as I am placing her in the crib or within 30 minutes of putting her down. Sometimes I can just pick her up and quickly rock her back to sleep but other times she is just so stinkin persistent. (I don't know who she gets that from:) She is a good napper she just doesn't like to be by herself. I realize that this is completely my fault but since she sleeps so good at night I feel like I can handle anything during the day. As far as the night goes, she is (knock on wood) consistently sleeping through the night! I have even dropped her 10:00pm feeding within the last week and she is still sleeping through the night. Typically after I place her down around 7:30 she will sleep until at least 7:00am the following morning. I am so proud of her and so thankful that she doesn't wake-up earlier than 7:00.

Stylizing my blog

Alright loyal blog readers, I have decided that i would like a new, fresh look for my blog. I have decided that I would recruit Nikki from Blogs for a Cause to assist me in this endeavor. She is really great in helping stylize my blog but I need your help in coming up with some fun headings, and possibly a creative saying. Just leave a comment or you can e-mail me at mrsburchett@yahoo.com if you have any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Melody

This is what melts my heart!

Wordless Wednesday!

Evening at the Zoo

Last night we headed to the Zoo for the member's only party. We were able to meet some friends from church and we all had such a great time. Everyone picked up Lenny's for dinner and when we arrived we went straight to the picnic area and enjoyed our sandwiches. We then proceeded to the kids rides where Lilliana was able to ride the carousel for the first time and then we got on the train which goes around the petting zoo area. After getting on the carousel, I began to get worried that the circular motion may upset her belly but she was a trooper and didn't let it phase her at all. Of course with it being Memphis, it was extremely humid but thanks to the air conditioned polar bears exhibit we were able to cool off towards the end of the night. We didn't arrive back home until after 9:00pm so Lilliana was extremely tired as it was way past her bedtime, but she was such a good girl and went straight to bed.

False Alarm

Before Clay and I placed Lilliana in her bed we decided to purchase an Angel Monitor. It is an apnea monitor that has a sensor that goes underneath the mattress to detect her respirations. If at any point she was to stop breathing for 20 seconds or longer it is supposed to beep and vibrate like crazy. Well, at exactly 3:07 am the other morning it went off for the first time. I immediately woke up and ran as fast as I could into her room to find her turned sideways and at the top of her crib. She of course was breathing but had just come off of the sensor which made it alarm. I don't think I have ever moved that fast in my entire life. It completely freaked my out and I just knew that she was going to be blue when I arrived at her bedside. If that wasn't enough, it happened once more that night but since then has not occured. Now, I have heard from those who think these monitors are silly and too aggressive about things like this happening but I guess I am just glad to know that it works. I also will admit that Clay referes to this as a paranoid parent's tool, and I told him that I qualify for that title!

Wordless Wednesday!

Baby Dedication pics

Here are some pics from Lilliana's Baby dedication at church last Sunday. She was so good during the service and even let our pastor hold her when we went on stage. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and even though we pledged her life to the Lord from the minute of her birth we enjoyed publicly doing so and having so many family members there to support us.




her wonderful cake from Ms. Tina




waiting on Mommy to get ready




held by Nana at church




Daddy wanted to hold her




Brother Danny holding her, she was so good!




Lilliana Elise Burchett


see more updates below :)

Wordless Wednesday!

Mother's Day

my lil cutie and Nana


me and Lilliana


the family


me and Lilliana


my lil cutie in her tutu


On Sunday I was able to celebrate my first official Mother's Day and it was GREAT! We had Lilliana's baby dedication that morning during the church service and our whole family was there to support us. Then we all came back to our house where we grilled out burgers and hot dogs and just enjoyed each other's company. It is so great to have an earthly child to celebrate Mother's Day with. I don't think I realized the importance of this day until I had a child of my own. It is amazing the sacrifices that my own mother made for me. I guess you could say that I was somewhat of a spoiled child myself (my husband would say I still am!). I now realize that my mom would have given the shirt off her back to give me something that I may have wanted or needed even if her need was greater. This is the same way I feel for Lilliana. Before she was born I enjoyed my job as a nurse and I enjoyed all the many things Clay and I were able to do with the extra money coming in. I have to say now that I would give it all up to stay home with her and I am so thankful that Clay's job has allowed me to do that. (I don't consider my 1-2 shifts per month really working) It is amazing how your priorities and perspectives on life change after a baby. Instead of wanting that new coach purse, I would have wanted a year ago, I am just looking forward to the day when Lilliana reaches out for me to hold her and calls me Mama. I sure hope it happens before she says Dada :) I know I don't tell my mom enough how much she means to me. Love you Mom and couldn't ask for a better Mother. I sure hope Lilliana feels that way about me one day!

Lilliana's excessive whining

This is just a smiget of what I tend to hear in my sleep lately, now don't get me wrong I love her so much I am even thankful for her whining but there are times when I just want to whine right along with her :) I am not sure why I can't get it to turn right side up but it's mainly the sound that I was going for here anyways.

Burchett Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

80's party

Me, Clay and Lilliana


the boy's playing "rock-band"


the girl's in our 80's attire


The Mefford's


Annah Mary and Steve


Saturday night we had an 80's themed birthday party for one of our dear friend's Annah Mary. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed seeing other's take on the 80's era. It was so nice to get together with so many of our old friends and catch up. Mostly the women hung out in the living room and chatted while the boy's pretended to be member's of a rock band with the help of guitar hero/rock band. Clay got a kick out of telling everyone he had never played before (which according to him he was not lying because he has never played rock band before but his brother has guitar hero so he DID know what he was doing). He was asking them how to use the guitar and so forth and then played it on hard and completed it with about 90% accuracy. He had everyone baffled and asking him if he knew how to play the guitar. Even one of our best friend's Drew told him the following day at church "Clay you were really good last night, you must just be a natural at the guitar." I think that's when he caved and told him that he had played before. Not very nice Clay Walker.

sleep, who need's it?

Obviously not Lilliana that is. Actually, fighting sleep is one of her favorite things to do. Currently I am holding her while she is asleep because after a full hour of whining in her bed she never fell asleep. Then it was time for her to eat again so of course she fell asleep nursing. I know I should go lay her in her bed but I also know how badly she needs sleep. It was the same story yesterday. Clay was out of town so Nana had spent the night and all day I tried to get her to sleep in her bed. Well, needless to say she slept all of about 1 hour TOTAL yesterday. Then when Clay got home she was just beyond exhausted and had finally fallen asleep with me holding her and of course upon him coming in the door Maggie went crazy and again she was awake. After dinner we decided to go on a walk which she whined during most of and then fell asleep in the stroller just before arriving back home. I will say this shear exhaustion does help her to sleep at night but I also realize that she has got to rest during the day also. Oh well, I guess I will do what I can and try to not completely make her rotten.

Wordless Wednesday!

What you do for love!

Ok, so this weekend Clay, Lilliana and I have an 80's themed party for a good friend of ours. We have been driving all over town in search of some great 80's attire and visiting some store I never even knew existed. We have realized that there are some really great thrift store's not far from us and we have been searching the racks. Well, so far Clay has found a jacket, while I have located a big gray sweatshirt and some leggings. Of course, I wanted Lilliana to join in on the fun ( I already have found her a great tie-dye t-shirt) so today I went by the mall and purchased her some precious hot pink legging's from Baby Gap, along with more stuff that she did not need but I just couldn't pass up. Anyways, yesterday when we found her little tie-dye t-shirt there was also the cutest little rocking chair at one of the thrift stores. The lady said it was only $4.00 so we just had to get it. Of course it needs a good coat of paint and I plan to recover it but I think once it is done it will look great in Lilliana's room. Well, Clay is one of those types of people that once he gets his mind focused on something he can't stop thinking about it until he completes it. So, we went to Lowe's to get some paint stripper and other items that would be necessary to fix up her chair. When we arrived home, Clay was outside working on the chair when I heard him run inside and turn the bathtub on. Of course, I went running in there thinking he had gotten something in his eye's or something like that. Well, actually my handy husband had placed the paint stripper in a plastic solo cup. Well immediately it soaked through the cup and got on his jeans and foot. Well, I am happy to report that it didn't eat his skin off as I told him it probably would do. I went outside and read the warning label which said to use in a well ventilated area and to wear protective eye gear and gloves. I informed Clay of this information and this is how I found him about 10 minutes later.






Ok so these are MY kitchen goves and he is wearing sunglasses as his protective eye wear. I couldn't help but laugh as I snapped these pics through the kitchen window. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Prayer's for the Oswalt's

Ok blog family, I come to you again for prayer's for the precious Oswalt family. I recently asked for prayers for them as they lost their 4th son baby Andrew around Lindy's 6th month of pregnancy back in early March. Well, if that wasn't enough they have now suffered another devastating loss due to a fire in the house they were living in down in Oxford. It appears they have lost EVERYTHING! I am happy to report that everyone got out safely but I just can't imagine the heavy burdens they are carrying around at this time. The most amazing thing about this family is that they NEVER stop believing. To quote Lindy on her blog she said "but are determined more than ever to praise our Holy Father and give Him glory for His provision in our lives. We are so very thankful for our safety." They are truly praising Him in the storm's of life and are a true inspiration to how I would like to lead my life. I pray constantly that I can be at least half as faithful as they are, and to teach my children to love God the way they do. You can access their blog at www.caringbridge.org/ms/carter .

New Poll

Clay and I have had many discussion's about how to spell Lilliana's nickname. You can help us decide by voting on the right sidebar :)

Thanks,
Melody

What a Difference a year makes!

Lilliana ready for the walk!


it was a little crowded in the beginning so
Nana picked up Maggie, she had to keep an
eye on her sissy though :)


Daddy strolling Lilliana


Daddy and Aunt Christy


Heather and Jonathan


What a true statement that is! Today Clay and I participated in our local March of Dimes walk, and we were able to walk with a stroller and a BABY. I was so excited and I just couldn't help but think the miraculous gifts God has given me in the last year. I had gotten a little down about the walk this year because I was feeling that I did not live up to the standards I had set before myself considering how well we did raising money last year for the walk. I know that we have had a busy year and for most of 2007 I was on bedrest trying to keep out little bundle of joy inside of me but I felt that we owed it to Cooper. Well when we woke up this morning and I was creeping around the house trying to get myself ready before Lilliana awoke I couldn't help but smile. I have so much to be thankful for and I know Cooper is so happy for us and where we are today. What really matters is that we do the walk in his memory and that we participate each year. Last year I had a lot of opportunities at work to raise money and considering that I have not worked since early September I just didn't feel like I could ask them for help again this year. My co-workers have been through so much with me and have been just so supportive and caring through it all. We did end up raising almost $1,000.00 this year which is totally amazing to me. Thank you so much to those of you who contributed as this is an organization that means a lot to Clay and I. We ended up with a beautiful day here in Memphis and really enjoyed the time we spent outside. Most of my family was there to walk with us, along with Clay's mom and an amazing couple from my Sunday School and their little boy. Of course Maggie came along with us this year and I think she spent more time in Lilliana's stroller than she did! Around 9:30, which wasn't far into the walk, it was time for Lilliana's nap. Well, (probably due to the fact that she rarely naps somewhere other than my arms) she was fussing in her stroller. Anyways, as soon as I got her out and put her in my sling she fell fast asleep and slept for the next hour. She was such a good sport, especially considering we were about an hour late for her 2nd feeding.

Last night I went up to LeBonheur to see a precious family that I met through working in the PICU. They are from Aberdeen, MS and were up here for a procedure for their third son. I realized, while speaking with Amy, how much we have in common. You see, she too lost a baby due to a congenital heart defect. Baby Will passed away on July 30, 2005 and his life touched so many lives in the short time he was here. I took care of Will many times while he was in the PICU and his family really means a lot to me. After Cooper was diagnosed with TAPVR and passed shortly after Amy was so kind to me and we spoke on the phone multiple times, as she truly understands what it is like to go through something like this. I realized while talking to her that I am not completely crazy for the intense feelings of love and fear that I have for Lilliana. Her third son Drew was born just 5 day's after Lilliana and we both tend to parent in the same way's. It was just so refreshing to realize that after multiple years of rocking to sleep, never letting her boy's "cry it out", and catering to their every need, they turned out just fine. We both agreed that it is so easy to just give in after going through such trial's in life but all in all we just don't want to have regrets. We both realize the sanctity of life and that at any point in time our cherished possessions could be taken from us. Thanks Amy for such a great visit, and I look forward to staying in contact and watching the kids grow up together :)

Wordless Wednesday!

(thanks for the idea Becky!)

Bottle Battle

Lately Clay and I have been trying to introduce the bottle to Lilliana and so far things are not going so well. Last week she took 2 ounces from the bottle and then went to sleep and did not wake up until 7:00 am. I thought at that point that we had crossed a line and that she would begin to take it without a problem. Well, was I wrong. For the last couple nights Clay has tried to put her down with her bottle and all she does is scream. It is very stressful for all of us because on a normal basis we don't allow Lilliana to cry much so that makes it much harder. Each time after Clay trying I have gone into her room and nursed her and then she goes straight to bed. The reason we are working so hard on this is that I have to start back to work no later than May 8th which is slightly more than 2 weeks away. I am only going back PRN which consists of a minimum of 2 shifts per month and I plan to do the minimum. I plan to go back to night shift so that Lilliana will hopefully be asleep most of the time that I am gone. I would like to wait another few months to go back but when I filled out my leave paperwork I put the date of May 9th as my return date (as it was 4 month's from Lilliana due date) and that is the max amount of time I can take off without having to reapply for my job. Even though I am getting to the point that, that may be easier. Even though it is only 2 nights a month I am sooo not ready to go back. I just can't imagine leaving Lilliana for that long. I know, I know she should be asleep the whole time I am gone but I just worry that she will wake up in the middle of the night and either Clay won't hear her or that she will cry because I am not there. There have been many times that she only want's me and does not want anything to with Clay. I guess all I can do is pray that the night I am gone she will sleep like she never has before :)

Cereal anyone?

Today we also tried cereal for the first time and so far Lilliana is not sure what to do with it. I figure we will try again in a week or so. Dr. Kloek said today that the AAP is continually changing the recommendation for when to start cereal so as of right know they are saying 6 months, but he gave us the go ahead. We will just make sure that nursing continues to be the priority and just make cereal an additive.

4 month STATS

Well today Lilliana went to the doctor for her 4 month check-up. I cannot believe she is already 4 month's old. The time has truly flown by. The last month has been such a fun one and she is getting such a wonderful personality! She started laughing at Clay and I and she just thinks that we are so funny. I think her laughter is the most wonderful sound in the whole world. It just melts my heart :) She is really starting to grasp at things and reach for her toys and she may be starting to teeth. I don't feel anything when I rub her gums but she is doing a lot of slobbering and continually keeping her hands in her mouth. I guess time will tell. Clay was unable to attend her doctor's appointment this morning so I had to take Lilliana by myself which was not much fun. It is still so hard for me to see her get her shots. She gets so upset and cries so hard that it takes her breath away. It is just heartbreaking to watch. Today when we left she was still fussing a bit until we got unto her car seat and in the car. She then quickly fell asleep and took a good nap the whole way home! She is such a Priss and will let you know it. I just love her so much and feel like my love for her grows more each new day I have with her. I just can't wait to see what this future holds for our little family!



Lilliana's STATS weight: 12 lbs 10 oz.

height: 23 1/2 inches

head circumference: 40 1/2 cm



which is all in the 25-50 %. I was so happy and pleased with her weight gain. She does not have the greatest genes to be a very big girl so I am happy as long as she is atleast above the 25%!

Memphis Zoo

Clay has had the privilege of being off the last 2 day's and the weather here in Memphis has been absolutely gorgeous, so we decided to take advantage of it and take a trip to the Zoo. Clay went online and bought us a zoo pass which will last us all year, and we have already put it to good use. On Monday we were able to visit Cat Country, the amphibian's, the bird house and take a ride on the train that goes around the petting zoo area. It was so much fun and I really think Lilliana enjoyed herself. It was just so nice to get out as a family of three and stroll around with our miracle baby.

We then went back to the Zoo on Tuesday and were able to see the monkeys, hippos, giraffes, polar bears, panda bears, and many other animals. I haven't been to the Memphis Zoo in so long and I forgot how big it was. It definately is worth the $79.00 it costs for a family pass. I think it cost's $13.00 a person for adult's so after just a few visit's the pass has already paid for itself! I also enjoy the fact that you can bring a picnic lunch with you, so after purchasing the pass you really don't have to spend any money while you are there. Definately a great investment for us and something we will most likely do for years to come.

Zoo