Christmas Festivities

We had such a joyous Christmas this year and enjoyed every minute of it. The festivities really started at the end of November when "Dobey" the Elf joined our family for the 2nd year. This year, he was quite the hit though and made such an impression on Little Love that I was probably more sad than she was to see him go. There was one occurrence a couple weeks ago where she decided naps weren't for her and she went 5 days in a row without napping. Well, during that time, "Dobey" decided that he wasn't going to return to our house since she was being so disobedient and after taking a reprieve from the Burchett home, he returned late one afternoon after a long nap from L! What a difference a silly little elf can make in her behavior. Now I'm hoping I will be able to come up with something to use throughout the year since I relied so heavily on "Dobey" this December. :)

Another things we did throughout the month was celebrate each day of Advent. I got a great study with some fun ideas off of my friend Amber's blog and had used the same concept last year. I wasn't able to document each day and there were some days that we completed more than one to make up but overall Little Love enjoyed it so much and I really look forward to sharing it with 2 children next year.

We made our annual trip to Paint a Piece to complete our plate for Santa and I decided to change it up a bit this year by attending the night that Santa would be there. I hadn't taken Little Love yet to see the guy in the big red suit and after talking about him non-stop for so many months I just knew the experience would be priceless. Well, I was wrong. She wanted nothing to do with the jolly fellow and was ready to go the minute she noticed he was at the back of the store. I explained to her that she did not have to sit on his lap if she didn't want to and she was fine with that but made sure to keep one eye on him the entire time we were there. She was so funny cutting her eyes at him while painting, washing her hands, and putting together food for Santa's reindeer's. Overall, we had a great night I was just a little disappointed I didn't get a pic of the kids with Santa. Oh, and there was no way she was allowing her baby brother on his lap either, she is just too funny these days!









On the night before Christmas Eve we packed up and headed to YoLo's for some yummy yogurt and then drove all over looking at Christmas lights. Little Love thought it was so neat to see the many blow-up characters that people put in their yard and we all had a great time. Little Man slept through the whole experience once we were in the car so I would say he enjoyed it also! :)












For Christmas Eve, we headed out to Clay's parents for dinner after both kids were up from their naps and enjoyed appetizers and opened presents. Little Love got a fabulous pink tricycle and Marilyn had heated up the garage in preparation for us. She rode all over for the longest time and really had so much fun. She loved opening all her other gifts and helping everyone else open theirs too. She was so much fun this year because every gift she opened she would say, "this is just what I wanted", or "this is just what I was asking for" in her precious little voice. She was so thankful for everything she got. Makes me think we are hopefully doing something right!













When we got home, we headed straight to bed with both kids and got things set up for Santa the following morning. Nana came over and stayed with us and was there to see Little Love's reaction on Christmas morning. She was so excited about all the wonderful gifts Santa had brought her and was just super excited about opening her gifts from Mom and Dad. She again helped Clay and I open our gifts and was kind enough to open Little Man's for him.



We decided this year that we wanted our parents to come over on Christmas morning so they could spend time with the kids and so that Little Love could still stay put and play with all her new things. It was so nice to not have to rush out the door that morning and just be able to lounge around in our jammies until time for Christmas lunch. I did make a casserole and some cinnamon rolls with biscuits for us to eat for breakfast and Little Love really enjoyed having her grandparents and Uncle Eric there to show off all her new things with.















When lunch time rolled around, we packed up and headed out to my Aunts house in Collierville for Christmas Day lunch. We had a yummy spread with ham, turkey, dressing, green beans, corn casserole and much more. Little Man slept most of the time we were there and overall was such a trooper this holiday season. I know he is only 12 weeks old but he really molded to wherever we were and whatever we needed him to do. He is such a good baby!!

Once we got home from Collierville, everyone laid down for naps and then Little Love and I baked our Happy Birthday Jesus cake. We enjoyed it with some leftovers for dinner that night, while Clay went back out to his parents with his brother to play some games. Little Man went down early for bed and Little Love and I enjoyed a few rounds of "Cootie" and playing with her new Lincoln Logs.

Overall, it was a fabulous month and we tried to enjoy it as much as possible. I really hope to instill in both of my children in the years to come the real reason for the season. So much of the hype is about Santa and gift giving and so forth but this holiday wouldn't take place had it not been for the birth of our Saviour. I am so thankful for His sacrificial gift and the way a little baby can impact us for an eternity!

Show me your skills

On Little Love's last day of ballet for the semester, Mrs. Anna invited the mom's in for the last 15 minutes in order to see what new skills the girls had acquired throughout the semester with her. It was so precious to see them perform for their Mommies and we were all so proud of them. There are only 3 little girls in Little Love's class and we couldn't ask for a more precious and patient teacher. This was such a great semester of ballet and Little Love can't wait for it to start back in January! Little Man and I greatly enjoyed watching her perform and show off, I just love her little sassy self :) I do have so fabulous videos to include so once I upload them to youtube I will add them. They are too cute!!

Mommy Must-haves

When it came time for baby #2, there really wasn't much on my want / need list. We were so blessed to receive some amazing things with Little Love that there wasn't much more out there we felt we could use this time around that we didn't already have. Again though, we were blessed with wonderful showers thrown by family and friends so there were a few things I registered for. It's amazing how many things have evolved just in the short 3 years since having Little Love. Here are a few things that I am so glad I don't have to live without this time around!



I originally found out about these Aden and Anais blankets on another blog that I read. I then googled them and realized they were at my local Target. After registering for them, they became my #1 want/need on my list. I was super excited to try them out and was so excited when I got them at my first shower. I use them ALL THE TIME. I also have a miracle blanket and actually prefer these. Especially when little man is sleepy, I love to swaddle him in this fine muslin and get him good and tight. Of course, I do consider myself a professional swaddler since I do it all the time at work! I think these blankets are fantastic and tell everyone I know that's pregnant that they should add them to their registry.



The new born lounger by Boppy is probably my 2nd faborite item. This is actually what Little Man sleeps on at night and keeps him just at the right angle to be comfortable. I know, it says on it that is' not for sleep but I just place it in his crib and then him on top of it swaddled in his A & A blanket. I absolutely love this and wish I had one with Little Love.



I also read about this diaper area wash on a blog I read and since I am using cloth diapers, most of the time while we are home, I knew you weren't supposed to use diaper rash creams with them. Although Little Man hasn't had any diaper rashes, I didn't really have those trouble with Little Love either but I was pro-active on the diaper cream with her. This is the next best thing. It's just a cooling spray and smells so good. I love to use it on Little Man's hiney and can even smell the lavender after fastening up his diaper.



Little Love never would take a pacifier, but I was determined that this baby would. It was so difficult when we would be in church or a restaurant and nothing would soothe her but me. I am so thankful that Little Man LOVES his soothies, and since he does, these are so super cute and much easier to keep up with. They are also much easier for him to hold his own paci earlier which makes it easier on this Momma.



Then there's the Itzbeen timer. I used this a TON in the beginning and now I use some of the features but always they one to determine which side I nursed on last. I just can't ever seem to remember that especially in the middle of the night. It also has a great light on it that works for our middle of the night feeding when I am trying not to wake Clay who's sleeping soundly beside me.



And last but certainly not least is my Medela pump. I debated for an overly long time about which pump to get. I was extremely blessed when I received a gift card that paid for this thing in it's entirety from the girls I work with. This was the last big purchase Clay and I needed to make before Baby was born and I was so thankful that we didn't have to come up with the money to purchase it. Since Little Love was almost 9 month's old before heading back to work with her, I just didn't really have a need for a hospital grade pump. Well, this time around, I went back when Little Man was only 11 weeks and definitely not sleeping through the night yet. I didn't want that to stop me from providing for him so this was a necessity. I love that you can remove the pump portion from the bag and it's only about the size of a 4 x 6 picture. Much smaller than most of the other models out there and definitely worth the money.

I guess you could say these are my most favorite items this go around. I am sure that things will continue to evolve and new items come out all the time but for now, these are in my opinion the best things out there!!

Merry CHRISTmas!

Love,
The Burchett's

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Bath time without tears

Tonight I chose to put both my little love's in the bath together. I had been saying I was going to try this tactic since Little Man seems to just hate his baths so much. I thought maybe having some company would do him a world of good, and you know what, it worked. Little Love kept saying, "he likes it, he's not crying". Love them :)

so behind ....

Well, life has been busy lately and I am super behind on posting. I have been a bit better about taking pictures though so stayed tuned for lots of new posts and pictures. Hopefully by this weekend!! :)

I can't believe that little love will be 3 on Monday and that Littlest Love is already 2 month's. It just goes by way too fast!

Look for new posts consisting of:

Thanksgiving
Little Love's Build-A-Bear Birthday Party
A Girls' Night out to the Nutcracker
My Birthday Festivities
A super Proud Moment from earlier today :)

She has her moments ...

I thought these few pictures were such a true depiction of daily life at times. This was Little Love while we were getting ready for ballet the other day. She was not wanting to get a hair bow or her pig tails in her hair so she was giving me some sass in return. Never a dull moment with an almost 3 year old! Love her though, and know we will both laugh at these one day!!









I thought Little Man was just too cute in his new little hat that I had to snap a pic before we headed out the door :)

The Nutcracker

Little Love and I went to see The Nutcracker with one of her little friends from ballet and her mom. It was with the same company that Little Love takes ballet from and it was really neat to think that could be her this time next year. Her teacher was in it and Little Love got so excited when she saw her up on stage. She made a point to let Mrs. Anna know that she was her most favorite part of the show! So precious!! I love this age and time in Little Love's life, she is making friends outside of my friends children and I love to see her independence.

Since the show was after her birthday party I had to wake her up in order to get her ready for the 5:30 showing. I was a little nervous at first that we weren't going to make it there due to some grumpiness upon waking but as soon as Mallory and Ann Revere pulled into our driveway to pick us up, she was ready to go. Both girls did so well and were enthralled with the dancing on stage. We made sure to let them know that if they kept up with ballet and wanted to, they could be in the show next year. What an exciting day that will be!!

Build-A-Bear Party

Today was Little Love's 3rd birthday party at Build-A-Bear. This is where she told me more than 6 months ago that she wanted to have her party and has not stopped talking about it since then. It was nice to not have to do any of the work that I have done the past 2 years but to just show up and have someone do it all for me. After Build-A-Bear, we walked down to Milano's PIzza and enjoyed lunch and cupcakes with all her little friends. The weather was just perfect this first weekend in December with a high in the 60's so it was so nice to be at the open air mall in Collierville. I know Little Love enjoyed having all her little friends there to celebrate her most special day and we loved being a part of it.

Big helper

Little Love helped me bake cupcakes for her birthday party tomorrow. She was such a big helper and really enjoyed the fact that I allowed her to lick one of the beaters. We are having a Snow White themed party tomorrow at Build-A-Bear for all her little friends and she is so super excited about a day where all the attention will be on her!!