Name Change

No, we haven't changed Eli's name. But it was time to change our blog name. Eli will be here soon, so we wanted to come up with a name that included our entire family. I thought through many "V" words that might describe our family: The Valiant Veulemans, The Very Infectious Veulemans, etc. But nothing seemed right. So, I decided to look for a verse that would describe what our family is all about. Cory and I know our purpose on earth is to follow Christ with our whole lives and to lead others to Him. This starts with our own children. I found the verse, 3 John 4, which states:

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

Our heart's desire is for our children to follow Christ and be used by Him in amazing ways. So I present to you our new blog name "No Greater Joy".

Pretty, Pretty Princess

One of Landry's favorite things she got for Christmas was a trunk full of dress-up clothes from Nana and Poppy. Yesterday, even in the midst of potty training, we broke out the trunk and Landry went to town dressing up. Her favorite part are the shoes. This child changes shoes about 15 times a day. At any given time, you may find her wearing sandals (with or without socks), slippers, rubber boots, mommy and daddy's shoes, etc. etc. etc. As a matter of fact, as soon as she saw the trunk, she kicked her feet immediately, throwing off the princess shoes she was already wearing, so she could put on a new pair of princess shoes. Here is our little "Cinderelly" all dressed up.

And wearing a tutu just makes a little princess want to twirl. Landry twirled round and round to her music until she was so dizzy she would fall over. Then she would get up and twirl some more. In this video, she does the motions to "This Little Light of Mine" while throwing in a twirling intermission.

Potty Training Memoirs - Day 3

So I know you are all just waiting to hear that Landry is fully potty trained and we did it all in just three short days. And you are just dying to know all my secrets. Ha Ha Ha!

No, I regret to inform you that we did not reach our goal in the three days as planned. But I'm not giving up. After all, my ultimate goal is to have her out of diapers by the time Eli gets here.

I have some things to be encouraged about:

1. Landry is much more conscientious of using the bathroom. Just letting her wear panties instead of diapers for a few days helped her to know when she was wet and when she was dry.

2. She has much better control now. She woke up dry this morning. She is staying dry for hours. And she woke up from her nap dry for 2 days in a row.

3. Even though she is realizing she has to tee tee when it's already a little too late, she is now giving a cue that she is about to go. I am hoping that when I see that cue, I can grab her up quick enough to get to the potty. Eventually, she'll be able to do it on her own.

Since I have a few more days with no plans, and the temperatures are absolutely frigid, we'll be staying in a few extra days to work on potty training a little more. What have I got to lose? Don't worry, I'll spare you all details for the next few days. I'll just be sure to tell you when she's got it good.

Potty Training Memoirs - Day 2

Alright, here is a run-down of day 2.....

Landry woke up with a wet diaper. Of course that is to be expected. I strapped on the big girl panties right away. She ate breakfast, drank a little lemonade (not three cups like yesterday). For the next two hours I sat her on the potty a few times and asked her several times if she had to tee tee on the potty. She kept telling me no. And for those 2 hours, she did not use the bathroom at all. I had a hair appointment so I had to leave my duties to Cory. You know he was really looking forward to that. But while I was at my appointment, I got a text from him saying she had gone on the potty. VICTORY! So when I got back, we asked her again if she had to go. We gave her a little more to drink, sat her on the potty for a few minutes while she watched a movie, but nothing. A few minutes after she got up, she had an accident. Grrr! And then another. Double Grrrr! We then decided to feed her lunch and let her play for a little bit before nap-time. i sat her down on her potty again to try one more time before nap. She sat there, reading a book to herself for 15 minutes, but nothing happened. I put a diaper on her for nap and surprisingly, she woke up dry! This afternoon/evening, she tee-teed two times on the potty, and was still dry when I put her to bed.

So, I am not as tired as I was yesterday. Maybe it's because I'm not obsessing as much. I don't know. I am just questioning whether the potty training is doing any good at this point. Is she getting it at all, or is she just sitting on the potty enough times during the day to actually avoid some accidents? I am just praying, that by some miracle, everything will magically internalize for her tomorrow.

And I welcome any advice from experienced moms. I know that all kids are different, and I'm willing to try anything.

I don't have any pictures today because they would just look the same as yesterday.

Potty Training Memoirs - Day 1

So Landry is now 2, and we have only 2 months before baby brother gets here. Our goal.....potty train in three days. Ok, so I know that sounds very unrealistic. But, I've read about a method that assures me it can happen. There is only one teeny, tiny problem. It only works if the child is really ready. That is what I am trying to determine the next 3 days.

So I read the method in the book "Toddler Wise". I highly recommend the book if you haven't read it. They say to block out a few days to be home. Don't go anywhere. Choose a doll for your which your child will act as a tutor. Buy lots of treats and yummy drinks. And focus only on potty training for the next 3 days.

So last night we went to wal-mart and Landry got to pick some special snacks and drinks. I kept telling her we were going to have a special day tomorrow, and she was going to wear big girl panties. This morning, first thing, I took off her diaper and let her choose a pair of big girl panties to wear. I also let her choose a pair for her doll. She walked into the dining room and saw all of the snacks and immediately started asking for them. When I told her they were for later, she was not real pleased.

After breakfast, the "fun" began. We used her doll as an example. The doll was dry so she got a treat. The doll tee-teed in the potty, she got two treats. I then left the room to go grab a treat for Landry for staying dry. But as soon as I walked out, she peed everywhere. Not such a good start. I realized right away, that this was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

1 hour of training camp down, Landry had downed three sippy cups of lemonade, had 2 accidents, but had successfully tee-teed on the potty one time.

3 hours down, we put a halt to the lemonade for a while, 3 successful tee-tees in the potty, but the accidents were still winning out.

We then took a break for lunch and nap. I put her in a diaper during this time, just to be safe. She was dry before her nap, but took a 3 hour nap and woke up a little wet.

The afternoon went much more smoothly. We only had one accident, but 3 successful tee-tees on the potty. One of those was even after we had put a diaper on her and her p.j.s right before bed. She started un-zipping her p.j.s and went to her potty. Sure enough, she had to go one more time. That was a huge victory!!!!

Now I have to admit, this little training camp has worn on me today. I have had to be right there next to Landry the entire day constantly reminding her to tell me if she has to potty or chasing her back to the potty when she has made a run for it. I am just praying that it really works. Tomorrow will be Day 2 of my potty training memoirs. For now, here are a couple pictures from today.

This is one of those classic pictures that Landry will never get to live down. It might just make it in her yearbook one day. This is when she had just discovered the goodies on the table and I told her she couldn't have them right then. But you cannot deny how stinkin' cute she looks in her big-girl panties.

This is where Landry spent most of her day. You can tell she is very enthused! ha! ha!

Landry's Special Day

We wanted to make Landry's birthday extra special. Even though she has already had three birthday parties, we wanted January 3 to be a real celebration of her life. We are trying to make it a point to make holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, about their true meanings. On Christmas we want to focus on the birth of Christ and giving to others. On Easter, we want to celebrate Christ's resurrection rather than just eggs and bunnies. That doesn't mean we will not have fun, but we are hoping that our children realize these holidays are not all about them. That is why it is important for us to make their birthdays, a day that IS all about them.

So with all that said, here is what we did on Landry's special day.....

We started the day with breakfast. Landry had her own little stack of chocolate chip pancakes, with 2 candles on the top, and a bowl of strawberries. We prayed, thanking God for Landry's precious little life, then Daddy and I sang to her and she blew out her candles. She gobbled the strawberries and ate the chocolate chips out of the pancakes. I'm pretty sure she learned that from her daddy.

Next we went to church, I brought iced-cookies, special birthday napkins, and sunglasses to share with her sunday school class. All the kids LOVED it! The teachers, on the other hand, probably wanted to kill me. I thought cookies would be cleaner than cupcakes. You should have seen the carpet when they were done. YIKES!

After church, we brought Landry to Olive Garden for lunch. I know you are all probably thinking that it sounds like a very adult place to take a 2-year-old for her birthday lunch. But I assure you, she enjoyed it just as much as us. Of all the places we've taken her to eat, including McDonalds and Chick-fil-a, she never eats as much as she does when we go to Olive Garden. She enjoyed the heck out of it!

We then went to Barnes and Noble to let Landry pick out a book. Oh, did she have a ball! She loves playing on the train table there and running around on the story-time stage. I'm not sure if she was delirious or just full of joy, but she ran around laughing and playing for an hour. We finally got her to choose a book and headed home. She was fast asleep in the car within 5 minutes.

She took a very long nap and woke up in time to get phone calls from all the grandparents. We also had some special visitors stay the night at our house, and she loved showing off for them.

Last of all, daddy read her new book to her before we prayed with her and tucked her soundly into bed.

Even though Landry doesn't truly understand what a birthday is all about yet. I know she had a wonderful day, and I think she really felt celebrated!

Happy Birthday Landry!

2 years old

1 year old

Minutes after your birth

Awaiting your arrival

To my precious gift from God on her second birthday……

Dear Landry,

How can it be that you are 2 years old? It just doesn’t seem real. I know it is cliché, but it truly feels like just yesterday I was anxiously awaiting your birth. I can remember every little detail about the wonderful day you were born.

It’s been 2 years since you made that special appearance and everyday just keeps getting better and better! While I miss the little bitty you, all the little baby sounds you would make and being able just to hold and cuddle you. And I miss seeing you crawl around everywhere, and that sweet little round baby face. I am absolutely loving the little girl you are developing into. It is so much fun seeing your personality emerge and watching you learn new things. It’s amazing listening to your vocabulary form, admiring as you work to achieve a goal, and watching your imagination run wild. I am in awe at the wonderful creation God gave to us. Please take to heart the verse that was painted in your first nursery: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5. I know God will use you in a mighty way if you allow Him to. Every night, Daddy and I pray that God would draw you to himself at a young age, and you would follow hard after Him your whole life. God’s given you a strong will. Use it for Him.

So what has your second year of life been like? Well here is a short run-through of each month:

January - You had taken steps, but were pretty determined that crawling was much easier than walking. You developed a camera face the month before and hammed it up all month

February – You decided walking wasn’t so bad. You’d do it a little more often. You also thought it was funny to climb onto the side of a laundry hamper and jump. This is also the month where we were able to get one of the first glimpses of your determination, when we watched you throw an all out fit because you could not balance an egg shaker on a piece of plastic.

March – It snowed in GA! We brought you out to play for a minute, but you weren’t too sure about what to do. Your camera face became “pretty eyes”, something you are still doing today. This month, daddy also went to Costa Rica on a mission trip. You were so glad when he came back!

April – You had lots of firsts this month. You had your first ice cream cone. I introduced you to sidewalk chalk and fingerpaint. You began imaginative play. You got really good at doing motions to songs, especially “Wheels on the Bus” and “Happy and You Know It”. You had your first Easter Egg Hunt. And Mommy and Daddy went on our first extended trip, a mission trip to New Orleans, without you.

May – You started getting the hang of using eating utensils. You discovered how much fun it was to ride on daddy’s back. You had a visit from Nana and Poppy and GiGi and PawPaw. You got your worst ouchie ever and scared me to death. And you began making your “strain face”

June – You were a swimming school drop-out. You took a new interest in taking care of baby dolls. You were obsessed with bubbles. You took your first plane ride. And you were a flower girl for Uncle Josh’s wedding.

July – You visited Dallas, Lake Charles, Singer, and Natchitoches. Aunt Shonda and Uncle Tim came for a visit. We found out you were going to be a big sister. You decided it was fun to wear underwear on your head. You starting making lots of different animal sounds

August – You showed us that you know all your colors and shapes. You ate your weight in strawberries. And you put on every pair of shoes you could find.

September – You began using a paintbrush to paint. You helped us celebrate Daddy and Mommy’s birthdays. You went to a college conference, in Atlanta, with us. You began to master the playground.

October – We went to the fair. We took a surprise visit to Louisiana. You helped Daddy carve a pumpkin. We found out you were having a brother. You were the cutest rock star ever, for Halloween

November – You showed us that you recognize and can name many letters of the alphabet. You helped decorate the Christmas tree. You got your first kitchen center. GiGi and PawPaw came for to our house for Thanksgiving.

December – We got a mini-van. You decided you still do not like Santa. You cut out and decorated sugar cookies. We took a trip to Louisiana to celebrate Christmas with our family. You had three birthday parties. You’ve taken imaginative play to a new level.

Woah, what an amazing year!

Landry, I love you more than life itself! You are an amazing little girl. I can’t imagine life without you!

Love,

Mommy