Landon is potty trained!

Landon has been ready to be potty trained for a long time.  We decided to wait to potty train him till a few months after Ellie arrived.  We didn't want to put to many new things on his plate.  The first couple of days were really rough.  We were really thinking that he was going to be so easy to train.  The first 2 days he had a lot of accidents then day 3 arrived and I could tell he was starting to get it.  He had very few accidents.  He easily used the regular toilet he wasn't afraid at all.  I think it helped that he always saw Caiden using it.  It took a couple weeks for him to catch on to pooping on the toilet. Ugh, we had a lot of poop accidents. But he is doing great now.  He actually takes him self to the bathroom and pulls his own pants and undies up and down.  Landon always says to me, "Mom I a big boy! I had no accident!" So cute! It is so nice for us to have both boys potty trained.  Its actually pretty easy to take them to the bathroom when we are out because they can go at the same time! lol!  We are so proud of you Laylo!  You are such a big boy now!

Big boy undies!  

Caiden Started Preschool!

My biggest baby has started preschool.  It does give me a little heartache to have him away 3 days a week for 3 hours.  Hugh and I debated for awhile if we wanted to put him in preschool for 1 or 2 years.  Well, Caiden decided he wanted to go now because a lot of his friends are going. So we signed him up! He is attending Cedar Park Christian School.  I was a little nervous about the first day.  You see, Caiden is with me all the time, I have never had to trust people I don't know to care for him and I wasn't sure how he would do.  Well, I can happily report he has been doing amazing and is loving preschool!  When we pulled into his school for the first day he said, "Mom! I don't have a backpack!"  I said, "Caiden your teacher said you didn't need one." He said, "But I really want one!" He noticed that other kids were walking into the class with backpacks.  So, of course, I did go out and get him one.  The funny thing is he hasn't wanted to bring it to school once.  I asked him, why? He said, " I am afraid one of the other kids is going to take it!" LOL! Apparently he really likes his backpack! Silly boy! He has been in school for over a month  now and has made lots of new friends.  He tells me that his favorite part of school is snack (the kid loves food) and recess.  His teacher's name is Ms. Lee and the assistant teacher they is Mrs. Teresa.  After a few weeks in school I arrived to pick him up and his teacher came up to me and said we had a little incident today.  I was immediately surprised because this is not like Caiden.  Come to find out a boy in his class pinched Caiden on both cheeks during Chapel.  The teacher said that Caiden was pretty upset but they were able to calm him down.   While Caiden is in school Ellie naps and Landon and I get to spend sometime together.  Landon loves to help me bake and cook so I try to plan something for us to cook together while Caiden is at school.  I am so happy that Caiden is loving school and learning a lot but I sure miss him while he is there!

Caiden- We are so proud of you little buddy! You are doing so good in school!  Your teacher told me that you get along with everyone in the class (your so much like your daddy).  I cant believe you are in school already.  I love that you get so excited to see me when I come and pick you up.  I also, love that you have to have a hug and kiss before I drop you off.   I get excited to pick you up knowing that you get excited to tell me about your day.  We love you so much little buddy and cant wait to see you learn and grow this following school year!

 He had to do a funny face!

 Picture with mom on the first day.

 Checking everything out on the first day.

New backpack!

Ellie 4 months!

 The blog post is a little late Ellie is already almost 6 months old but I want to document her 4 month stats.  Ellie had her 4 month appt (she was actually 4 1/2 months) her stats were: weight 16.4 lbs (76%), height 26.5 inches (97%) very tall lady, head 42.7 cm (88%).  It is crazy how are kids are so tall!  Ellie is currently wearing 6 month clothing but I can already tell that she will be in 9 month soon.  Ellie's clogged tear duct finally came unclogged right after turning 4 months old.  I was so excited it finally came unclogged. It was so goopey all the time and kept getting infected.  Ellie is such a great and happy baby!  I will admit the first 3 months were really difficult.  Now, she is such a happy baby and is always smiling.  At 4 1/2 months Ellie rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time. Its funny because she hasn't figured out to roll from her tummy to her back yet which is easier. So she rolls to her tummy and gets mad because she cant roll back.  She still sleeps really well at night with only one feeding.  Naps are beginning to get better I finally have her on a schedule that seems to be working for her.  The big news during her 4th month is we put her in her own room! Which also means the boys started sharing a room.  I am happy to report that the transition went way better then I could have expected.  The boys are sleeping great sharing a room and Ellie is loving her own room.  The only problem is Caiden is a early riser and tends to wake up Landon.  They start playing in their room and get a little noisy and wake up Ellie.  This little lady brings us all so much joy!

 I love this pic! Look at all that chubbiness! 

The boys are always wanting to hold and kiss Ellie.  Here she looks like she is saying "Get off of me!"

We started using the Jumperoo. She loves it!

For a long time this has been her signature smile. She always sticks her tongue out! Ha!

Elliotte Grace Veal

Has it seriously been a year since I have blogged?!  There has been a lot of changes here in the Veal house.  The biggest and most important change is we added a new family member on April 24, 2012, Miss Elliotte Grace Veal.  The boys have grown and learned so much this last year, both boys had birthdays, Landon moved into a big boy bed, we remodeled our main bathroom, painted the boys rooms, bought a minivan, Landon got glasses, the boys took a few Gymnastic classes, Hughey got a job at Boeing, Caiden is starting preschool in the Fall and we are in the process of buying our first home! I will go more into everything in another post.  This one is about Ellie!

Elliotte (we call her Ellie) was born April 24th, 2012 weighing 8.4 lbs and 20.5 inches long.  I was 5 days over due when she finally decided to make her entrance she came very quickly!  The total labor was 4 hours and 45 minutes.  I had been in labor at home for about a hour and the contractions were already 2 minutes apart.  When we arrived at the hospital I was already dilated to a 6-7 and was BEGGING for a epidural.  I was informed I had to have a full bag of fluids before I could get my epidural.  I was progressing so fast I was afraid I wasn't going to get.  When I finally got it I was dilated to about a 9. Yikes!  After the epidural she arrived 45 minutes later, after about 28 minutes of pushing.  Since I tested positive for Group Strep B, we had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours.  The labor was so fast I didn't get the meds that I needed so they needed to observe baby to make sure she didn't get sick.  Thankfully she was a healthy little girl and there were no complications!  While I was in the hospital my mom cared for the boys.  When they came to visit me I cried when they left.  I had never been away from them overnight.  It was difficult but we all survived and I am grateful for my family for caring for them.

Ellie is currently 15 weeks old and has grown a ton! We had her 2 month appt (technically she was 10 weeks old I couldn't get her in sooner).  Her stats were weight 12.10lbs (83%), height 23.75 inches (87%) and her head 40.5 cm, (83%).  She is growing and healthy.  She is currently wearing 3 month clothing but I think she is going to be moving into 6 month soon, she is a tall lady!  Poor girl has already had 2 colds.  I guess that's what happens when you have two older brothers.  One cold was so bad she had to be on antibiotics because her cough wouldn't go away.  We are also thinking so has Reflux, just like Caiden did, and is currently taking meds for that. Its hard to tell though because sometimes she screams when we feed her and sometimes she is totally fine.  Its seeming to get better the older she is getting.  She has been smiling for a while now.  She smiled at me for the first time at about 4 weeks old and is more and more smiley everyday! People ask me if I notice a difference between her and the boys yet.  I have noticed that she is grabbing at toys already. This is definitely earlier then the boys.  I heard that girls motor skills develop faster then boys.

Ellie has become a little to used to being in the Ergo and being rocked to sleep we are currently trying to sleep train her.  She is an amazing sleeper at night.  Currently she is sleeping from about 7-8 at night to about 5-6am.  Cant complain about that!  She doesn't nap very well right now (ok she is a awful napper) but we are working on that.  She literally naps a total of a hour to a hour in a half the entire day.  I have tried everything and she doesnt want to nap more then 30 minutes or less at a time.  The boys were never like this so I have no idea what to do.  I have tried to let her cry and she has cried for about 2 hours before and still won't sleep.

Ellie Grace- You have no idea how much we wanted you!  We were so thrilled when we found out we were having a little girl.  Your daddy and I had prayed we would have a little girl. God graciously answered those prays and we are so thrilled!  Your brothers told me all along that they wanted a girl baby.  They love you so much and are constantly kissing and hugging you.  Hence, why you have already had 2 colds!  You are such a wonderful addition to our family and we love you so much sweet girl!  I am so excited for this next year to see you grow, play and interact with your brothers.  You little lady have wonderful brothers who will always look out and protect you.  Caiden tells me all the time he is going to protect baby sister...so sweet! We love you!

Giving Ellie a present!

First bath at home.

Ellie at 15 weeks.