Why did we move here again?

Well, illness has hit the littlest Coffey this week . . .

Last weekend we noticed Liam had a little bump on his leg, and the next day I saw two small blisters on his index finger. By Monday he had several bumps on his hands and we began to see them on his feet as well. Most of you have figured out by now that he has hand, foot, and mouth disease. Big bummer. : (  I'm not quite sure where he got it since he wasn't around other kids while we were on vacation, but it could've been on the airplane or even the plane ride Liam loved so much in Mallorca -- who knows? Besides the few small sores, he has also been coughing and sneezing, drooling like crazy, and had a low grade fever for a couple days. I could tell his throat is sore so I've been giving him a cup of water throughout the day and he guzzles down the cool water as quickly as he can, as I'm sure it soothes his throat.

. . . Liam lately (11 months)

Where has the time gone? In less than one month my "baby" will be a year old. I can hardly believe it! This time last year I was eagerly counting down the days to Liam's arrival, thinking, "it could be any time now!"And now here he is, an almost-walking, kinda-talking little being!

Picture taking has now become a constant battle trying to keep him in his chair

Bien venido a Espana!

Keith and I decided about a month ago that we wanted to go to Spain for our beach vacation because we had heard great things about Mallorca and how family-friendly it is, with beautiful beaches and delicious foods -- sounded perfect to us! For those who don't know (like me, before we booked this trip), Mallorca is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea (technically the Balearic Sea), off the coast of Spain near Barcelona (and a stones throw from Ibiza). There are many Brits and Germans who live and vacation there, but not many Americans (most people thought we were British, haha!).

Having fun while we wait at the airport

So we booked our holiday just weeks before we left and planned to spend eleven days in Mallorca at the beginning of July. We were lucky enough to have great friends keep Murphy while we were gone, and off we headed to Eindhoven airport (luckily only ten minutes from our house) to catch a two-hour plane ride to Palma, followed by a 45 minute drive to the other side of the island where we were staying, in Playa de Alcudia. Unfortunately the board said our plane was delayed. Indefinitely. Until further notice. Seriously? So we fed Liam and had a drink ourselves, knowing we would eventually make it to the beach that day. And we did. Just two hours later than we thought. Lucky for us, the temperature was perfect the entire time -- in the mid-80s (28-29 C), sunny, breezy, and perfect.

feels like home . . .

A couple weeks ago we were lucky enough to have visitors from Georgia -- my BFF Jane and her son Mason came to stay with us for a few days while Spencer worked in Amsterdam. Jane and Spencer were the first of our friends to meet Liam when he was mere days old, and it was awesome to have them back again to visit, especially because our "nephew" Mason got to come this time! They planned to do a little European vacation and spend time in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and Paris. I was lucky that they got to spend three whole days with us, but boy was it not enough!

I picked up Jane and Mason from the train station Wednesday morning, and we first headed to our Winkelcentrum Woensel so they could experience the market and fresh stroopwafels. They agreed that it's probably one the best things you can put in your mouth. We did a little grocery shopping, walked around the centrum, and then headed home so they could get settled and take a little [ahem] nap. Mason's "nap" turned into a two hour sleep on the couch, with us begging him to get up so he wouldn't be jet-lagged. Jane and I got to catch up and play with Liam, and it really felt like no time had passed since we'd been together.