. . . Liam lately (19 months)

Another month gone by, and Liam is growing mentally, physically, and developmentally right before our eyes. It truly is amazing watching this person grow . . .

Is it Gent or Ghent?

Our family adventure this weekend was to the city of Ghent, Belgium, a mere 90 minutes away . . . we decided to get an early start and woke Liam up at 7:30 am and threw him in the car in his pjs -- this ended up being a great plan because he was in shock for the first half of the ride and didn't say much, so we were able to make it all the way there without so much as a peep. After finally finding a parking garage we dressed Liam in the car and headed out to explore the town. It was a pretty cold day, but at least it wasn't snowing!

The White City

With a move back to the States on the horizon, Keith and I want to take advantage of our weekends here in Europe and do a little exploring while we still can. This past weekend we decided to go to a little town about 40 minutes away called Thorn. Keith had been there before but this was my first time. Thorn is different than most villages here in that the whole town is white-washed, so it's really neat to walk around the narrow streets surrounded by all white brick buildings, cafes, and antique shops. It is known as The White City, even though it is not exactly a city, but a village. The church is big and beautiful, located right in the center of town, as it is in most villages.

view of the church from the pancake house

However, I think we made a not-so-great decision to go on this particular day because it started snowing on our way out there, and didn't stop until we were back in Eindhoven that afternoon. It was COLD and WINDY and SNOWY and we got there at a time when nothing was open yet. We tried to check out the church but there was a service going on, so we didn't think it would be prudent to bring an energetic 18 month old into the sanctuary. Everyone raved about the pannenkoeken huis (pancake house) so we headed there just as they were opening. I swear y'all . . . best decision we made that day and worth the drive there and back just to eat there!

First of all, they were SO child-friendly (much different than Barcelona, ha!) and Liam was able to play at a Lego table with a bunch of blocks, and even hang out at a touch-screen monitor where he could play games, "color," and be entertained while we waited to get our food. The menu at this place was ridiculous too -- every kind of pancake you can imagine with all kinds of savory or sweet options. Everything on the menu was numbered and it went up to the 800s! They made the typical Dutch pancakes, very thin and big, but these were just a tiny bit thicker than usual and man, were they good! Keith opted for half ham and cheese and half blueberry (kind of like having lunch and dessert on one plate!), I had a cinnamon and sugar pancake, and we got Liam an apple, raisin, cinnamon, and sugar kids pancake -- we all were VERY satisfied with our choices. Liam loved having raisins in his pancakes, so it definitely gave me the idea to try it at home for him.

After lunch we just let Liam walk around a bit on our way back to the car, but it was so cold and snowy that we just decided it was best to head home. I wish we could have enjoyed more time in Thorn, but perhaps we will be able to make it back on a nicer day. I still don't regret it though because those pancakes were to die!

~Jessi

. . . Liam lately (17 months)

My sweet boy is only a month away from being a year and a half old -- where has the time gone?! Seventeen months hasn't been that different than 16 months, but here goes nothin' . . .

Merry Christmas!

Liam loves Mexican food!

Still no stats -- just a running, growing, crazy boy who makes me laugh every day! It's funny to see him next to his friends because although he is younger by at least 5 months (and up to 10 months) from the kids he hangs with the most, he definitely holds his own and is even taller and weighs more than a few of them!

His eating habits have stayed the same -- three full meals at 9 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm, and a snack around 4 pm after his nap. He eats what we do, and has done a great job feeding himself with a fork. The spoon is a little tougher because he hasn't quite mastered scooping, but he's working on it! It can just be a little messy at times. : ) His favorite fruit is still grapes and he loves roasted carrots.

Prague!

As our time in Europe is dwindling down, Keith and I have been trying to cross cities off our "must-visit" list. My 30th birthday seemed like the perfect excuse to do just that! We decided to go to Prague for a long weekend and were lucky enough to have our good friends Lindsey, Josh, and Jackson join us! Keith and I spent Friday afternoon to (early!) Monday morning there, and our friends came Saturday to Sunday.

When we first got to our hotel on Friday we did a little exploring and found somewhere to eat lunch. Lucky for us Keith's boss is Czech and was very familiar with downtown Prague, where we were staying. All we had to do was send him a text to say where we were and ask for a recommendation and voila! It was done. So our first restaurant recommendation was for a tiny little restaurant around the corner from our hotel where Keith and I got some savory crepes. Luckily they were between services so the place was pretty empty, but otherwise it would have been hard with a toddler -- not a lot of space and no baby chairs!

Afterwards we began to wander and found ourselves downtown on the main strip. Let me say now that because of where Prague is located, the sun sets extremely early -- so when we were walking around at 4:30 pm it looked like it could have been 10:30 pm! I actually didn't mind it for two reasons: first, Prague is beautifully lit up at night, and second, I actually felt like a real adult who goes out in the evenings! Haha! Seriously though, I can't remember the last time we were out all "night" with Liam. So it was nice to enjoy the night (or five o'clock, whatever) without worrying about bath and bedtime just yet.

If it looks like a duck . . .

Considering Halloween isn't widely celebrated around here, it seemed to last all month! We were lucky enough to get Liam a costume ordered and he was his very favorite animal -- a duck! "Duck" was his first real animal word and definitely the first animal sound he made. He loves to tell you that the "duck duck" says "quack quack." I figured he would love to wear the costume, plus I don't know how many more years I'll have a say in dressing him the way I want!

The first event we attended was the Harvest Festival, a fun Halloween party put on by the North American Women's Club of Eindhoven. It was a great turnout and we had fun looking at the animals at the farm next door. Lots of good friends, fun activities, and even a costume parade and contest! Here's a picture of Liam at last year's Harvest Festival (at 2 months old) and another one taken in the exact same spot at this year's Harvest Festival (14 months old).