Liam lately . . . (16 months)

Liam turned 16 months old while we were in Georgia for Christmas, and it's amazing the things he was doing while we were there. I know I say it every month, but it is SO cool to watch him grow and learn new things!

At a playground by the Charles Bridge in Prague

. . . Liam lately (15 months)

Here we are, another month gone by, and Liam is 15 months old! At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is amazing how much he is growing and learning every day and week! As I did last month, the pictures in this post are some of favorites from the month . . . doesn't he get cuter with each passing day??

Fell asleep in the stroller for the first time in forever -- had to capture it!

Bubbles in the bath!

1 year anniversary!

Today marks one year that we've been in the Netherlands. The day we left was one of the hardest days I've ever been through. I'm not gonna lie, there were tears. Lots and lots of tears. And that was even knowing we'd be back soon! I've told many people that I can really enjoy this experience knowing it's not forever -- I can do anything for a short amount of time, including pack up all our belongings and move 4500 miles away! If you want to see how the beginning of our journey started, check back here.

Since that day, there have been 365 more . . . awesome ones, terrible ones, and everything in between. Our global coordinates do not make us immune to bad days, and our joys are not multiplied just because we live in Europe. Life is what you make of it, no matter where you are. So the good days are wonderful because we see them as wonderful, not because of the view out our window (although it is a beautiful view!)

bumps and bruises . . .

In one hour of play today, Liam has fallen countless times and hit his head or his face at least five times, crying for less than a minute each time. He even rolled onto his face one time and cut the inside of his lip with his little tooth. He just whimpered that time because it wasn't a hard fall, he just rolled at the exact right angle. Now that Liam is crawling and pulling up, he LOVES to be standing and cruise the  world  ottoman because he has learned there's a whole other perspective up there!

And all this crawling and pulling up and standing has led to more falls and rolls and tumbles . . . inevitably bumps and bruises are in our future. And that's ok.

The first night Liam and I returned from Georgia, Keith and I decided that we would let Liam cry it out that night to help with his self-soothing. Because I was jet-lagged Keith let me go to bed while he stayed up watching the monitor and listened to Liam. The next night we did it together and I asked Keith how he could stand to hear Liam cry, all alone the night before while I slept soundly . . . he said that the one thought that kept him from going to pick up Liam was that this would not be the hardest thing we go through with our son.

I think about that statement a lot since then. First, because my husband was so strong and realized that the bigger picture and ultimate goal was worth the temporary heartache he was enduring. Second, because he is so right.

Letting Liam grow up means that there will be times he is hurt, both physically and emotionally -- and as his parents we can be there and soothe his pains, but in no way can we prevent most of them. Pain is a part of life and it's important for him to learn to endure and recover. And watching him in pain is teaching me to endure and recover as well.

Being a parent is not easy by any means and I know it's only going to get tougher. There are much harder decisions to be made than "cry it out." There will be worse cries than those from falls or tumbles. Kisses might heal knees, but there will be some things that parents can't make better. And I've got to be ok with that.

But for now I will kiss and hug and hold, while he still lets me.

~Jessi

. . . when life gets in the way

I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted. And I wish I could say it was for some awesome reason, like, we went to the south of France on holiday! But . . . alas, theres no one really good reason but more like lots of small ones: I got busy, taking Liam places, appointments, going shopping, dinner with friends, etc. Actually, now that I list the reasons, it's been kinda nice. We're much more settled into life here and I've been comfortable enough to take Liam out more, and we've really just been doing life the last couple weeks. It feels like we're settled more into routines and getting used to what each day brings. It doesn't hurt that Liam is sleeping through the night of course! STILL so happy about that. : )