18 months old

Wow how the time has flown by!  Jackson is now 18 months old which means we have lived in the Netherlands for the past 17 months.  I really can't believe it.  I have heard people say, "Days are long, but the years fly by!"  I'm feeling this to be true all the time!

Jackson has gotten so big! He seems to be right on track with the clothing scales. Growing out of all things 12 month and fitting into all his 18 month things now!  His feet seem to be getting really big too!! I'm sure he is going to be tall just like his daddy!

Just this past weekend Jackson has started to "jump".  It really looks more like a run with a gallop added in.  Either that or he will do a big squat and then hop and usually only one foot comes of the ground.  It is so cute and he gets really excited. I'm sure it won't be long before he is jumping off the furniture or something crazy like that!

He really is all boy and loves to climb anything and everything!  He has no fear so once up on the couch he wants to run and is not afraid to fall off!! He has had lots of bumps and bruises but nothing serious yet!  Knock on wood!

Josh and I tried to come up with a list of all the words he is saying now, which is WAY more than we actually thought!  We came up with 69 so far, each day it seems like he is learning something more!  I'm not sure you all could understand those 69 words but I almost always can :)

Jackson still loves to be outside as much as the cooler weather is allowing!  He loves to help in the kitchen by playing in the water from the sink and he still LOVES his tractors and has now discovered combines or Mombines as he calls them! 

He is so great to be around all day and he is keeping me so busy!  What a great 18 months we have had! 

Alkmaar Cheese Market

Holland is one of the biggest cheese exporters in the world, and I have been wanting to go to the cheese markets since we have gotten here.  The market runs every Friday from April until the first week of September.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute! It is crazy to me that we will not live here next year when the cheese market starts!

Jackson and I went to the market with our friends Jessica and Liam.  It is quite a drive for all of us being north of Amsterdam. The boys played in the back seat sharing toys and after a little fit, they were sleeping! (thank goodness) 

The market is only two and a half hours each week so we didn't have a ton of time to make sure we saw it all! There were tons of the regular street vendors selling nick-knacks and food.  Then we made our way to the main stage.  We got to see how the cheese is weighed, then tasted and finally sold to the consumer.  We felt like we had gone back in time 100 years.  It was great! There were so many people there, we couldn't decide it if it was because it was the last week of the year or if every week is just that busy.  It was amazing!

If you know me, you know how much I LOVE cheese!  It was so much fun for me!  There were all things cheese, except a cheese head!

After a quick walk through the market we let the boys play by the church and they had a great time!  It was fun for the moms too, just having happy babies can make such a difference. We decided to take a chance and have lunch in an actual restaurant. (not our best idea)  They only had 1 kid seat for the entire place :( We braved it anyways and soon regretted our decision.  The boys didn't eat well and they were all over the place. Luckily we all got the traditional dutch sandwich and we on our way in just a short time. 

I hate rewarding not eating with a treat, but we as moms needed a treat after that CRAZY lunch. Ice cream!  The boys had some milk shakes (but not too much, don't worry) and the moms had an ice cream cone with sprinkles. Yum!

After a little more playing we were back on the road, all four of us exhausted. A great day to be in the Netherlands. Thanks for going with us Liam and Jess!