Oh no the Chicken Pox

In the Netherlands they choose not to vaccinate against the chicken pox and unfortunately for us we haven't been back in the US since Jackson has been old enough to receive the vaccination.  So guess what we picked up somewhere along the way?! The chicken pox.

I can't really believe it!  I feel so bad for him, he seems pretty miserable and just wants me to hold him but then that doesn't even make him happy.

Of course I had to take him to the doctor and lets just say our opinion of the healthcare system here is that it is a bit lacking.  They don't check temp, or look in his ears, nose, or throat. NOTHING!!! They say oh well it could be chicken pox but we want to see you back in 2 days.

Great!!!! I get to go to the doctor again and wait for 30 minutes with a crying baby while you all decide it is time to go on coffee break!   Today our appointment was for 10:30, we get there a few minutes early like normal people do and I think great, we're the only people here we will get right in.  The patient comes out of the office so we're up, right? Wrong, the receptionist puts up a sign PAUZE or break. Then all of the doctors and receptionists go off for at least 15 minutes, meanwhile the phone is ringing (no answers), patients are arriving (no one there to check them in), Jackson is crying (no one cares).  They clearly knew we were there ontime and waiting since they walked right by us on our way to the coffee room.

Why not make my appointment for 10:45 instead so I don't have to drag my sick child into your office just to wait for you to have coffee?!?!  I bet you can guess that I'm really excited to go back on Friday!!!

I'm 1!!

Hey Everyone it's Jackson again!  I wanted to tell you all about my birthday!! My Grandma Robyn and Grandpa Mark flew all the way here from Iowa to come and celebrate with me for a whole week!! I am having so much fun with them!!

For my birthday we got to go to the Berger Zoo in Arnhem, it was so cool!! I have never seen those kinds of animals except for in my books!!! I really loved looking at the elephants, gorillas and seeing all the fish in the aquarium. I even got to have ice cream which I LOVE!

The next day, we had a birthday party with a few neighbor friends. I was kinda sleepy for the first part but I rallied anyways!! My mom stuck this firey thing in my face and tried to get me to blow on it but all I wanted to do was grab it and put it in my mouth but she wouldn't let me... what's wrong with her?!?!

Then I got to taste some cake with frosting on it... I had one bite of the frosting and did NOT like it at all. It made me shake my head and I think I even gagged a little.  It was way too sweet for me!!!

Then it was time for presents!  I got lots of fun things like puzzles (I carry the pieces around in my mouth), some clothes, and a new Cars car.  I love the car and figured out how to get on and off it all by my self!!!

My other favorites gifts from my mommy and daddy are my new slide and tunnel! They are so much fun and I can almost do the slide all by myself!!

I also got lots of new clothes I think my mom is more excited about them than I am!!

I wish we could have parties like that all the time!!!

Talk to you soon!
Jackson

Look what Jackson did!

I was a little bored one day so I thought what the heck, why not try finger painting. I love things like that and so I'm sure Jackson would love them too!  I was right for about 5 minutes!  I realized he is still very young for this and really loves putting things in his mouth but it was super cute and now he has a framed piece of art work on his dresser made just for him by him!  We even sent a get well card to Great Grandpa W made by Jackson!

Beep.....Beep............Beep

You know that annoying sounds you hear when your smoke detector's battery is getting old? You know that high pitched BEEP every 5 minutes.  Yesterday this was going on all day long. I wait for Josh to get home from work because I of course can't reach the stupid thing and am not going to carry a ladder up those crazy spiral stairs.

So I have forgotten about the BEEP until bath time until I am oh so rudely reminded by BEEP! Josh is immediately on it. It's almost Jackson's bedtime and believe me we do not want to keep him up at night! So he removes the detector and takes it down stairs. A nice temporary relief from the BEEP! 

We sort of forget about it until we're ready for bed. Brushing our teeth when BEEP... what?!?! we haven't heard it for the last hour and a half and now really.  We obviously took down the wrong one.  So Josh is off on the hunt for the other smoke detectors and finds one in the attic.  He takes that down and we're off to bed. 

We just lay down when BEEP...really?!?!  You have got to be kidding me.  This time we're both looking for the stupid thing. We go downstairs and listen, no beep.  We go back to the attic, beep... ok we think we have found it. When he gets it down BEEP but oh no it is not this one!

So we're back on the hunt and searching every room in the house where we have found a blended in smoke detector!! BEEEP.  Ahhh, good it's the one!! Josh takes it down stairs and removes the battery. He sets it next to the other one we have already taken down when BEEP!! It seems we now have 2 bad batteries, so he removes the other battery and now there is silence! :)

Now all I have to worry about is there being a fire in the middle of the night and we have 2 smoke detectors sitting on the kitchen table with the batteries removed! Don't worry everything was ok and we have new batteries ready to go!!

A visit to the farm!

Before a trip to the farm has always meant a trip to my Grandma and Grandpa's farm, but since we're a little far away right now we took Jackson to another little farm.  The weather is turning nice so it was a great way to get out a little bit!

I think our favorite part were the pigs, they were digging in the mud and then were chasing each other around.  It was pretty funny!

They also had cows which you can watch get milked or maybe even help milk every day.

There were tons of chickens where you can reach in and pull out your own eggs.  Josh got a nice surprise when he opened the door to check for an egg and there was a chicken right there.  (I think it scared him, though he wouldn't admit it)

Then after you are all done at the farm you can buy any other their own organic products.  Meats, cheese, eggs etc. We just got the ice cream :)

We're still here!

Well you get to hear a lot about Jackson but not a lot about Josh and I, so why not have a little update. (I know it's not nearly as exciting as hearing about Jackson but too bad!)

Where to start, we're just sooo exciting!  Well for starters, I am finally breaking out of my shell a little bit and have joined a International Womens Club and a baby group to take Jackson to.  It is still very new to us but we have met some great people and are looking forward to the interaction and friends we will make.  I kept putting it off because of not having a way to get there, which leads me to my next great topic. I finally after 10 months of being here have decided to get a car.  We are just renting it for a year but it a VW Up! brand new 2012.  Pretty exciting since I have not had a car since December 2010.  It's hard to believe I know!! 

All of this was prompted by our week of no heat! Long story short- it was the coldest week of the year and the people just didn't really know how to fix the heat so we had a house that was 50 degrees for about a week. Don't worry we're all back to normal!!!

In other trip news we have been asked to stay a little longer than 18 months and will now be here until March 1, 2013.  Of course it's hard to be away from family but we're excited to be able to be back for Jackson's 2nd birthday and to hopefully travel a little more while we're here!

Speaking of traveling, our latest and greatest trip was back into France for a visit to Normandy and to also see Mont Saint Michel. Both we're amazing and I really recommend it to everyone if you get a chance. Normandy is such a huge part of WWII history and it really was a sight to see! Hard to imagine all the lives lost, but makes you really thankful for the people who gave their lives to save so many others!!

Mont Saint Michel, is so amazing! It is basically an island off of the coast of France where the tide comes at some 17 feet per second. The monks built a church at the top of this island at the highest point in order to be closer to God.  There is so much history that has gone on there and you can't believe you're walking into a little "village" that is so old yet still so beautiful and more extravagant than anything you will see built this day and age! (Josh gives a much better description of it than I do)

We have really enjoyed our trips and are planning a few more, one to England, one to Rome and hopefully another (place yet to be determined). 

Josh is still enjoying his job here and we're so excited to have some more visitors in March, then April, then May and still more after that!  We hope everyone is doing well and I hope you have enjoyed catching up on Josh and I as much as you do Jackson :)

There I have doubled the amount of blogs that I did last month!  I swear I will try and be better!!

11 Months

Well it's hard to believe it has already been another month since I have done our last blog!  Time really is going so fast! Jackson turned the big 11 months yesterday and is continuing to amaze us at how fast he is growing and changing everyday!

Some of the latest and great accomplishments are walking with things (well pushing around anything that will move-this includes the vaccuum), pointing, saying dada dada dada over and over. I try and tell him no I'm mama! :) Jackson is also saying words that maybe only mom and dad can understand but we think they are hi, ga=grace, we even get the occassional bye.  He waves when you leave a room or if he is ready for bed, he loves to turn the pages of books and throw balls, he makes lots of silly faces, and is just constantly on the go. 

We have joined a baby/toddler group and Jackson seems to really be loving it!  He gets to play with lots of other kids and is getting socialize which is great (for me too!!) He comes home just exhausted making for a great nap time in the afternoon!

We busy getting prepared for the big 1st birthday with some visitors from home!  Hopefully I will have more posts between now and then! Until next time....