madrid, so far

we've been having a wonderful time visiting the price family in madrid!  

we had a pleasant flight on saturday & were greeted with a fabulous lunch when we arrived at the apartment.  

julianne & kathryn

after lunch and naps (kathryn & i napped), we headed out to the park for some play time.

aunt katie, kathryn & uncle ben

for ben & adam, play time included 40's.

that evening kathryn's nanny macky came to watch her while we ventured out for dinner at a restaurant that's just around the corner from their building's entrance.  they live in a great neighborhood with plenty of shops, restaurants, markets & playgrounds within a few blocks.

happily reunited ben & adam enjoy a romantic moment over dessert

the next morning after breakfast we headed to a sunday market.  while julianne, kathryn & i strolled the market, ben & adam headed across the city for a football match - atletico madrid vs. osasuna.  

beers at the game

kathryn & i napped again when we returned from the market, and spent the afternoon playing and reading books.  she's talking up a storm and sooo much fun to play with!

during the siesta hours we enjoyed pool time on the terrace with cocktails.

cuddle time on the couch

on sunday evening julianne flew off to dublin for a 5-day conference (bad timing for a visit on our part!).  on monday morning, adam left for work, macky arrived to watch kathryn, and ben and i headed out to explore downtown madrid.  we started off with a hop-on hop-off tour which gave us a good glimpse of the city... and what a beautiful city it is!

after we toured downtown, we hopped off and explored the city on foot.

one of our first stops was at this incredible market, 'mercado de san miguel.'

inside, we found lots of mouth-watering displays of food...

paella

jamon

tortilla, gazpacho & more

seafood galore

jamon sandwiches

olives

chips & pork rinds

after walking a lot more, we stopped near the downtown area of sol for lunch.

egg over potatoes with chorizo and plenty of paprika

that evening, back at home, we took kathryn out for an ice cream treat after dinner, followed by park time.

adam enjoys park time more than kathryn

the next morning ben and i walked retiro park - which is huge, and quiet, and beautiful!  comparable to central park, but much more peaceful, i thought.

we then met up with adam, who took us to a very authentic spot for lunch.

starter plates we shared: tortilla, a bean dish and potatoes in a seafood broth

main plates

after lunch we planned to visit the reina sofia museum, but instead discovered that it was closed on tuesdays.  so instead we ventured back to sol to try churros & chocolate at the famous chocolateria san gines.

delish.

and that is our time, so far, in madrid.  iyi bayramlar!

madrid bound

we are off to madrid tomorrow for a week-long holiday. we'll be staying with our friends the price's, and we can't wait! it will be wonderful to visit with good friends, get re-acquainted with this little one, take in a new city, and have a nice rest from life in ankara.

this is my first trip to spain (baby balkaya's, too), and no doubt we'll be humming this tune all the way there:

it's a boy!

yesterday, at my 18 week check up, we found out we'll be having a boy... and we are still wrapping our minds around it! knowing the sex makes this all so much more real. last night ben & i kept turning to each other to share our thoughts on our little boy. now we can think of a name! and paint the nursery! of course, i will have to shop for at least one little outfit to get my fix. i've waited long enough (and you can find my mother at marshall's, in the baby boy clothes section).

i drank a coke just before our appointment to make sure the baby would be moving around so we could get a glimpse, and he certainly kept up his end of the bargain. at one point he was grabbing his foot, already such a cute, playful baby. while the doctor was examining him she said 'well, you're definitely going to have a BIG baby' which i already knew (and FEEL), but hearing her say it makes me a bit nervous! he's already 10 ounces. but most importantly, all is well & he is strong (big) and healthy.

now i just have to get used to saying 'my baby boy.' i like the sound of that!

they call it 'quickening'

when a mother first feels the movement of the baby she's carrying... and i'm definitely starting to feel it! it started out so softly at first, like little flutters and slight pokes. i felt them sometimes laying down in bed or at yoga class in the past week, but every time i wondered if i'd just imagined it... until yesterday! sitting at my desk at work, i felt 5 or 6 significant jabs, all in the same spot. i asked the baby if it was an elbow or foot it was using to get my attention, but received no response (though it did give a few more jabs). this is one strong little babe! makes me giddy with excitement, this physical reminder that a little being is developing inside of me.

missin' my man

ben's been gone for a week now. he's in the states getting his little bro settled into grad school. although i'm glad he is there with fazil can during this major transition, i certainly can't wait for him to return home. i was recently reading through old emails we wrote to each other when he had just moved back to turkey and i was still living in binghamton. how funny to read those now when i'm here in turkey, missing him in the states! luckily this time he's only gone for 10 days.

in his absence, it seems appropriate to post the latest 'benisms' for a good thursday laugh. enjoy!

:: shortly after i became pregnant & broke the news to my parents:

ben: timing is everything.
me: why do you say that?
ben: well, just think of how happy your parents were yesterday when we told them you're pregnant.
me: yeah...?
ben: and then think about how unhappy they would have been if you were still in high school when you shared that news.

:: on the phone while i was in the us:

ben: i've decided i have restless leg syndrome.
me: why's that?
ben: because i've always got to be doing something!

:: over dinner at a favorite local turkish restaurant, just before he left for the states, referring to my cravings for turkish food:

everyday i'm feeling more confident that the baby's mine.

weekend by the sea

ben and i escaped ankara for the weekend & headed to bodrum to spend 2 nights on the aegean coast. it was just what we needed, though a bit hot! we arrived friday night & woke up saturday morning to this view from our room:

mr. nosey nose checking out the view

we spent the day dipping in the water & lounging on the beach (i took advantage and napped most of the afternoon - nothing like a good nap with the sounds of the ocean lulling you to sleep!)

this sunday marked my 16th week of being pregnant - that's 4 months! and it really, really shows... so we decided it was time for a belly shot.

pregnant, wind-blown katie, sans makeup because she didn't bother to pack any, so there

i am huge

we spent the evening avoiding the resort's discos (sooo not our scene) and walking around the village of torba, where blooming flowers were everywhere...

...not to mention plenty of gorgeous villas to view. can you imagine this being your summer home? i can!

some of the homes were just plain cute. these were some of my favorites:

can we come sit on your porch?

it was a lovely weekend. now we are busy preparing for ben's departure on thursday, when he'll head to the states to see his little bro off to grad school... can't believe fazil can's all grown up!