our visit with aydan & adooooo

we've had a wonderful visit with aydan and adoooo (as emre calls him).  we've so enjoyed spending time with them - and they have been wonderful with emre!  what a treat to have his aunti & uncle here to take him to the park, feed him and play with him while we rest and, more recently, pack!  aydan has even cooked us dinner.  oh how i wish we lived closer so emre could see them more often.  

proudly displaying his gift

aydan & ado are basically ben's second parents, as they had a big hand in raising him.  aydan is ben's mother's sister, and has kept some items for ben to have from his childhood all of these years.  when she arrived on thursday, she presented us with a very special gift: the sweater & shorts/overalls (liederhosen?) that his mother bought for him in switzerland and could not WAIT for him to wear.  

the shorts are a heavy suede with leather details

she became so inpatient, in fact, that she had him wear the sweater on his first birthday, even though it was still too big.  we have pictures to prove it!  one day i'll get around to scanning one to post here.  of course, we couldn't wait for emre to wear the outfit, either.  we put it on him immediately!

daddy helped him into the sweater

he couldn't walk very well with the shorts, they're so stiff!

at one point he fell over and could not get up.  literally.

just seeing the look on aydan's face was worth it!  it was a lifelong dream for her to see ben's son in this special outfit from his grandmother, who would have LOVED it.  

thank you teyzem!

that night we pulled out ben's baby albums, where we found a few shots from his first birthday party with him wearing the sweater.  we all shed a few tears.  we also realized, looking at pictures of ben at the same age, that he and emre are ENTIRELY alike.  same facial expressions, same mannerisms, same legs!  we hadn't looked at those pictures since he was first born so we hadn't noticed the similarities.  pretty neat.

ok, i need to take this off now, guys.

another gift from australia: an official lifeguard jacket & swim shorts!  they'll get plenty of use next summer.

aydan has loved getting to know her 'grandson' (which he is, truly!).  he was taking too long to warm up to her, so she gave him the treat of bringing out the vacuum to play with (which he's infatuated with).  she later admitted to me she just had to find a way to make him love her, and quick!  well, it worked (but i'm pretty sure he already did).

bathtime with teyze

on saturday we visited with aydan's cousin, aylin.  she and her husband and son hosted us in their beautiful home for the afternoon, and completely spoiled emre.

ege brought out his old toy cars for emre, who loved them

he fell in love immediately with the doctor (who loved him right back), i suspect because of the mustache

they had an incredible backyard/garden, with every fruit tree you can imagine (apple, pear, peach, plum!).  they also had chickens & roosters, two dogs, and a pond with frogs.  emre was basically in heaven.

going to see the doggies - oof!  oof!

emre loved the doggies so much that as we were petting them he continually put his mouth through the chain-link fence to give them 'kisses.' 

they served us home-made plum juice, made with cloves & cinnamon.  delicious!

they picked this peach & pear just for him - he loved it!

i'm pretty sure he ate 4 plums, 1 pear and most of a peach...

...i saw the proof in his diapers the following day.  fiber!

they offered to babysit emre, and i hope they meant it.  he loved it there (and we love babysitters)!

once he discovered the hammock it was all over

on sunday we spent some time with another memory of ben's mother: her russian tea set.  she traveled, a lot, and brought back many interesting items.  this tea set was recently given back to us for safe keeping. we each took a part in wrapping it carefully in bubble wrap (lots!) and putting it in a box.  one day, when we have the right place for it (and no toddlers), it will be displayed in our home.

the backs have 'ussr' printed on them, a piece of history, as ado pointed out!

y'know, just reading the paper on a sunday evening

emre got lots and lots and LOTS of love from his aunt & uncle... 

group hug

playing 'f'shhh f'shhh' with teyze

this was his favorite

early morning cuddles

annnd he's off to explore with his teyze (actually, to wake up ado).  she loved it!

it has been a relaxing, fun, and truly heart warming visit.  we all needed it, i think!

we're just so sad to say goodbye to them today.  but, they will enjoy some time in turkey (visiting the spot where they honeymooned!), and we will head off to the states tomorrow.  wish us luck on our thirteen hour journey with a one-year-old!