we arrived in the states totally jet-lagged (of course) & spent the first night at an airport hotel. we were so glad we were able to crash immediately (well, after waiting to get through customs, collect luggage & for ben to get the rental car). the next morning we hit the road after breakfast & were binghamton-bound, anxious to see the house we were in contract for but hadn't yet actually seen in person (biggest & best on-line purchase yet!).
dede gave emre fruit loops from the hotel breakfast & he would not let go of them for ANYTHING.
sunshine baby! jet-lag wasn't getting him down.
sooo tired
we were all pretty exhausted, but when we stopped off at the new york state welcome center, the fall foliage and crisp air was so refreshing & welcoming. just what we needed to feel as though we were on the right path.
my folks met us in binghamton (mom had already been to the house and - though we didn't own it - posted a welcome banner & decorated for halloween!). they were just a touch excited to have us living so close.
dad meeting kaan for the first time
some really early mornings with jet-lagged babies. lots of cuddle time at the 'bird hotel' (hilton garden inn) where we stayed the first week.
did i say lots of early mornings? more like middle of the night, just hanging out with one very confused baby.
…yep, more hanging out in the wee hours! but those big brother/baby brother snuggles made it so worth it.
we had some great nights hanging out with dede
kaanie keeps us entertained
we closed on the house the tuesday after our arrival (monday was a national holiday). in that first week, once the sun finally came up & the stores opened, ben & i would leave emre with dede (taking kaan with us) and run the millions of errands we needed to in order to get the house settled asap. that meant paint shopping (we had the interior painted by an awesome kid named nick before we moved in), furniture shopping (beds were the first priority), several trips to lowe's, home depot, you name it. the process of course took months but we were able to get what we needed to accomplished in time for our move. a major feat!
i spent a LOT of time in the empty house waiting for deliveries, keeping an eye on various folks (like the horrible 'cleaners' i mistakenly hired), and finally, checking off every box that the movers delivered from our container, all the while with kaan strapped to my chest. i nursed him in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet, changed him on the floor and kept him warm before the heat was turned on. what a crazy time.
since our container was not scheduled to arrive for almost two weeks after we closed, we decided to leave the painter to do his stuff & head to my folks for a week. ben drove his dad to boston, where he caught a flight back to turkey. sarah, jeff & theo came to binghamton to see the new house & then we all headed up to my folks, where we stayed for a week (such a luxury not having to live in an empty house all that time). since we had not visited from turkey since the previous christmas, it really felt like we were just visiting for the month. it took a loooong time for that feeling to go away.
reunited with our feo-bear
saying 'see you later' to dede
boys, happy to be at grandma's house
mommy, happy to be with her boys
grandma - THRILLED to have her grandkids
ben joined us after an emotional goodbye with his dad, and was in need of some snuggles from his sons
after one last miserable stay in the hotel (we were SO done with hotels after a month of being homeless), our 'stuff' finally arrived.
on the other side!
the movers did an incredible job & not one piece was damaged in the move (never mind that one of the guys on this end sliced open a bed & ripped the upholstery in the process - he felt worse about it than we did). seeing our possessions again and feeling like we could 'settle in' finally was like heaven. the movers took about 3 hours to unload, and ben and i spent the rest of the day unpacking necessities as quickly as we could. by nightfall i think we had the majority at least unboxed. we were just a little excited to finally be 'home' again!
first dinner in the new house - thank you sarah for ordering on our behalf!
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