Three Musketeers

Mmmmm, Three Musketeers. Oh, not the candybar. The pregnant ladies.
Sarah has enjoyed being able to share her pregnancy with close friends
who are in the same situation. Both Elizabeth and Sheryl
are experienced too.They each have very cute daughters.

Goodies

Of course Elizabeth came bearing lots of gifts for both us and for Baby Blan. Try to get past the lovely feet and ankles and onto the very cool Crocs. Sarah was very excited about this gift because they will save her back while she stands for hours cooking on concrete floors.

Elizabeth in Istanbul

A picture from the Asian side of Istanbul with the Bosphorous and

European side behind the very cute Iles sisters.

At one of the many restaurants where we ate.

Belly to...well...no belly, with the Aya Sofia in the background.

Inside the Aya Sofia.

Elizabeth eating her first durum...

and drinking her first Turkish coffee.

A visit from Elizabeth

We were overjoyed when Sarah's sister Elizabeth decided to make a trip to Istanbul. We had a wonderful time showing her around and spending some good time with her. We're so thankful that she came.

A Day on the Bosphorous

A couple weeks ago, thanks to our tax dollars and our new friends Byron and Karen, we were invited to spend the day sailing up the Bosphorous to the Black Sea on the U.S. Consulate boat, the Hiawatha. We were celebrating Byron's finally becoming a man (he turned 27). It was a beautiful day to spend with friends.

We weren't quite the proud Americans we should've been sailing up the Bosphorous with an American flag flying for all to see. To put it lightly,
Americans aren't as loved as they once were in this part of the world.

Thanks to our friends who work for the Consulate we enjoyed Dr. Pepper...

and cheesecake made with real Philadelphia cream cheese.
It was delicious!

The guys showed their manliness by jumping into the cold Black Sea.

Welcome to Istanbul

Once again we have to apologize for the lack of posts on the blog. We arrived in Istanbul almost a month ago! Since then we’ve been busying ourselves finding our way around this city of 15 million people on public transportation, going to language class, hanging out with friends and family, having the occasional Starbucks and fast food, and surviving the heat. Hopefully the next few posts will help catch you up on life in Istanbul as we anxiously await our baby boy.

By the way, at the last doctor’s appointment the baby had dropped and weighed approximately 6 lbs 8 oz. We’re expecting a big boy!

What books don't teach you

I was sitting outside with my neighbors drinking tea yesterday and happened to be wearing my favorite maternity jeans that I ordered from the states. My neighbor who I call "Teyze" (which technically means aunt, but is also the name for any old lady) began to tell me that I was smashing my baby's head by wearing jeans. So I showed her the very soft and comfy band around my waist, but she said because the pants were pressing on my hips his head was in danger. Poor, poor baby Blan.

A little bit later another pregnant woman wearing pants came to sit with us, but she didn't get the speech. I guess it was my lucky day.

Baby Shower

Thanks to Sheryl and Stephanie, pictured below, who threw me the best baby shower on this side of the world, we're more ready than ever for the arrival of Baby Boy Blan. (Nope, still no name.) Thanks so much to all of you who sent gifts, and especially to Sheryl and Stephanie who so thoughtfully organized it. The shower really was so wonderful! Here are a few pictures.

Klaire had to nap through the shower,
but she woke up to a baby girl's dream.

Going on a picnic

To say that people here love picnics is a definite understatement. Once the weather is warm enough, you'll find people everyday at the lake or a park drinking tea and grilling chicken wings. We went on a picnic at the lake last week to celebrate a special occasion. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful day.

We can't resist dark-eyed, dark-skinned babies.

Locals can't resist blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies.

Jack and Klaire relaxing in the shade.

Chicken wings on the grill

Chicken wings on the "table"
(of course with coca-cola on the side)

What's a picnic without dancing?

That's not a smile on Stephen's face. It's the face of a guy who's trying
to get out of some very cold water. If you can take your eyes off
the shirtless hunk for a second, you'll notice the beautiful
snow-capped mountain in the background.

Road Trip

I recently had the opportunity to take four guys from Missouri around the southern part of our country. We were able to see some places rich in history and culture. As far as sightseeing goes, the highlight of the trip was going to Harran, where Abraham lived before moving to Palestine. There's no disputing that it is the ancient city that is spoken of in Genesis. Today, instead of being a major city located on a major trade route, it looks more like a village. Many of the people living there still live in "beehive" shaped houses that help keep the homes cool in the extremely hot summer.

As for the four guys in the picture below, each are over 50 years old, but they made me feel like the old guy in the group. While strolling through a park in a city called Urfa around 10:30 at night, one asked if we should climb a steep walkway to the castle overlooking the city. My answer was that we would have time in the morning. But, someone else quickly replied, "We might as well do it now." About an hour later we got back to the hotel and I had my best night's sleep of the whole trip.

Here's the crew at Mt. Nemrut standing beside Hercules and Apollos.

This place is literally called "Fishy Lake" or "Lake with Fish."
Whatever you call it, it looked like a fish pond to me.
Some people believe the fish in this pond are holy.

Women feeding the holy carp.

A local man lounges in the shade at a family park.
The purple headscarf that he's wearing is exclusive to the area around Urfa.
Both men and women wear them.

A scene from the famous Urfa Bazaar.

The "beehive" homes in Harran.

The museum in Harran that allows you to see inside the homes.

The sitting room where guests would be entertained.

A local woman prepares the family bed for the evening.
Because the temperatures are so hot, everyone sleeps outside.

Some say it was the first university in the world,
others say it was the second. Regardless it's pretty old.

Good News!!!

Based on the ultrasound, Baby Boy Blan doesn't have the Blan nose! We can't get too excited yet. Pictures of Stephen as a child showed no indication of having the "famous" shnaz. But we all know that changed.

It's A...

...Boy!! Or so we think. The doctor is 90% sure our child is a boy. So far every report on Baby Boy Blan (we are considering this as his name) has been good. The doctor has said more than once that he is "hareketli." That means he has ADD and won't sit still. Actually, it just means active, but if you ask Sarah at 10 pm every night, she'll tell you he has ADD or he's just trying to get some early practice in for his elementary school kickball team.

Mom is doing well. Even though she knows she's supposed to gain weight she's not gaining it happily. Now that the weather is beginning to warm up here, she's been able to get out and take walks, which is a nice stress reliever...for all of us.

The plan at the moment is to travel to Istanbul around the beginning of July. Baby Boy Blan's expected arrival date is August 13. If all goes well, we'll stay there for a month after he's born and then head back to our city. The facilities and doctors here aren't the best. So after considering having the baby here and talking with our leadership, we thought it would be best to go to Istanbul.

Hopefully soon we'll get a picture of Baby Boy Blan on the blog. Sarah will be going to Istanbul at the end of the month and get a 4D ultrasound. We'll try to put it on as well.

Feel free to send all the parenting advice you want. We don't know what the heck we're doing.

Does my face look fat to you?

The fun of being pregnant in a tactless culture began today
when I received my first pregnancy compliment:
"Your face looks fat. How much weight have you gained?"

Here's some other helpful "advice" I've received since being pregnant. Those of you who know the culture know why I said "advice".

• Don’t do anything that might qualify as work or exercise. It's harmful for the baby.
  
• Drink as much tea as possible. It turns straight into milk for the baby.
• Sit on the floor. It’s more comfortable for the baby.
• Don’t use your cell phone. It’ll give the baby cancer.
• Don't drink cold water. The baby will get cold.
  
• Don’t drive over any bumps on the road. It’s dangerous for the baby. (An impossible task here.)
• Don't wear blue jeans. They squash the baby . . .

I have no doubt that many, many more will follow.

Sarah: 15 weeks

My husband pushed me against the wall and made me take this picture.
He assured me I'll be glad later. I don't believe him.

Baby Shower

We recently traveled to another city for a few days of training. While there our incredibly wonderful teammates gave Sarah and fellow pregnant friend, Sheryl, a baby shower. As you can see from the pictures it was quite fun and most importantly we got lots of stuff. Wahooo! The shower wouldn't have taken as long as it did if we wouldn't have had to stop and explain what everything was to Stephen. He'll learn soon enough.

10 bucks says Sarah sleeps with the bear more than the baby does.

Realizing Stephen knows nothing about babies,
our friends gave him a "Dad's Essential Tool Kit"

Guess which local candy bar is melted in the diaper.

Jack eating the candy bar.
There's a reason why boys aren't invited to Baby Showers.