We all know that becoming older and stronger comes with the perks of becoming more independent. We see it in Aydin's day-to-day interactions with us and others: letting us know what he dislikes, what he really loves, asking us if we are happy or sad, willing to share his fun food or toys with us, expressing his emotions or saying he is "fruste-rated". But moreover, we are surprised with his ability to make steps in new directions, mostly initiated by his experiences at school. We [mommy and daddy] love the initiatives he takes and seeing him become more independent.
But sometimes, you realize a whole new chapter of independence has begun. On the one hand we are happy you are growing so fast, but on the other hand it feels we are slowly becoming less important in your life. Less important in the sense where you won't need our direct help anymore - you can now do this actually by yourself.
Today is the day where we moved your room downstairs... Now you are not just a cry, a cough or short sprint away from mommy's and daddy's bed. You have your own private room, one floor down. We felt you were ready for it. You indicated you were ready for it after sleeping downstairs for a few nights. You loved the new room with your big-boy-bed, your books, your toys and all the new little lights to be turned on-and-off. And our nightly routine of reading books, talking about your day (you are always making up things!) went very well in your new room. You must be ready for it. On top of that, your expressive vocal sharing of your dreams in the middle of the night made the move to your own room a whole lot better for mommy and daddy!
Aydin's own room and creating "high towers" from LEGO
Perhaps selfishly, we hope you always need our help, comfort, hugs and a kisses. Daddy loves how you kiss him on the nose to wake him up in the morning. He loves how you need a warm hug and sleep on his chest in the morning to be comforted from a bad dream, or just to wake up slowly from a nice dream. Mommy loves playing tent-under-the-covers with you while the tickle monster is trying to get you. Inevitably
, we will miss of some of these morning routines, while you are happily playing by yourself in your room. It is all part of your becoming more independent.
But please Aydin, please don't forget to come upstairs to surprise us, wake us up, jump on our bed and kiss us out of our sleep. Mommy and daddy are, perhaps, not ready for your independence yet, as it all goes so fast...
El Nino means a lot of wet weather in Southern California. It does not happen very often, but it suddenly changes our desert climate and dry surroundings into a lush environment at the price of lots and lots of rain and snow in the mountains. Luckely, Aydin is well prepared. Yellow (his favorite color ever since he learned the funny word `yellow') boots and rain jacket are the perfect outfit to splash in the rain.
Today we drove towards Julian into the mountains. After a little nap in the car Aydin woke up to a white world, much to his surprise. A good time to test out the yellow boots and jacket in this funny white fluffy stuff. Not fun that you sink into the snow every time you make a step, so it is necessary to hold mommy's or daddy's hand to get around. But how much fun it is to make a snowman together!
We wish you a wonderful 2010! Aydin is continuing to go to school in the new year. Growing fast and getting to know more what he likes and dislikes (and letting you know) makes him a big boy .
More and more aware of the fact that Christmas is a special time, Aydin was looking forward to Christmas morning. Not only was there a tree with gifts, we also shared a long fun breakfast and went to the Christmas mass at the beautiful blue chapel of the University of San Diego. In the morning in your little green Christmas bathrobe sitting in front of the tree - another year has passed!
Today was a special day: the first day of school! Since Aydin is such a big boy with his potty training and his desire to learn more, he was accepted as the youngest pupil at the Mission Bay Montessori Academy in University City. The whole weekend he was super excited and was looking forward to the moment where he could take his 'backpack' (rolling case) to school. Armed with a lunch bag and a second set of clean clothes (in case of a little accident) he was determined to start school!
Dear Aydin
We were very proud to see that you started a whole new chapter with so much excitement in your life. Walking up the steps and finding your classroom full of new friends was a big surprise for you. Although a bit disappointed that mommy or daddy were not there anymore half way through the day - your first day at school was a great success. More good days will follow, where it will be hard at times in the beginning to leave home and be at school, but you'll soon learn the enjoyments of learning!
On a sunny November sunday morning Aydin and his daddy decided to go for a little walk along the Mission Dam in the Mission Trails park along Mission Gorge. The Fall colors were amazing: yellow, brown, red, orange. And in all these colors a little boy in his green jacket, a funky hat and a `Mona Lisa' smile. Daddy was proud with taking this picture and Aydin enjoyed the early morning walk in the 'big canyon' exploring the waters of the San Diego river!
This Saturday was all about Aydin's birthday party. Mommy and daddy were up early to arrange the house, while mommy did most of the preparations the evening before. We started around 10am and an hour later we had a house full of friends. Mostly playing with play-dough, we got distracted by face painting, a big guy in a clown face (daddy), a big Elmo balloon, a little puppet show, a yummy birthday cake, fighting over my toys and then unwrapping gifts.
all my friends over at our house!
at the end of the day happy to clean up
Around 2 pm I was very tired and napped happily till almost 4pm! After that we went out in the rain - something we have very little here in San Diego - and I got to splash and fall in the water and then play and have dinner at Ikea. After a warm bath my cheeks were all rosy and I was happy to go to bed. I wish all days were like this!
Nov. 26, 2009 - My second birthday, Bayram and Thanksgivings!
Aydin woke up to a nice surprise this morning. The room was filled with colorful decorations (imported from Holland) and we were having a mommy-made carrot cake with chocolate sauce for breakfast. Hmm, obviously a special day... When we sang the birthday song and brought him a cake with candles, it was clear: it was his birthday!
After breakfast he got his birthday gift from mommy and daddy: a train table on which he can play with his new wooden trains. The rest of the day is filled with making a big thanksgiving dinner and celebrate Bayram, Aydin's birthday and Thanksgiving all in one day. In addition, coming saturday we will have Aydin's birthday party with the rest of his friends.
Dear Aydin,
We were so surprised that you recognized that it was your birthday and that blowing out the candles went to well! We enjoyed having carrot cake breakfast with you around the same time you were actually born. This time you told us you `liked it' and we are delighted we get to celebrate your 2nd birthday with you.
For the first time Aydin was able to go to a pumpkin patch and enjoy all the rides! Although not sure why there were so many pumpkins all together, he did not mind posing with mommy in between them.
But after that, it was time to test out all the rides. His favorite one was the choo-choo-train. After first riding in the back and checking out the scenery it was time to ride in the front. That was clearly the highlight of the day, as even in his sleep and the next morning he was talking about his choo-choo-train experience...
Daddy bought a new camera, allowing us to take slow motion videos. Aydin was directly ready to show of his jumping skills and we were impressed he is such a good jumper in slow motion! Being close to his 2nd birthday Aydin's coordination is getting better and better and he almost outruns both mommy and daddy when we ask him to go to bed or visit the little men's room.
Dear Aydin,
We are very proud you are able to jump so well and run so fast. But please be careful!
Anne & Papa
One of Aydin's favorite activities is collecting snails and worms lately. As a result, we have a box full of snails on a given day!
He loves walking around the neighborhood and pointing out to all the lizards, bees, bugs, butterflies, etc. So we decided to open that box of bug collectors kit we won at a white elephant last x-mas. And no surprises that they quickly became his most favorite toys. He even want to bring his butterfly catcher on car trips. You never know when you will have a catch!
Let's go find some snails
Snails! Where are you?
Aydin: We hope that you'll always love nature, but also learn to appreciate nature without picking and touching.
Any form of creative activity seems to interest Aydin. We're happy to see that when we're not home, Shanda likes to keep him busy with all kinds forms of art. Dancing, painting, drawing, music, sculpturing, even make up at times! It's a lot of fun to come home and see the days products. were sad to miss the fun, but happy to see Aydin flourishing with all the activities.
Home-made playdough with salt and flour
Meow make-up
Finger painting is messy
Creations of little fingers art gallery
Aydin: Hope you'll always have an interest to create things of your imagination. It is amazing to see what's in your mind through your drawings and art.
At the end of our long stay in The Netherlands, we took some time to relax and take a much needed vacation. We visited Joerg for Kiel Week in Germany, went to Turkey to spend some more time with family and friends, and also spent some time in France. It was great to be with Aydin 24x7 for a few weeks before we start working again. We had a great time every bit of it, but the moment Aydin saw the Eiffel Tower has a special place in our hearts. It was late at night and he woke up from sleep. The moment he looked up, he exclaimed "tower! wow!". We had no idea that he knew what a tower was and he would be so excited to see it. We sang "Twinkle Twinkle Eiffel Tower" as the light show was going on. It was a very memorable moment that we'll savor for a long time.
Aydin and Mommy looking at Eiffel Tower at night
Climbing up big rock developments in Cappadoccia
We were also impressed by how Aydin was able to climb up the stone houses in Cappadoccia in Turkey. He was a trooper throughout the hot day and loved exploring with us. When we were visiting one of the museum houses, we ran into deep holes, probably used as rooms in the past. Aydin enjoyed climbing in and out of not too deep ones, but made sure he kept a safe distance to very deep ones saying "Dark hole! Be careful!". It is so much fun to hear his baby talk and we made sure to make a lot of movies of it.
We're looking forward to more vacations together as a family, but now it is nice to be back home for a while. We're all tired of living out of our suitcases for the last couple of months!
Like any other limited time, our time in Delft is over. It was hard to say bye to this lovely town after living there for a couple of months and getting used to the lifestyle. We enjoyed it a lot, but we think Aydin enjoyed it even more. Going to daycare and everywhere else on the bike was his favorite. He loved the trains. He loved feeding ducks and birds in the canals. He even saved up some bread for that purpose. Going to school was less fun than spending time with his parents, but he got used to it quickly. He learned some Dutch and started talking quite well n English while over there. He loved spending time with Uncle Paul. He loved being so close to Turkey so he gets to see his cousins Cansu and Umut every month. He loved spending one day a week extra with Mommy and Daddy. He loved the cheese, the milk, the cookies, and, of course, the hopjesvla.
Aydin: Even though you won't remember most of this trip, we hope that the impressions of it will be with you for a lifetime. We'll make sure we go back often to refresh your memories.
The best way to see Amsterdam is from the water! Fortunately, we were able to do this with the boat from uncle Paul when he took us on an afternoon trip through the canals. Following beautiful houses along the canals, house boats in the canals and small bridges over the canals, Aydin had his first boat trip in Amsterdam. Mostly interested in the snack that we brought ("more cookie" is now your favorite two word sentence) you did manage to play with all the people on the boat without falling into the water! We were very happy you enjoyed it and it looks like the mixture of dutch and turkish will make you an excellent captain !
The Keukenhof is an annual event in the Netherlands displaying many many blooming flower bulbs and wonderful tulips. We could not pass the opportunity to visit the Keukenhof while we are in Holland, so we took the train to Leiden and the bus to Lisse to show you all the wonderful colors of the tulips. You really like to wonder around in the fields, pluck and smell the flowers. Unfortunately, taking flowers was not allowed at the exhibition and mommy taught you how to simply bend over to smell the flowers! That was a wonderful sight to see!
Aydin at the Keukenhof: posing with Mommy and playing at the petting zoo.
Next to all the flowers you really enjoyed the little petting zoo in the Keukenhof. All the kids were a little afraid of the big goats and the chickens runnign around. Instead, you approached all the animals, chased the chickens, laughed with them when they made their sounds (moooo and beeeee) and even hugged the little lambs, because they were so soft! It was an adoring sight to see and we will post some more pictures and video of you playing with the animals soon.
We used the opportunity of the nice weather and the free weekend to travel to the northern part of Holland: Friesland. Staying at a beautiful farm with a peaceful garden we rented bikes to explore the back country of Friesland. You were an amazing sport and enjoyed biking around in the little front seat for almost 4 hours with daddy! Although you were a little cold and sleepy at the end, we hope the memories of the green land filled with cows will last forever. You definitely learned how to say cow and imitate them "mooooo". We also took a boat trip to Schiermonnikoog, one of the island north of the "waddenzee". There you ran around on the beach and "tasted" the dutch beach sand !
At the beach in Schiermonnikoog: playing in the beach sand...
Celebrating queensday means dressing up in orange and enjoying the music, food and festivities on the street. For Aydin it was a little strange that everyone was out on the street, making noise and dressing up silly. His orange hat and bright boots were silly enough for him on this day, while daddy, mommy, Joerg and Annick were joining him on a tour around Amsterdam.
Picture of Aydin in the Beulingstraat in Amsterdam
Dear Aydin,
This was your real first Queensday in Amsterdam! Although you slept during the late night festivities, during the day you enjoyed all the bright orange colors in the street.
Unce Paul visited us in Delft for the second Easter day. After spending the afternoon on the 'BeestenMarkt' in front of Kobus Kuch restaurant where Aydin got to play in the sandbox, we went for last minute shopping at the 'Albert Heijn'. On the way back to our house on the 'Oude Delft' Aydin ejoyed the ride on uncle Paul's shoulders. He brought along some Zwitsal baby lotion .
Dear Aydin,
You really like sitting on our shoulders and especialy like it when we chase you and make us run. The height at which you sit allows you to get an ever better view of the world, but watch out for obstacles!
Now that we are in Holland for a few months, it is much easier to visit family in Turkey for the weekend: leaving friday and coming back on sunday evening. For the second time, Aydin visits his family in Istanbul, Turkey. This time he is a little bigger to play with his uncle Ilker and aunt Pelin, meet Umit for the first time and let Cansu know what he likes and does not like . We were fortunate to celebrate Pelin's birthday and enjoy the spring time in Istanbul (a lot of tulips everywhere). It was priceless to see Aydin and Cansu jumping up and down the bed together and sharing the toys in Cansu's room!
Clockwise: a bit scary in the back of a Turkish cab; posing with Cansu and Umut; going all for a birthbay breakfast for aunt Pelin; hanging out with uncle Ilker.
Dear Aydin:
You loved playing with the window shutters in the airplane and was impressed with the take-off of the plane! After that you had no problem adopting to the Turkish life style and enjoyed playing and running in the house and the fish that your turkish family made for us!
Hello! Our son Aydin Arnoud de Callafon was born on November 26th, 2007 at 7:44 am in La Jolla. He was 7 pounds 15 ounces and 20.5 inches.
We'll keep a blog of his baby step into life on this site. Please visit us again to follow his early adventures.
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at the end of the day happy to clean up
Let's go find some snails
Snails! Where are you?
There is a "buzz buzz"
All done! Let's give them some leaves for food...
Home-made playdough with salt and flour
Meow make-up
Finger painting is messy
Creations of little fingers art gallery
Aydin and Mommy looking at Eiffel Tower at night
Climbing up big rock developments in Cappadoccia
!
at the exhibition and mommy taught you how to simply bend over to smell the flowers! That was a wonderful sight to see! 
!
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