Visit to the Bronx Zoo and Halloween (Oct 2011)

I had mentioned in a previous entry that the Bronx zoo was going to be a separate post. It was such a beautiful fall day again in NY, that when we went to see the animals in the zoo, we enjoyed the fall foliage at least as much as them. The colors were breath taking. We didn't have the perfect camera at the perfect time, but still managed to capture some great moments in that amazing range of colors.

Derin also enjoyed his first Halloween party. I took him to the part at my work, where we had 68 kids attend. I had never seen the office like that. Was just a lot of fun with all the kids and adults in crazy costumes. Our group's theme was Angry Birds. I was amazed by the creativity of the team, who even created a sling to throw angry birds over the bricks. Kids had a blast!

Derin of course is still a little too little to know exactly what's going on, and he had not taken his nap just before the party, so he ended up spending most of his time next to my desk, with a few ventures outside to the other theme areas, and he came back to peace and quiet in my office after each time. Oh well. He still enjoyed being in a different environment and meeting new people.


I didn't put Derin in a costume for two reasons: One, he is a little guy who likes his cool (I mean, cool temparature), so putting him in a velour costume that'd make him sweat didn't seem like a great idea. And second, I just wanted him to know and enjoy what's going on. So for next year, whatever he wants to be, I'll help him be that.
PS: Do I look like an angry bird? No, I didn' t get any costume awards (but the team did!)

 

This is the sling of the Angry Birds team. It was great. Not a great picture though, sorry.

 

Just chilling out with mom...



Boo!

Ooh, all this candy packaging is shiny and crinkly! (he didn't eat a single one...I'll keep him away from candy for as long as I can...we'll see how long that will last, because if he's anything like his mom, he will have the capacity to devout a full jar of Nutella in one go. I hope he's not like me in that way).

 

Happy Halloween!



This was a few days before Halloween, and I tried this hat on him to see if it would make a costume. He didn't like it, but we thought he looked funny. Little boy-witch with a pacifier. Not very scawee :)

 

Happy Birthday DERIN EGE!!! (Sep 27, 2011)

Our little Derin Ege turned 1 on Sep 27th, 2011. We celebrated this very important milestone with some of his and our friends. As expected, he didn't get much of what's going on, but he definitely understood that he was the center of attention. He liked it most of the time. And when he didn't, we just let him be.

He started the day off very cheerfully, we got him some balloons, and let him play with them before the party started.

Good morning! and Happy Birthday!



 





Then it was time for our guests to arrive and start the party (and the cake was just delicious)





Grandma prepared all the food for the party, and they were delicious!



In oder from left to right: Pinar, Aziz, Pelin, Mehmet Kaan (sleeping in the other room), Derin Ege, Yuksel, Gokce, Gunay, Lennart, Oscar and Inge

 

Even Derin Ege's aunt Gozde celebrated with us, through Skype (so thankful for technology). She had bought this little lady bug cake, whose name in Turkish is "luck bug". And she said she bought that cake so that it would bring luck to our little Derin Ege. It was such a beautiful moment.  





Derin Ege and his friends.



Derin Ege's other friend Oscar

 

Derin Ege showing off his cool car...kidding...well, I hope he's not :)



As the night progressed (night? it was about 7:30 PM!), Derin and his friends started showing signs of tiredness, and it was time to call this a (crazy) night and send them all to bed.




Here is Derin, tired from socializing, and completely out.


Happy birthday little angle, who brought an undescribable joy to our lives.
We were two, now we are three.
May you enjoy many more birthdays in health and love.







Enjoying the Gorgeous Fall around New York (Sep-Oct 2011)

There's a lot more to see and do on the East Coast than I originally thought... Don't know why. Probably living on the West Coast for 9 years, and falling in love with its natural beauty, I was just not that open to what's out there in the East Coast. The more we see, the more we realize how beautiful it is around here. Our first fall (which was 2010), was kind of focused on other priorities with being pregnant and then Derin's birth and all....but this year we made an effort to see different places to enjoy this fall season, that I am liking more than ever. For those who do not know me well, fall and winter are not my favorite seasons. I love spring and summer. I could live in a place where you feel warm and wear light clothes the whole time. I know I know, if you don't have winter, how do you appreciate spring and summer, right? It is true, yet I still would be perfectly fine in a climate, say, like the one in Hawai'i. But it's too far in Hawai'i, so it'll need to be somewhere else if it will ever happen. All that said, fall colors are so vibrant and the climate so agreeable during fall around here, that I'm starting to like it, actually. But not sure if I'll ever "warm up" to winter. Haha.

Anyway, we made an effort to enjoy the fall by going to different places, and Derin LOVED them all, as it was all new and exciting for his spongy little brain to absorb and learn all those things:

• We started the season off in end-Sep with a trip to the city, to attend a festival, then hung around at Bryant Park to enjoy the rest of the day. 
• Another weekend in October we went to a farm in New Jersey somewhere, to buy organic produce and see how things are as they were too preparing for the season. 
• And yet another weekend we went to a place called Peddler's Village in PA, about 2 hrs south of where are. Beautiful quaint little village, whose economy depends on visitors like us, coming from all over.
• We also went to the Bronx Zoo one weekend in October, where we enjoyed the foliage as much as the animals...but that will be another blog entry.

Enjoy some photos from these visits...



Derin by the pond at the Bryant Park

  

First carousel ride!

 

 



Derin and his friend Mehmet Kaan at Bryant Park

  

Peddler's Village...This is our FIRST photo where all three of us are standing on 2 feet :)




That pumpkin was very comfy




Derin and grandmom waiting in the Philly soft pretzel line. They eat it w/ mustard. That was new to me. Didn't like it (the mustard. Pretzel was just fine) 




Who's your mummy? Get it? :) (who cares?!)





Aww...




Derin has the same clothes...but this is the farm in New Jersey. Derin didn't want to get off that little wagon.




Can you tell he's enjoying the ride? We all need to do that.





This was the second cat Derin saw in his life. They liked each other.



Derin liked the apples a lot, but had to take him away when he started licking them. How do you explain to the customers that "it's ok, he does this all the time"? (yes, yes, we bought the ones he licked...or did we? who knows...)



The farm was next to this little creek. I sat with Derin Ege, and watched him get dirty for the first time in the rubble by the river bank.




Talking about firsts: Derin enjoyed his first attempt of throwing stones in the water. What I have in my hand is a nice, flat stone - which would otherwise be perfect for stone-slipping (is that what it's called?). But I will wait to teach him that later. I gave it to him to just throw in the water. He threw it, and it almost made it to the water. Proud mom! :)




Going back home with our shopping bags full of yummy fresh produce




This was his face the minute you stopped for a moment. Again, talking about firsts, I think this was the first week he learned that he can ask for things by crying. We're still working on that.