Amara Update & the University Olympics

We went to Amara's 4 month appointment today and are happy to report that she had her best growth month ever this past month.  She now weighs 5kg or 11 lbs, which puts her in the 5th percentile.  And for length she's 58cm or 22.8 inches, which puts her in the 7th percentile.  She's obviously still a petite little girl, and might always be but we're glad that she's growing well and on the charts! 

In other random news....

You probably don't know this but the University Winter Olympics are taking place in Erzurum Turkey right now.  We've been enjoying watching on-line.  Although the commentating is in Turkish, if you like the Olympics you might be interested in watching.  Head to: http://www.trt.net.tr/Canli/canli.aspx?kanal=TRTHD&slv=0 and watch either TRT HD (which is where the link will bring you) or TRT 3.  Enjoy!

Amara with Mini-Me

 We met up with some American friends recently who had their little boy about a month after Amara was born.  It was great to see them and this photo was snapped of the two of them.....

Yes, Amara is sitting next to Mini-Me (like Austin Powers, Dr. Evil). 

You can tell that she's still a little squirt... it's not just the perspective of the photo.  She'll be 4 months in another 2 days!  I told her that even though she's small, she can still do more than her "big" buddy! :) 

And just because I'm sure you want a few more Amara pics....

 

A few Amara videos

Here's a few videos of Amara....

She received a bunch of presents for Christmas from some of our friends in Ames.

She's beginning to really suck on her fingers.

We recently visited some friends in Antalya, and  thought it was pretty funny when we put her in our bed one morning.

Just today Daddy was helping her fly.

She's getting to be such a big girl - it's fun to watch her grow and change more each day... we love the smiles and interactions we're getting more of all the time!

Transitioning Sooner Than We Thought…

            We'd like to let you know, if you haven't heard already, that in mid-February we are transitioning from life here to go back to Dan's parents' dairy farm and begin taking over there.

    At heart Dan has always been a dairy farmer, and thought this might eventually happen but it is happening sooner that we anticipated.  Along with a variety of reasons, one of them is that at the beginning of December we found out suddenly that Dan's mom has been diagnosed with cervical cancer, causing her to not be able to work full-time on the farm as she normally does.

    As we began to process these events and how they related to our time here, we realized that it was time to begin closing this chapter in our life and opening in the next.  

    We're more so moving TO Dan's family farm than we are FROM Turkey and hope to keep some connections here.  When we first arrive back we'll be spending a couple weeks with family, as Dan's cousin is getting married and his brother & family will be visiting from Florida.
   

     Our plan from there is to live for awhile in Dan's brother's home in Iowa that hasn't sold but is close to his parents' house.  Dan will be helping in whatever way he can on the farm, as well as doing some other part time work to fill in any gaps.

            We are looking forward to seeing many of you as we return.  Look for e-mails & blog posts with times to come see us in Ames, Clarksville, MN and perhaps even beyond!