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In the final part of our summer  Troy Destan’s father arrived in Datca, but before he could show off his swimming skills he peaked a fever of 103F and we rushed to the hospital in Marmaris and admitted him with bronchitis/pneumonia. The background story to getting sick? Perhaps not fully recovery from chicken pox. Perhaps pseudonomas bacteria creeping up to his lungs. Perhaps Daddy carrying the swine flu from the plane. Perhaps, in our enthusiasm that Daddy had arrived and a misguided attempt to clear his sinuses, dipping him in the water to many times, which may have contributed to his acquiring a bacteria from the water and getting sick. Definitely dehydration.  So after one miserable night of watching him shiver and in fever, we ended up in a room at the hospital.Our little guy slept and slept and we watched TV and were grateful he was going to get better. We just imagined we were on a cruise sitting in our cabin, and that helped time go away. Plus the hospital was in the tourist district and nightclubs were playing music till 2am. So time passed and before we knew it we were back in Datca.

In Datca we celebrated Troy’s recovery with a dinner on the iskele. Joining us were both sets of grandparents, both greatgrandmothers,  great-aunts. The sunset was beautiful and we took lots of pictures. For the rest of our stay Troy did not go back in the water, and he didn’t show much interest anyway. He was perfectly happy riding his tricycle, playing in the park, going boating.

The list of relatives who arrived in Datca got longer and longer. His great grandmother’s brother came, his Babaanne’s sisters came. Two cousins, Isil from Daddy’s side and Cana from Mommy’s side came. It was the most crowded we’dever been in Datca!

Getting in the taxi cab to leave we were surrounded by family. It was a happy moment in an otherwise heartfelt goodbye.

After many many months of “Ucaga binicem, Istanbula gidicem” Troy Destan arrived in Istanbul on July 23rd. His first question as we waitied for our bags at the airport…..”Is this California?”  So funny! We spent a relaxing 2 nights at Doruk amca’s house where the watchdog “Tarcin” became “Tavsan” and we celebrated Christmas in July as Troy thanks to Doruk.  As expected he went to bed at 3am, woke up at 11 am, and skipped naps. Bt thanks to TV and Doruk being a night owl it went by smoothly. Our first stop in family visit was to Troy’s great grandmother and great great grandmother! What a lucky boy to be in their presence! In  he discovered the ice cream shop and made more than one trip for his favorite flavor sade.

Next stop was Ozcan Nine’s new place in Fenerbahce.  It is walking distance to the Marmara shore and the playground, plus we had many visitors to the house so he was happy. Everytime he wanted to go out of the aprtment he would say “Ben Istanbula gidicem” and one day wehn I was trying to figure out how to go to Levent to visit my freind he asked me “Where is your car?” Such a funny kid.

We caught a flight to Datca on a Thursday, and once we arrived I realized the mosquito bites I noticed the day before is probably chicken pox! Thank goodness he was on antibiotics before we even came to Turkey since we though he had developed a cold. But cold, vomiting, fever, coughing, are all symptoms of chiken pox. The 2nd day he went to summer camp we received a letter hat one of the students had it, so I figured that was it. But it did not impcat his mood, or the fun he has been having at the beach and playground. But instead of his Turkish flourishing he has been speaking English at an incredible new pace. Probably thanks to camp, just like chicken pox!

For pictures check out Flickr!

July 6 was the start of an exciting day for Troy Destan. 2 week camp! We referred to it as “Camp School,” practiced him eating out of a lunch bag,  and told him about all the new friends he would make. Well, Day 1, 2, & 3 I came to pick up him up after 3 hours only to find his eyes red and filled with tears. Apparently he spent most of the session crying, wouldn’t go swimming with the other children, or eat his lunch. Interestingly, at home he had lots to tell us about his day: dancing, wiggling, magic show, big snake and kimono dragon from the zoo.  The next 3 sessions went by better, and he would eat his lunch and not be crying when I came to pick him up. The other children in his class were so friendly, always running to him when he walked in, or trying to hold his hand on the way to the pool. Troy was much more friendly with the children in Kindermusic, probably because Mommy was with him! We did an Oceans & Beaches themed class accompanied by another awesome Kindermusic CD (thanks Miss Charlotte!), and he absorbed the content really well, memorizing story lines such as  “I like the beach!”

His Turkish is also expanding, he is making a real effort. For example, for the ending “miyorum” he says “miyom-miyom-miyom-miyom.” Istemiyorum is Istemiyomiyomiyomiyom. Or Gelmiyorum is Gelmiyomiyomiyomiyom. Hopefully in Turkey he will fix those endings after hearing other children speak!

Troy Destan has a busy schedule this summer. Besides going to the beach close to his house he is spending the last week of June in Hatteras with his parent’s friends from Aktur. Ali and Adriana came from New York and Tolga and Cathy from San Francisco. And 7 month old Derrin made his first trip on an airplane to visit his Troy agabey. In Hatteras he is busy playing with the waves, riding the boat to go catch fish, and he enjoys the nightly dinner of fresh fish.  He spent many hours on Tuesday on the boat and the first thing he said when we entered the marina was “Ne yiyecez?” and when we asked him what he wants his reply was “Dondurma.”  Kitesurfing, boating, fresh fish–he is his daddy’s boy, and a lot of fun to travel with (as always). We are so proud of you Troy!

Troy Destan has been supervising construction at our house!  He is watching all the action outside together with his grandparents, who arrived safely. Anneanne is learning so much from Troy, she says he is “Harika cocuk!” Today after his vest Anneanne asked “Kac dakikka yaptin?” Bir eli ile “1” isareti yapti. Diger eli ile “5” isareti yapti = 15!! He did it 15 minutes! Then Anneanne turned to Yavuz dede and said “Bu cocugun matematigi iyi olucak, senin gibi, sende matematik ogretmeniydin hatirliyormusun?” (we are always reminding Yavuz dede of his past), and Troy jumped in and said “O da Babaanne gibi ayni.”  Nasil biliyor Babaanne ogretmen?  Sasirdik kaldik, ve her zaman dedigimiz gibi “Bu cocuk her seyi biliyor!” dedik.

Troy Destan helped alot around the house while his Daddy was away in a Tournament in North Carolina. He and his friend Evar cut the grass for me! When his Daddy came back (his first question to Atil was “Balik nerede?”) and we learned he won the First Place prize Troy was  proud and posed for pictures.

Last weekend was a busy one for Troy. Saturday morning he attended the 3rd birthday party for his BFFs Nikolas & Valentina. Crafts, games, cakes, socializing with other 2 year olds, you can see from the pictures on Flickr he had a wonderful time. Knowing that whenever we leave Nikolas & Valentina’s house that Troy cries, the moment there was a crowd at the door at the end of the party I scooped him up and we went straight for the car. As I sat him in his carseat I noticed that the twins were  standing right next to us. Troy was in a very good mood as we drove off and quickly fell asleep. One hour later when he opened his eyes he started crying for Nikolas & Valentina.He probably thought we were all going somewhere together and was sooooo disappointed! We rested at a 7-11 where he went straight to the slurppie machine and got a coke & cherry slurppie.

Our destination was Maryland, so we stocked up on chips, cookies & fruit. The next 2 hours went by quickly, we watched  motorcyles and trucks and listened to musc. Marjorie, Sibel, & Pauletter greeted us and we had a wonderful dinner together.Troy cuddled with Sibel on the couch. Sunday morning Paulette prepared a wonderful breakfast for us, then we got ready for Katie’s baby shower–the main event of our weekend visit. It was an awsome event and Troy was on his best behavior. The pictures say it all. We spent Monday with JoJo who took a day off work to be with us. On Jojo’s refrigerator there are many pictures of Troy. In one of them he kept asking “Daddy saklaniyor?” pointing to a building (actually an ancient Mayan ruin) in the background. So now I know to send Jojo a picture of Atil for her fridge!

As soon as we entered our house in VA he called out “Dede!” Then told me “Dede Istanbulda.” In Maryland Troy asked alot of “nerede” questions for the people I always tell him are in Maryland but we did not see: Dost nerede? Kelley nerede? Max nerede? Followed by “Istanbulda?” So he knows there is a place called Istanbul, a place called Maryland, a place called Virginia Beach. I thought this was a great intellectual development until tonight when he asked “Komur nerede? Istanbulda?” But then he smiled and we knew he was exaggerating!

As of today’s clinic visit Troy’s height is 90.6cm and weight is 12.3 kilograms. That places him at a BMI-for-age at the 13th percentile. Our goal is 30% to 50%! The nutritionist said that we should try to feed him 400 calories three times per day and 300 calories one time per day. Up to now I have always counted fat,  so we will start to count calories more carefully. When he came home from the clinic he watched the thunder and lighting outside and ate a bowl of macaroni and cheese. I don’t want him eating on the couch but he wanted to be close to the storm!

As for chest physical therapy, I explained I am not using a second drug they gave us for the nebulizer because I have read results are not proven for children under 6 (plus the co-pay at the pharmacy is $200!).  I was told that if we are committed to physical therapy with the vest or our hands we can help his lungs tremendously without the second drug. But if there is  inflammation we will have to start using it. So now we have a second chance to keep him on albuterol, enzymes, and manual/vest therapy only!  Troy–I need your help on this so please cooperate!

For the past two months it felt like it rained more than it did not, so we did not get to do some of our favorite  outdoor activities with  Troy’s Babaaanne & Dede, like visit Colonial Williamsburg, play mini golf, visit the Zoo, or the Botanical Garden. The day before their trip back to Istanbul we squeezed in a visit to the Botanical Garden. Dede wanted Troy to see the airplanes close up next door at the airport. It was a fun afternoon, which included an “ouch” moment when Troy tripped. 

Later we went to Marina Shores for dinner where Troy ate most of his Daddy’s tuna, and topped it off with a brownie sundae. We also had a surprise visit from Baki, whom Troy last saw on the day he was born in 2006!  Today when his grandparents were leaving Troy said “Ben Istanbula gidicem. Yemek yiyecem.”  And to clarify he added “Ayse ile gidicem” just so there wouldn’t be any confusion as to when and who he would be going with! He waved goodbye to his grandparents, and played with a few ballons his dad gave him.

Our boy Troy has been enjoying cay saati in the dining area we set up in the sun room. Each session is opened up with a slam of the table and Babaaanne cay gitir! A few times I overheard him say Cay gitirsene be! and hit the table with his hands, hopefully it’s just a phase! Dedesi ile serefe diyip, bir yudum icip, sonrada ohhhh diyor. Cay bardagin dibindeki bali’i da bitiriyor. Sonunda bitirdim diyip kalkiyor…..