Our journey

Monday, February 25, 2008

Happy Dance

Selah has started saying a few words that we can actually understand. Her first word was "Hi" and she says it so well; "hi-ee"--it is adorable. A few days later she started saying, "baby" when looking for her baby doll. And, as of yesterday, she says "no no no" and shakes her arms vigorously back and forth when we are doing something she doesn't want to do. Everytime I read a book that shows an animal or person sleeping, I say, "shhhh...they're sleeping." Today, she put her finger to her mouth and said "sssss" right after I did it.

She also has taken to doing little dances pretty regularly. My favorite is the bathtime happy dance. She gets excited when we ask her if she's ready for a bath and runs to the bathroom and looks in the tub. As soon as the clothes come off, she does the happy dance. Of course, as any good dancer knows, she must move to the tile to be able to strut her stuff.

If you'll remember the footage of Uncle Don dancing at Stephanie's wedding in November---I think she may get some of her moves from him. Enjoy.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Good Trip, Inconvenience Averted

We just returned from a very enjoyable working vacation of sorts from a nearby city. We stayed w/ some very good friends. Our flight home yesterday morning was delayed and then cancelled. We didn't find out about the cancellation until we had already waited for about an hour and the terminal and Selah was getting antsy to say the least. I was not looking forward to trying to use all of my language ability to arrange a different flight home. I had pictured a difficult conversation followed by my understanding that we were going to have to sit in the airport all day waiting for an empty flight with a tired and hungry kiddo. Thank the Lord that the conversation was easy and we got on the very next flight that left about 15 minutes later. It's important for me to not overlook that kind of blessing when it comes to acknowledging God's purely good providence in our lives. Thank you, Lord.At the park, Selah enjoys a teething biscuit all over her face.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Sevgililer Günü

We also celebrate Valentine's Day in our new home!! I don't know how to say it correctly but I'll give it a shot:

İyi Sevgililer Günleri!

Love,
Ryan, Laura and Selah

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Opening Presents

Selah LOVES to open presents--who doesn't? I have been chastised by my family for many years about my pathetic responses when I open presents. I've worked hard over the past years to be more expressive about my gratitude and joy. I've decided to start taking notes from Selah. She's great. This video was taken a few weeks ago after the package from Aunt Becca, Uncle Dave, Sara Kate, Ama and Grandaddy and Uncle Bill and Aunt Mindy came. We had been waiting for about 5 or 6 weeks for the package (the Christmas rush slows mail everywhere)! Since then we've learned that a padded envelope arrives in 7 days. Amazing.



In other news, we're heading out to see some friends for a few days. We're pretty excited about the change of scenery and some R&R time. We're hoping Selah will enjoy the plane ride and some time playing with three boys!!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Pointy Hair

Selah is growing. She is walking so well, and her hair just gets longer and longer. People here have hinted (some subtly, some not so subtly) that we should cut it, but then we couldn't give her cool hair styles like this.