Learning

Zach has been learning how to sign and to talk. We've been working with him on please, more and all done signs for a long time, but he has just figured out "all done." Here is a little video of him showing off his new sign.Here is a quick video of Zach saying bye bye. He loves to wave and say it any time someone is leaving. He also says "Mama" "Da Da" and "Buba" for Belle.

More from Turkey

I'm now back from my trip to Turkey. We had a very profitable time there and are now much closer to making the short film in May. We did casting, location search, and nailed down lots of details for the production. Here are a few pictures from the trip...

This is me in front of the Blue Mosque the second night we were there.

Each morning we would cross one of the main bridges of Istanbul. We stayed in Asia, but would work each day in Europe. Here is the sign at the end of the bridge on the way in.

A look back at the bridge. Asia is on the far side.

Here's a little look at the city. It is really a beautiful place.

Here are some of the actors waiting to audition for the film. We were casting for a boy, a father, a merchant and a mother.

This was one of the boys who may get the part. He was only 10, but a very good actor.

If all goes well and we raise the rest of the money we need, we will be back to film in the last week of April. I'd appreciate your prayers for everything to come together for the film.

Valentines Ice Cream

You may be thinking it's a little late for Valentine's day... but we celebrated it a little late last week. Grandma Carla sent the kids money for an ice cream in their Valentine's day card and we just used it last week. We went to Amy's ice cream and got some for the kids, then went over to the marble cows and the kids had fun playing on them...

Zach enjoys a bite.

Belle and mommy finish up.

Zach & Belle on the white cow.

Zach on the red cow.

Zach & Mommy

Daddy climbs on with Zach & Belle

Tree huggers?

A couple of days ago, we had some people in looking at our house. While we were waiting, we sat outside by the big rock that Isabella loves to sit on. Eventually, after chewing on every stick he could find, Zach worked his way over to the tree and stood up. Isabella really wanted to climb the tree, but this was about as far as she could get.


Zach will turn one on April 3rd. It's hard to believe he is getting so big.

On my way...

Hello from the Chicago airport. I'm on my way back to Istanbul today to continue working on the pre-production for our next short film. We'll get there late Saturday night Austin time (Sunday about noon Turkey time.) On Monday we'll be meeting with a local production company along with our 2 directors and the director of photography that are all flying in from NYC today. I'd appreciate prayers for a safe and productive trip. Thanks! Chris

some fun comments

We have been practicing apologizing with Isabella. Yesterday, she said she was sorry for something not of huge significance. Well, afterwards she looked at me, said "Mommy, I love you!", and threw her arms around my neck. This is the first time she has said that unprompted.

This afternoon she came downstairs and said "Yook at me." She had her blankie in one hand, her baby doll, blanket, and bottle in the other hand. She remarked to me that she didn't have enough hands.

Tonight when I was feeding Zach before bed, he quit eating and looked at me and laughed. I laughed back at him which he thought was hilarious and kept laughing. So we just laughed at each other for the next 10 minutes. Who says you can't rile your children up before bedtime?!

I need my own tar

On Sunday, Liza told Isabella that she was not going to go to church because she was sick. Isabella thought for a moment and said, "But I don't have a tar. How will I get to church?" then added "I need my own tar." Liza said we could talk about it when she was 16. Since then, she often says things like, "When I sixteen and have my own tar, I drive to campus all by my self!"

Oh boy.

Little Helper

Zach is our little explorer. He likes to climb, he likes to look inside things, and he likes to "help" whenever he can. Here he is seen "helping" us with all those pesky Tupperware containers in the cabinet.
Later, he decided to "help" with the dishwasher.

Outfits

I was looking through pictures tonight and noticed a trend of outfits that Isabella likes to put together. Always unique and creative...

Faces

Zach has been making some new faces lately. Here are a couple of his funny ones.

Here's a quick video of him doing his favorite pass time... just click on the play button to watch.