On our way home

A small update from Frankfurt Airport, waiting for our next flight to Oslo. Emma was very happy to get her first passport, although a temporary one. She did very well for a first long haul, and made more happy sounds than crying ones. The bassinet was probably not so comfortable, so a few times she fell asleep in her mothers arm. That felt good for all three of us!

Table Mountain

 Fantastic views from the top! Nice to be there with two other Norwegian families! The day after it was completely covered, so we were lucky. Afterwards we had dinner on our favourite belgian restaurant at the Waterfront!

Arrival home - 24.9

Last Friday we went through the last phase of the adoption procedure.

Even though Emma Rose is now officially a Norwegian citizen and we are officially her parents, she still needs a passport for us to be able to travel home to Norway.

The Honorary Consulate of Norway here in Cape Town recently moved into new offices, and were very friendly to assist us with our application.

Emma charmed the people at the office as usual 

🌹😍

Aquarium

Visiting the aquarium and having dinner at the Waterfront. 

Emma Rose was feeded at the same time AS the Pinguins.

Another very enjoyable family day.

Emma loved to see all the lights and colours and fishes. 

Spier wine farm

We have had some troubles posting to the blog, but all is well.
Spier wine farm was fantastic - beautiful gardens, and got to see the king protea - national flower of South Africa. Wine tasting with chocolate for the moms and premium taste for the dads and porridge for the kids:-)

Noen favoritter

It is almost weird to think that we have only been here two weeks, and been a family for 1,5 weeks. It just feels so natural to be a family of the three of us. I keep having the feeling that all events have led to this moment in life, when the pieces all come together.

And it was such a relief when we also figured out how to solve the nights. We know when shes hungry (haha, everyone can hear that), needs a nappy change or need a nap. We can also follow her development which seems to improve every day. Also we discover new games, like pickaboo when she herself will cover up her face with a blanket and drag it down again. We all love that, although it is Maartens invention:-)

When I look up to the night sky, the southern cross is hanging above us and reminds us of where we are, and how lucky we are to be here.

Team Emma on a day trip

Today we went in a day trip, by car, from 0900 to 1730. Emma did impressively we'll coping with both heat, irregular sleep/awake, feeding and scenery enjoyment, car seats and other randomness.

We took her to Cape Point and Kaap de Goede Hoop.

Along this trip, we also passed near her place of birth: Fishhoek/Vishoek. A very special place for her and for us, as well as for a good friend of hours.

Tomorrow we are off to wineyards so stay tuned!

NorSA

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>>>> Yesterday we visited a project by NorSA in a Township near Wellington.
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>>>> NorSA is an organization doing a lot of good work down here in South Africa, with the help of donations from several sources in Norway and beyond.
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>>>> Facilities are not really comparable to what we are used to, but it was good to see that they are doing well with the financial support that they get. Money is well spent on structural improvements like the hygiene, the kitchen, education of social workers, food, and other supplies.
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>>>> Walking around their schooling facilities, we noticed a lot of wisdom on the walls throughout the buildings. Dreams, ambitions, respect, wisdom and awareness are key elements that are repeated many times.
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>>>> In addition, we visited one of the baby homes run by NorSA. Several small new arrivals were taken care of in an impressively caring, cosy and professional way.
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>>>> We were able to donate clothes, diapers and other supplies that unfortunately had recently been stolen.
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>>>> A special day, with many impressions that touched heart and sole, but also showed that supporting NorSA is something good, with a short route from fundings to actual improvements on-site.
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>>>>

Kirstenbosch

Today we had our first day trip as a family of three. We took a trip to the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch. Strolling around in beautiful surroundings.

Team Emma, as we started to call it, did very well!
Sleeping, eating, nappy/changing, laughing, strolling and playing, all on the go!
Yes, even time for a lunch and a beer together with Emma Rose.

It felt good to be out for the day, and we will certainly go find more interesting places to visit in the weeks to come.

Exhausted

Emma's parents look not at all that different after a day out on adventures ;-)

Et par favoritter

Hun sjarmerer oss i senk!!