Pirate in the house

For the past six months or so, we've been talking to Niklas about giving his pacifier to "Kaptein Sabeltann" (a very popular character among kids in Norway; similar to "Captian Hook"). Though he's only used it in the car and to fall asleep, it was still very important to him. So at the end of July, we set course for "Dyreparken in Kristiansand", an amusement park and zoo all in one. Kristiansand is located in the southern most part of Norway, about a 3 1/2 hour drive from our home. At "Dyreparken" they have many different areas and one of them is Kaptain Sabeltann's domain. They have a tower with treasure chests overflowing with pacifiers - it's quite the sight! As Niklas climbed the stairs as so many Norwegian kids have done before him, it was quite sentimental (at least for Marit and I!). He starred for a few moments in awe of all the pacifiers in the chests, with his own collection of pacifiers in a Ziploc bag. Except for the one he had in his mouth. (He'd asked to have it all day, almost as if he knew it was his last moments with it.) He then proceeded to throw his own bag in with the others and stood there for a while. Marit reminded him of the one he had in his mouth, and he took it out and threw it in with the others. It was hard for him to do, we could tell. But he never complained or backed down from his decision. As we walked down the stairs, Marit had to put on her sunglasses to hide a few tears. I tell you, it was hard to see your son give up his most cherished possession (well, other than his blanket)! But my, we were so proud of him!! As we got back to the stroller w/Emma, Niklas got a pirate costume, complete with sword and all. We included a card from "Kaptein Sabletann", telling him he'd now become a real pirate! Pictures to follow:

Congratulations, Lynette and Bob!

Just wanted to say a big congratulations and welcome to the world, little Rayne Christian. My sister and her husband had their second beautiful baby boy in the end of June (26th to be exact).

17th of May

So, in the spirit of catching up, here's a few pictures from our [unseaonably cold, windy & rainy] 17th of May celebration:

Good times

Shortly after we arrived home from Florida, we had another birthday party for Niklas. (We had to do our annual, chaotic, "have all of Niklas' little friends over as well as ours", birthday bash.) Much fun was had by all. And as a HUGE added bonus, a dear old friend from our time at Newbold came on a surprise visit.
Much to Bryan's luck, his arrival coincided with Niklas' birthday bash. Lots of small [loud] kids running around and a house full of our Norwegian friends seems to be the perfect remedy for jet lag. After all, he'd only travelled from Indonesia. And what a great energy boost for his job interview the following day! (We are happy to report that he of course was indeed offered the job.)
Kidding aside, we had a great couple of days together and simply loved getting to spend time with our dear old friend again. We hope it won't be another 3-4 years until next time! (It better not be, Bryan!) And next time, we want to see Catherine and your two adorable boys, too!

Opening presents with aunt Line

Emma with Annette

Birthday cake

Pals

Trying out some of his gifts

With Bryan

Sweetness

Good times!

Catching up - Part 1

I can't believe how long it's been since we last posted anything. Things have been really busy around here, and unfortunately computer time has been rather non-existent lately. We promise we'll do better.

Our trip to the States was wonderful, and we enjoyed every minute of it. A few pictures to follow, and for a gazillion more, click here.

At a beautiful, local park in Florida

Water fun at Daytona Beach

We got to celebrate Niklas' 3rd birthday with Grandma and Grandpa

Two cool dudes at the beach (Niklas and cousin Nikolai)

Emma and daddy

At Disneyworld (Niklas and Emma's 2nd time, already. At this rate, they'll know the park like the back of their hand in no time!)

Mickey Mouse is a favourite in our house

Small, funny things...

...that Niklas has said or done lately:

• Sneeks up on you while he's walking backwards (thinking he cannot be seen) and then turning around and saying "BOO!"
• Says "I don't love that so much" ("Jeg elsker ikke det så mye") when there is something he is not too keen on eating
• When trying to get Niklas to eat just a little bit more, we sometimes say "3 more bites ok?". He'll often respond very seriously: "Ok, but not 1, not 2 and not 5!"
• When asked which icecream he would like in the store the other day, he simply concluded "I love ALL of them!"

Another in the oven!

We are thrilled to let you know that we are expecting another little one. Wow, we will soon be a family of five! Many of you are probably thinking we must be crazy (and the thought has crossed our minds), but for some reason it just feels like it was meant to be (another piece of the puzzle).

Here is a sneak peak at our little banana from a few weeks back: (click on the picture to see it larger)

Coming to America

It's finally time for our next trip to the States to visit Grandma and Grandpa! We'll be staying in Florida (just outside Orlando) for just under 4 weeks (between March 25 and April 19).

We cannot wait to have Niklas and Emma meet Grandma and Grandpa again and also have a few weeks together as a family to relax and recharge our batteries. If any of you happen to be anywhere close to where we are, let us know. We would love to see you!

Niklas, the Lion

A while back, Niklas' school had a carneval day. He chose (he really did choose himself!) to go as a lion and here's what he looked like:

They had lots of fun, including a parade around inside the school, face painting, and a "disco" (LOL - I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall). Funny story; after looking forward to the carneval and getting to wear his lion suit for days, he of course didn't want to put it on the morning of the carneval (we kind of expected that one). So we put it in his back pack, thinking he'd want it on eventually. Not even 10 minutes after leaving him there, a picture of Niklas in his suit, complete with face paint and all, ticked in on Roland's cell phone!

Catching up...

In the spirit of catching up, here's finally pictures from Emma's first birthday. There are too many to post them all here, but if you would like to see more, click on the picture of Emma below.

Emma's first birthday!