our first visitor

We were very excited when Erlend's brother asked if he could come and visit us since he had to go to South East Asia anyways for work.

So these are just random pictures that I got off of his phone.

went for a drive up the mountain

some of roads were really rough

I think this is not what it looks like - not sure though...

selfie

needed some air for the rough roads

had to take him to the animal market of course

 what is seen as a cool bike here

 had another visitor in the garden today

they kinda sit in the same way :-)

took him to some local restaurants

not sure if he liked the duck restaurant

 snacks are also a bit different

 Of course he also took lots of pictures of this cutie - she is learning to eat by herself

 cuddles with pappa

deep talks with onkel Helge 

(about his wasted youth according to his t-shirt)

she did this during lunch - maybe because of the 'Supergirl'-T-shirt she was wearing

 She thoroughly enjoyed hanging with her onkel Helge - or how she calls him - "ge"

the zoo

Today we had the awesome opportunity to go to the zoo with some friends.

 Alia watched a tiger eat a goats leg - apparently there was also an earthquake here while this picture was taken - I didn't feel a thing... maybe because I never experienced an earthquake before and did not know what it feels like

 Erlend's favorite animal

 Alia loves showing where she wants to go - and our friend Ragil was happy to oblige.

Erlend has often gone to his house in the evenings to talk and hang out so finally today we got to spend time with him and his family

 It was a very interactive zoo - lots of opportunity to hold animals

 Alia held and kicked her first snake

two cuties :-)

not wrong, just different #3

Erlend saw these guys hanging up posters for the upcoming election.
Who needs a ladder if they have a friend, right?!? :-)

yet another birthday party

Today was Alia's actual birthday, so we decided to have a little party for our neighbors. I know what you are thinking - didn't she just have a huge birthday party? Yes, but that one was mostly for Westerners as birthday parties here are quite different than what we would be used to.

It was a great opportunity for us to build deeper relationships with our friends and neighbors and learn loads about culture at the same time.

We are so thankful for our little sunshine God has blessed us with. 

A year ago we were holding this tiny little being who we instantly fell in love with. 

Today we look back on a year full of changes and we are thankful for a baby who has handled all of them so so well - what a treasure God has entrusted us with!

Sorry that most of the pictures are not very good quality, they were taken with a camera phone in a dark room....

 birthday girl proudly presenting her dress that she got one year ago from friends (thank you Mike and Annemarie!)

our diligent helpers and I prepared a traditional birthday food - yellow rice with chicken

we packed about half of it in little plastic containers for the guests to take home after the party

 Alia enjoyed all the attention 

 if there are not enough seats for everybody, the furniture is taken out of the room and mats put on the floor 

                        you can't tell from the pictures, but all together we had 33 guests today

 she ate so many snacks (by herself), we had to shower her after the party

birthday party

Ok, so just a few minutes later I already have the pictures of my friends so here enjoy - and if you do not know what I am talking about, read the last blog - post it is only a few hours old....

Alia did not like sitting on that blanket - she is not into posing

decorations inspired by pinterest

oh yeah - all in

 I want to take a moment to point out that my husband made that artsy banner on the cake

a photo timeline of both girls

with her tante Kristine

Alia just wants to get away from us - wonder why :-)

these fruit skewers were a hit with the kids - even though there was loads of candy around

the proud dads

photobooth fun

sneak peak

Today Alia had her 1st birthday party.
It is a tiny bit early as her real birthday is 10 days away, but it was a shared party with her little neighbor and friend who had her first birthday already in December, so we thought we would choose a date in the middle....

Here a little sneak peak, I will post the more professional pictures that some of our friends took, as soon as I get them.

wondering what the party might bring

the dessert table

 notice any difference? 

 at some point Alia had enough of all the picture taking

Alia is wondering how she ended up with parents who are this weird

best medicine

Today we came home from school to a very feverish, teething little girl. There are 3 kicking in at the same time so she had a hard day.

What a great day for a package from Tante Doro to arrive! (even though we just found out we should have waited to open the package until our birthdays - sorry, Doro, we forgot!)

We got lots of sweets, I got an awesome jewelry box with earrings, Alia got a wooden toy and Erlend got some foreign currency banknotes for his collection and another speciality from Cuba (where my sister vacationed this summer) that will not be named on this blog :-), but let's just say he was extreeeeemly excited!

See how red her cheeks are? She was burning up but still so happy about her awesome little new wooden toy car from Cuba

1st day of school

Today we started the school part of our language study which means that instead of studying with tutors at home, we get to go (or HAVE to, if you ask Erlend :-)) to a local language school for 4 hours every day.

If you are not German or familiar with our traditions, let me explain to you a very important part of a first school day.

Every German child gets a "Schultüte" (school bag) on their first day of school, which is usually filled with candy and fun school stationary stuff.

My German teammate and I decided that it just be plain wrong to have a first day of school without a Schultüte, so we made one for each of our co-workers who started school with us today.

 all of us proudly holding our Schultüten

look at all the individualization on there - of course there had to be flags and currency for Erlend

 Alia was very intrigued by them and tried to steal them all, but we caught her just in time