Hanging Around Town (s)

Well one week left before baby girl Kirkbride rocks our world. So due to limited mobility and comfort from mom we have spent most our time the past couple months in town, either in air conditioning or visiting with friends. We are just about set to leave for Nelspruit South Africa on April 5th for a delivery on the 8th and subsequently 3 weeks or so there in a rented house waiting for a US passport to be secured so we might bring her back across the border to Mozambique. My sister has just arrived much to the joy of Adi and the elation of two soon to be parents again. I am very lucky to have four weeks off from work and we will certainly enjoy more western amenities than Maputo provides.

So until the day, we have been out and about a bit. Adi participated in a swim meet with best friend Leo at the local boat club. Think he came in first in the kick board race...

Mommy is having a moment with her new little one...

And in one last boys weekend I made it to Swaziland with a buddy for two days of muddy mountain riding and a great intake of nature.

Adi attending Leo's 5th birthday party. Clown and all...

And in our last SA pre-baby doctors visit weekend, we did some low-key walking around the local waterfalls while enjoying a wonderful little bed and breakfast.

Adi's Big Boy Bike

After riding balance bikes for the past couple years, Adi got his first real bike for his 4th birthday and after only using the training wheels for 1 week to figure out what he was supposed to do with pedals and brakes (other than his shoes), he got it. Of course the starting and stopping have their issues but for the most part he is on his way to be daddy's little riding partner. 

Holidays in the Tropics

Well as with most families, the holiday season for the Kirkbrides in Mozambique have been particularly eventful. Everything has almost become a blur since our hosting of 12 adults and 7 kids for a Thanksgiving feast which showcased our two imported turkeys from Brazil?? Since it is not a holiday for us out here, I only took that afternoon off but with the help of our nanny and cleaner we were able to slip into our tryptophan coma with a clean house and just enough energy left to head into work the next day.

That next weekend we FINALLY got away to Nelspruit, South Africa as a family without any hassle at the border for the first time since we moved to Mozambique (over a year/half ago). Amazing to think that in that long time Pranvera had to wait for her first Moz residence card, then become a US citizen, get an American passport then re-apply for another Moz residence card with the new passport and THEN, we were able to travel. Of course the weekend was timed perfectly to stock up on all the necessary birthday and Christmas presents needed for the holiday’s since there is very little quality items or selection that can be purchased (reasonably) in Maputo. Of course we stocked up on food items as well as if we were preparing for a natural disaster. BUT the main reason for our trip was for us to visit our new doctor who will be delivering our BABY GIRL in April. Not only did he confer the sex for us but we had a chance to get to know him and go over all the details of the baby. We are  very happy on all fronts.

Rather than staying in the town we got a great B&B in the hills north of the city where we relaxed and traveled the countryside to see waterfalls, drive through thousands of hectares of forest plantations, hike to several waterfalls and enjoy wonderful cooking. Our fist time out in nature in as long as we can remember. One of the things we most most about living in Maputo. Now that South Africa is not longer off limits and when Pranvera finally delivers #2, we hope to do much more of this again.

 

So with almost not enough time to even unpack from the trip, my sister Stacey arrived to stay with us for over 3 weeks. And during that time we celebrated Adi’s 4^th bday (early) that weekend to include all his school friends and parents still in town. He loves his new trampoline and a bunch of drawing, playing and building toys and games he received from friends and family. And of course the traditional master piece cake from Pranvera. The fire truck was a hit for Adi and all the other kids.

And that following weekend before we left town for our holiday getaway, we celebrated a Christmas afternoon early to exchange gifts and go out for a family meal. Adi received his first real bike, a tool bench builders set, Legos and other small gifts to enjoy. He was of course in excellent spirits and so excited Santa found him all the way out here even if there was no snow for him to land and it was before the real official Christmas day.

On the 21^st (Adi’s real Bday) we piled our gear into truck to head upcountry on a two day drive with the destination about 800km north of Maputo on the coast to a town called Vilankulos where we took a 4 seater Cesna for 15 minutes to land on an exclusive 2 resort Archipelago island called Bazaruto. Fortunately my organization has an office/apartment about  6 hours into the drive so we split it up over two days and were beachfront on the island by 11am on the second day. The flight was exciting for us all but the resort was all inclusive and over the top. From the perfect double room huts to the never ending buffet spread to the open bar to the game room (beat Pranvera in a couple matches of ping pong).  The service was wonderful and the other guests and kids were fun to interact with. We did a sunset kayak trip to the local fishing village, I did a fantastic coral reef scuba dive and we spend several days at neighboring beach with perfect ice blue water and nice waves Adi tried to ‘surf’ on. Of course it felt a little different than a traditional Xmas morning but we adapted. The resort had live music and wonderful candlelight Christmas eve meal as well as a poolside Christmas day feast. The pool was two tiered with a Jacuzzi, bridge, waterfall and shallow area where Adi finally shed his floaties !!  The weather was hot but always with a nice breeze and evenings cooled off with endless stars and absolute silence for us all to appreciate. Of course the 2 day return trip seemed to drag on but now that we find ourselves back in a cooled off/rainy Maputo with fully stocked fridge and our own beds we will ready for a low key New Years celebration and a sad goodbye to Stacey whose presence has been such a treat.