The last week’s 20 degrees and sunshine lured me in during this deceptive weather, and now it was quite a shock to be thrown back to 5-degree mornings and overcast afternoons. But this cozy, nest-like mood is actually perfect for making the most of every moment that isn’t spent sleeping or eating, with a little cuddling and rolling around! I think my new favorite kind of weather is cozy-weather 🙂

Our pregnancy unfolded in such a way that the first trimester happened to coincide with a move, when we were looking at a home, a school for Rú, and an archery range for competition training all at once — shaping the first around the latter two. That’s how we ended up in Klosterneuburg, the suburban town by Vienna at the foot of Kahlenberg, where we found the right fit in every respect and where, in fact, we had started looking at properties about a year before the move. So in a way, we found our way back to where it all began. As we settled into the new place and…

Dear passing Time, I know I cannot stand in your way, and the more one tries to resist you, the more precious you become. But I am not writing to you now because I resent you for that, or because I do not understand how you work. Not because of the wrinkles you’ve left behind, etched on me by the days of my life spent with you. I simply want to thank you for everything you have taught me:Patience, when it goes most against my nature, yet with you I learned when to let my demons out and when to keep them on a leash. Clear-sightedness, when only a frozen…

Well, in our case, it’s far exceeded my expectations. Rú is an incredible person – you could entrust a newborn to him anytime. He changes diapers without hesitation, comforts him when he cries (and not only is he capable and willing, he’s genuinely delighted when this tiny human is soothed by him), holds him with a steady hand, and fully grasps his responsibility. I always knew he had exceptional social instincts that consistently amaze people in situations involving young children or the elderly, but experiencing this attitude toward his little brother day after day completely melts your heart. So, one-month-old Wolfie isn’t just growing rapidly – he’s maturing in such…

It’s utterly unbelievable that I gave birth to this baby a whole month ago – it feels so recent, and we’ve experienced so much since then. The month milestone fell on a Saturday, when the boys (the older ones) were at jiu-jitsu training, and we (with the littlest boy) walked all through Vienna’s morning streets. Sometimes it’s just a stroll, but most often it’s breakfast with a fine coffee and always something different for breakfast – which on this special day led to one of my favorite bakeries! While I had breakfast, Wolfie napped, and I got to video call my mom a bit from one of the terraces in…

Life can be lived in many ways, but I think most of it comes down to who you share it with.And when, in the most unexpected season, you suddenly find the right person in someone you’ve known for more than 10 years – someone you always only ever talked to as a friend – that’s when you truly realise he’d been right under your nose all along, it just hadn’t lined up in the stars yet for your lives to move in the same direction – until a certain point. 🙂 And if this man respects you, supports you, makes sacrifices for you, and at the same time has fire,…

I always used to say that if I ever had another child, I’d still happily sign up for a little girl…! And now look at me, here I am with this all‑boy family: one big strong one, one teenager (who already speaks two languages!), and a three‑week‑old, milk‑scented bundle of sweetness, each more brilliant than the other, and I honestly can’t imagine it any other way.And how do these boys feel about it all?It’s as if they’d just been waiting their whole lives for one another. ♥

Still only at half-mast, but we’re venturing out for an hour or so into the big wide world so Wolfie can get some fresh air, and I have an excuse to at least slap some face cream on.Laci’s Saturday training sessions are perfect for this, so while Rú sleeps off his school days in German on Saturday mornings (that we…???! first heard German words in September!), we air out our heads a bit.Cheers to our first little outings with this my little sack of oats!

Dear Reader, who has been following our story here in this little virtual nook for almost a decade now! Allow me to introduce the youngest member of the S&Rú diaries and the newest addition to our wolfpack: Wolfie! We’ve already been home for a week, spending our days in peace and a little bit up in the clouds, getting to know our new family model, getting used to the new sounds and needs, the changing dynamics and the extra layer of bonding that now fills our home. I’d almost forgotten what life with a newborn is like – the milky‑scented little head, the tiny hands, and that gaze that looks…

Compared to last week, when one evening really started out like there would definitely be a baby by morning, the contractions faded away just as quickly as they had come – and since then we’ve just been waiting and waiting. Not that pregnancy isn’t enjoyable, but this close to the end I really wouldn’t mind being past this whole pre‑birth quiet. Well, time is working in our favour, and in the meantime I get to enjoy the evening (or afternoon, or whenever I ask for it) massages, the delicious food the boys so kindly spoil me with, the thoughtful little gestures, and the endless rearranging of baby things that I…