Merry Christmas...

... everybody. And a happy new year.

A reason to celebrate...

After almost 2 months of interrupted nights, baby Rubens slept through seven and a half hours last night - alleluia! Though this left Kati so worried that she still didn't get enough sleep ;) Cutiepie is eating and growing so fast, he's exploding his clothes and we get to buy new ones practically every week. Not that Kati has a problem with shopping for clothes! The best thing is that he started to smile which makes us go "awww" on a regular basis. While Kati's life is all about diapers, breast pumps and baby talk, poor Guim is trying to survive the crazy Christmas season at Toys R Us - with a smaller budget, less employees and hence more working hours. Our Chrismas wish: a new job for Guim! By the way, for those of you who wonder: you can really witness the reduction of purchasing power - if you overlook the caddies full of toys worth 2000 Euros people cart out of there - appalling!
Stay warm, happy and healthy everybody!

Thank you...

...everybody for congratulations and good wishes on baby Rubens birth. We're sorry if we haven't gotten back to some of you personally yet, but this tiny bundle of love kind of keeps us busy ;) Here come the promised pictures:

Hello little human being...

..Hello Rubens. This is your mommy writing. Today at 8:36 pm 4 weeks ago you were born and it is high time to welcome you officially on this blog. The French-German Reconciliation team needs your support.

Time is flying - you are almost one month old. I remember how my emotions came tumbling when the doctor put you on my belly. I was shaking, felt like crying and laughing, all at the same time. I couldn't comprehend that you were there. That everything went well, that you were breathing, moving your little fingers, trying to open your beautiful big eyes... And I felt so much awe, so much respect for you for going through these difficult hours with me. Now you are lying behind me on the bed - sleeping so peacefully - and I realize how much you have become my reason. How much life makes sense with you. I want to protect you - for the rest of my life. Yes, that's what I want. I love you. Your mommy.


Now that your mum told you how she feels about you, it is my turn to express my joy and pleasure. You came in our lives only about a month ago and already you brought so much happiness to us. I do remember that when you showed you cute little mug for the first time, I was lost because I did not want to hurt you. You looked so precious and fragile, and as you can see I am not your typical delicate ballet dancer. I remember thinking that you were the most beautiful thing that I ever laid eye on (you're right, your mother is a very pretty sight too). Now I cannot stop looking at you and I am constantly hoping to get a glimpse of that pretty smile you gratify us with from time to time. I also promised myself I would never use baby-talk with you, but you just trigger that and I cannot help myself but being overjoyed with love and tenderness. Thinking you are my son brings sometimes a tear of joy to my eye and I sure hope you will bring many more tears like these in the future.
With all my love,
Your daddy who loves you sooooooooo much.

3 weeks...

...were too long to wait for our little son - he decided to join us 19 days early. Rubens Guillaume Sarthou was born on Thursday October 9th at 8:36 pm. 3 seconds later Kati and Guim fell in love with this cute little guy. Having him with us is pure bliss. Here he is - 10 minutes after coming unto this world. More pictures to come soon!

3 weeks...

...to go until we become parents. 3 more weeks as a great imitation of a beached whale. Emotions are changing by the hour from incredibly happy to excited to terrified, mortified, petrified! How will the little guy change our lives? Are we ready? Anyways, we molded the baby belly in plaster to keep it for eternity (proof below) and now it's time to unpack and repack the maternity bag for the 15th time...

Guim's 30th birthday...

...a little late, but we didn't want to keep them from you: the pictures of Guim's surprise party for his 30th birthday. Kati got him good - he didn't have the slightest idea of what was coming at him!

It was a...

...lovely week in July. Sunny weather, very hot. The perfect occasion to enjoy the beaches of southern France. However, we spent it working on the babyroom. Guim sacrificed his home office and the grandparents came to help. It turned out beautifully, didn't it?

An update on...

...the baby bump: ready to explode with an "outie" belly button. Still 2 months and a half to go. In the summer heat of southern France! Help!
We're getting very close to having everything ready and Kati really needs to stop buying baby things. She could buy the clothes for the next 12 years already. They're so cute! Baby-boy is a kicker and needs music to calm him down in the evening. Needless to say, we're starting to wonder what he's going to look like. Why can't the belly have a zipper so we could check?! Vote in the poll if you want to help us.

It's been exactly one year...

...that we left Japan. Reason enough to make a little video tribute to the wonderful time we had and the wonderful people we met there. We shed a few tears while putting it together. Hope you like it! We'll be back!

And Kati was right...

...we're having a little baby boy! I guess we all know which sport he will play. Everything is going great! "Mini-us" is very active and loves to jump around in Kati's belly - especially when she sits down to rest. Daddy is as proud as a peacock and mommy can't stop smiling. And of course, the belly won't stop growing...

The wallpaper, carpet and furniture have been chosen and are waiting for grandpa to come from Germany and fix the baby room. Lots of love to all of you from a happy little family of 2 and 1/2.

Help...

Kati's baby belly has started to grow. It's been literally exploding for 3 weeks. Proof below!

Allow me to introduce myself...

"Tadpole." – I am going to be Kati & Guim's first baby. My parents are still making fun of my size, but everybody has to start small… On the photo, I am only a little over 12 weeks old and I've just discovered that sucking my thumb is a lof of fun. At the end of October, you will be able to admire me in full size and high definition 3D.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you.

An unseasonably warm February weekend...

...pulled lots of people out of the city and to the beach - us included! Ahhh, la dolce far niente!
Sending you warm spring wishes - a little early!

Carcassonne...

...a medieval city in the southeast of France with an enormous citadel became the destination for Kati's parents second visit to the land of cheese and wine. After seeing that, we decided we have to go back there for the 14th of July fireworks. Amazing!

Itadaki mas...

We finally got around to trying out our "Sayonara" present! What do you think?

Omedetou gozaimasu...

Happy new year everybody! Guim and I just got back from a little getaway on the "Ile de Re" - 3 days of relaxing thalasso therapy, warm saltwater pools, excellent food, walks on the beach...! We really needed to shake off the stress of the last months and that was definitely the place to do it.

Other than that, the new year's starting with some good news: Guim's contract was extended until the end of March and it's still looking very, very good for us to stay here beyond that.