A new year is here and our family has grown! Stuart Paul Overby made his arrival on December 6th 2012. He was just over 7 pounds (3200 grams) and was just over 20 inches (51 cm). One of the neat things about his arrival was that his birthday is on St. Nikolas Tag. The day St. Nicolas visits everyone's home and puts treats in their boots. It's a day not commonly celebrated in America, but very popular in Germany. When getting birth certificates and such we had many comments regarding his birthday being on St. Nikolas Tag.
At this point there is so much to update I thought that what would be the most fun for you is to focus more on photos and less on words. So here are a bunch of pictures with captions. Enjoy!
November saw Cinda arrive in hopes to be here for Stuart's birth. He didn't arrive in time, but we still enjoyed our time with Nana.
We were so excited for the arrival of Nana!
Christmas came early with Nana. The gal on the couch with Stanley and Holly is Meg. She is an intern at our church and she comes from Texas
Out in the park on the bikes with Nana.
Holly loves to help in the kitchen.
Picking up the kids from Kindergarten.
Daddy and his little girl.
A very pregnant Mommy and her Thankful Tree.
The bassinet is what Stuart slept in for the first month.
Making brownies with Mommy.
Three generations of girls!
Stanley learned how to ride a pedal bike in November, and Holly learned how to ride a running bike!
In December we said goodbye to Cinda and hello to Stuart! We had our first Christmas as a family of 5 and our first Christmas without any extended family. Fortunately we have great friends here in Germany and we had a wonderful time as our familial unit.
Bundling up to go out.
New "copycat" pajamas from Aunt Beth.
Holly trying on Daddy's Santa Hat.
Our little tree.
Daddy's helpers.
More help from my helpers.
Decorating the tree.
One of the things we love about Germany. While some people in America are trying to get Nativity's out of public places, here is one prominently placed at the Christmas Market.
Going to the hospital to have a baby. 12 days after his due date.
He didn't arrive until day 13 post due date.
He didn't arrive until day 13 post due date.
Heather's helpers and also her two best friends. Nadine and Susanne. Both of them recently had their third babies (who are both boys). We don't know what we would have done without them!
Lots of waiting and lots of monitoring.
Welcoming a new baby into our arms.
Holding my new son.
Our St. Nicolas Tag Baby. He even got a chocolate St. Nicolas.
His siblings helped him eat it!
Stuart Paul Overby. Heather nicknamed him "Grandpa" during those first weeks.
Checking out their new brother.
Who wants to hold their new brother?
This is how we roll to and from the hospital to visit Heather and Stuart.
This was the weather outside the day Stuart came home.
Don't make me go outside!
(For those of you who noticed, the answer is "yes" there is no chest clip on the carseat. They don't do chest clips in Germany, as a matter of fact they are illegal here. Go figure.)
(For those of you who noticed, the answer is "yes" there is no chest clip on the carseat. They don't do chest clips in Germany, as a matter of fact they are illegal here. Go figure.)
Welcome Home!
Our first family picture as a family of 5!
A fun video Grandma Sue and Grandpa Steve showed us!
Going outside to get some energy out.
Playing with their new brother.
My beautiful family
Weimar Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt)
At the Christmas Market they had ice skating.
The kids loved to watch the ice skaters.
Langos. An elephant ear but instead of sugar, garlic sauce and cheese.
Holly and Stanley had a Christmas Pageant at Kindergarten.
Stanley was Joseph.
Tea and Kekse (cookies) afterwards
In Germany a midwife comes to you for baby check-ups.
Here she is weighing Stuart.
Our 3 wonderful kids.
One day I made some K'nex glasses that the kids loved.
Sleeping kids. (Holly's head is at the foot of the bed.)
Stuart compared to my new running shoes.
One of our family presents was a keyboard. The kids love playing it.
Our Christmas Pageant
For our friend Erik's birthday I invited him and another friend (Peter) over to play Settlers of Catan. We played three games and each of us won one.
The kids loved to rearrange our nativity set.
Here everyone is looking out the window with sheep on their heads.
Christmas Day!
The kids loved making gingerbread houses!
We had some snow in December, around Stuart's birth and maybe a week following. But in January we had our big freeze. It was well below zero (mid to low 20's Fahrenheit) for two weeks with snow the whole time. I took two months off work after Stuart's birth so I was able to spend this time with family. (The way German Paternity leave works is you have to take a minimum of 2 months and up to 1 year)
Here we are at Kaleb, it's sort of like a thrift store ran by the Diakonie organization. The lady holding Stuart loves Heather (and our family) and is always so welcoming to us when we stop in. (they are only open Wednesday afternoons from 4 to 6)
Enjoying some tummy time.
Getting ready to go out.
Thank you cousins Hunter, Makenna, and Karis for the Playdough!
Stanley and I got to go out on a Daddy Stanley Date Ice Skating!
Thank you to everyone who sent us cards!
There you have it. November, December and January in pictures. Thank you for thinking of us and keeping us in your prayers.
