In with the new: hello 2009!

The traditional New Year's mascot is a baby, so my sister's little Elissa Kate was well timed! My sister, Ingrid, and her husband, Chris, are thrilled to announce Elissa Kate's birth on January 9th at 5:37pm. She weighed 8lbs 9.5oz. and was 21 inches long. Everybody is healthy and happy and recovery is going well. Ingrid and baby will head home in the next day or so.
She's definitely a cutie! Great coloring, chubby cheeks, and little froggy newborn legs! I wish we weren't so far away so I could take my turn holding her! My parents were in the waiting room and kept us posted on how things were going (21hrs of labor!) and gave us a call from Ingrid's room. Ingrid gave a tired hello and then we heard a tiny voice cry out it's own little hello, although more likely it was a cry for food/diaper/cold/tired =) I'm super thankful for our Vonage phone!
Stefan and I are now officially uncle and aunt, or Onkel and Tante, and look forward to meeting Elissa Kate in person this year. (probably Christmas '09) My parents are now grandparents, and my grandmother is a great-grandmother; everybody got an upgrade. =)

In other news for the New Year:

• I'm not in a German class because the next level is mostly about reading comprehension, which I don't have a problem with. I'll be trying to find a tutor to help with my grammar and writing.
• We're on the hunt for a new apartment and this time we're serious. It is just too loud here and we'd really like some more space.
  
• I'm also on the hunt for a job, even just a 400 euro/month job would really be a big help for us right now. My random English language copy editing/proofreading jobs aren't constant enough just now to pull that in on a regular basis.
• We're also seriously considering getting a car, despite being car-free for the past year. Thanks to the details on our monthly car-sharing bills, and the records we kept from our first 7 months here owning a junk car, we can do a good comparison and can see we're spending roughly the same amount of money it would take to own a decent car, keep it up, and put something in savings towards future car repairs each month. Now the question is: which kind of car and how much to spend?
• It's SUPER cold here for Marburg's averages (6-18 degrees F), and the roads are not in bike-able condition. Stefan's mom has had a little trouble walking Ronja, so decided to buy her a little coat. There was quite the fashion show going on at the pet supply store and this little brown coat was the final decision. Little pilgrim collar, ha ha. It's cute though, and except for all the salt on the sidewalks, she doesn't mind trotting around in her little coat on the walks she's finally willing to take now.