Tracey Bieri held a peaceful, wide-eyed baby boy in her arms while father Adam recently accepted the letter naming their son Will Joseph as the First 2015 Moniteau County Baby.
Sister Hadley Jean, 2, has been a good helper, since his birth Jan. 4 at the Boone Family Birthplace at Boone Hospital Center.
The Bieris - she's a teacher at Russellville Elementary School and he's an agriculture teacher at California High School - expected another baby from Moniteau County would be born before Will, whose due date was Jan. 12.
But coworkers and family members were eager for a New Year's baby, they said.
Tracey said she worried that since Hadley had been such a good baby, her brother might be the opposite. So far, they have been blessed with another laid back infant.
Most of Will's baby equipment will be hand-me-downs from his sister. But most of his clothes have been gifts.
The proud couple have been sending out many photos daily of their new arrival to share with family, friends and coworkers. Adam returned to school last week, "since it's the busy season." But Tracey said she will stay at home with her young ones as long as she can before going back to her second grade classroom.
"It's a hard balance; I miss my students," Tracey Bieri said. "But when I go back, I miss him and her."
With most of their family nearby, the family has had a lot of visitors, both at the hospital and their rural Latham farm.
The newborn's family includes: maternal grandparents Dona and Russ Anderson, Russellville; paternal grandparents Raymond and Margaret Bieri, California; and great-grandparent Jean Anderson, Russellville, and Rose Distler, Jefferson City.
The couple has been married nine years and both have siblings of their own.
They look forward to watching Hadley and Will - who shares his middle name with his dad - interact and grow up together.
In the near future, Will will we baptized at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Russellville.