Christmas 2001 was the most important event for us, as the day before we were able to unwrap our most precious gift: our daughter Lea.

Lea Elisabeth Hecker was born on December 23rd at 10:18 p.m. weighing 3620g and measuring 54cm in the Rechts der Isar hospital. The birth went smoothly and on Boxing Day the proud father was able to take mother and daughter home in excellent health.

Since then, we have been happy about a regular wake-up call and have spent a rather quiet end to the year in this way…

The first of the relatives to show up in Munich were the proud grandparents Hecker. A short trip to Bavaria was spontaneously organized and the New Year's Eve stay on Juist was postponed. You just have to set priorities.

Spontaneity was also the reason for the choice of transport: the train. On the Münster – Munich route, this was a rather dubious pleasure.

Of course, the Höptners did not wait long and came to Munich at the beginning of January accompanied by Tina’s godmother “Friedchen”.

When you watch grandparents interacting with their grandchildren, you are quickly reminded of the biblical image of the dance around the golden calf. We suspect that these were not idols at all, but grandchildren. Admittedly, parents are not completely immune to this either.

The new (godfather) Uncle Frank actually wanted to be among the first visitors. However, the self-organized trip to the North Sea over New Year's Eve prevented him from making a spontaneous visit.

The next appointment in Munich was supposed to be for business reasons at the beginning of January, but was cancelled the day before. So Ulrike and Frank decided to fly there for a weekend to pay their respects.

Great-grandmother Elly had to wait the longest because she unfortunately couldn't come to Munich. Shortly after her 90th birthday, we were able to travel to Münster with Lea and introduce the two of them to each other - with great success, of course!