Sean C. Morgan
When Kristin Birky was born – at 11:40 a.m. on Jan. 7 at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, her mom, Chloe Birky, was surprised to learn that her daughter was Sweet Home’s first newborn resident of this new year.
“It’s great,” Birky said. “I didn’t expect it. I would have thought it would have been sooner.
Kristin is the daughter of Chloe, 26, and Leon Birky, 31. The family lives on a ranch on the Upper Calapooia.
She joins two sisters, Hannah, 3, and Whitney, 14 months.
Maternal grandparents are Monte and Carol Hess of Brownsville. Paternal grandparents are Ernest and Louise Birky of Halsey.
The Birkys moved from Halsey to the Sweet Home area in November, Chloe said. “We had been looking. It came up for sale, and we do cattle. It was a great property, and the view just captured us.”
Leon raises the cattle, and he also works as an auctioneer. They have 20 head of their own on the Upper Calapooia plus 10 owned by a cousin. They also have 30 in Brownsville.
Chloe lived in Napa, Calif., until she was 17. She moved with her family to Milwaukie, where she graduated from Rex Putnam High School. She earned her bachelor of science in animal science in 2011.
Leon is a graduate of Lake Creek Mennonite School in Halsey.
Kristin is “a good baby,” her mom said. “She’s just relaxed. She doesn’t wake up with the craziness of the other girls (her older daughters).”
She wants Kristin to grow up doing whatever she wants to do, following her dreams, Chloe said, but ideally, she’ll be a cowgirl with the same love for animals that Chloe and Leon have.