Princess Danika

Because her mommy LOVES costumes, and because one just wasn't enough....Danika actually had TWO costumes for Halloween this year. "Princess Danika" went around to "Trick-Or-Treat" and see family last night. We stopped by the library to see Mimi at work, went to see Grandma Andrews, and then on to see Grandma and Grandpa Bierer. We had a wonderful time...and Danika really did seem to have fun...however we had a pretty late night because we got a very late start. I'm not very coordinated, as you all know, and I took a pretty nasty spill down the basement steps at 5:30pm last night. I sprained my ankle and set us back about 1-2 hours in our "getting ready" process. So...we didn't make it to all the places we intended. But....we still had a great time! :)

Yes...that's right folks...she is really, really close to walking! Only 10 months old, 16.5lbs, and pulling herself up on every piece of furniture she can find. She walks all over the living room as long as she has something to hold on to!



She was even a great sport and kept the hat on all night. :) What a good kiddo! And it is hard to tell in the pictures, but we even had little pink glitter shoes to top off the outfit. Our pretty little pink princess was a lot of fun!

What do you think? Do you like the cow or the princess better? Leave a comment and let us know!

The Cow and the Cowgirl

Yesterday Trinity stopped by to see Danika and show off her cow-girl costume. Since we happened to have a little cow costume on hand, we thought they made a pretty good pair.









Doug has been trying to get Danika to say "moo"...but she just squeals at him and laughs. :)

Zoo Boo 2007

Erie's Zoo has a great event every October called "Zoo Boo". Kids get dressed up in costume and come to the zoo to see the animals, walk through halloween themed displays, and get treats. Danika didn't really need the treats, but she sure enjoyed seeing all the animals and all the other kids in costume. She was our little "cow" for the night...it was a fun little family outing! We had a great time!


You might not be able to see it, but there is a lion in the background that is laying with all four paws sticking straight up in the air. :)

Danika also has a princess costume for Halloween. We will post more pictures after Princess Danika goes trick-or-treating! :)

I love this man.

You know I never stop being amazed by how much I love my husband. I know it might sound mushy and pathetic...but it is just so true. He is just so great to me....and tells me how much he loves me in a million different ways every day. From helping with laundry, to unloading the dishwasher, to driving a mini-van...he gets the message across loud and clear.

Every once in a while, even in the midst of all the every-day "I love you" occasions, it is still great to be told in a very specific, unique, and direct way. And one of those special occasions just happened.

You see...five years ago on October 18th a shirtless Douglas John Bierer serenaded a freezing Andrea Endicott while handing her a beautiful diamond on a porch swing in Liberty Center, Ohio. It was the night before "Sweetest Day" (or as Doug calls it: The Holiday Hallmark Cards Created)...he asked....and I said yes. :) And we have been married 4 and a half years. Because of this little event, I always like "Sweetest Day" more than Valentine's Day...just a personal preference. And...unfortunately...it always comes in October when Doug would rather be archery hunting than planning romantic dates. I have adjusted to this reality...but this year, I received a beautiful delivery even though he was out of town. I thought it was pretty cool that he remembered...and it made the day/week/month pretty special for me.

These are the gorgeous roses he sent me. Thanks, honey! I love you!

First Car Crash

Danika has been given a special gift from her Mimi Bierer. Doug had a muched loved stuffed dog named "LeMutt" when he was a kid...and Susan has kept it all these years and recently gave it to Danika. Danika is very fond of LeMutt...and likes to carry him and put her head down on him when she is tired.


As a person whose job is highway safety, I ought to know the dangers of drowsy driving, but I just never thought it would happen so fast. Danika was happy "driving" her jeep one minute and LeMutt was fine. The next minute he had been hurled in front of the moving "vehicle" and she ran over him! It was a scary incident, but I quickly rescued LeMutt. While at first we thought he was furry road kill, it now appears that, miraculously, he has no injuries. When he feels up to it, he may even take a ride in the jeep again. :)

Long Drive

Well, I know I mentioned Alayna's birthday party, but I failed to mention the whole reason we were in New York to begin with.

Doug was asked to be in his friend Patrick's wedding as a groomsman. The wedding was held in Schroon Lake, NY. It is the first really long trip we have taken with Danika. Prior to this, the longest we have driven was 4 hours...this was closer to 7-8 hours.

She was the best little passenger we could ever ask for. She slept, and played and talked and didn't cry at all. We took a 2 hour break for lunch and let her get out and crawl around a little and use up some energy. During this 2 break", she was testing her driving skills. :) We thought she looked pretty good behind the wheel. :)

The wedding was beautiful. It was a lot of fun to spend time with family and friends.



This picture: Dean, Doug, Patrick & Nichole.


Our little family at the wedding.






Danika with Mimi and Papa at the wedding.



Danika playing at the wedding.

Alayna's Birthday

We spent last weekend in New York visiting Doug's sister Kristen and her family. Her youngest daughter Alayna just celebrated her first birthday. We were lucky enough to get to be in New York with the whole family for a birthday bash. If you would like to see more pictures of Alayna's birthday, you can catch up with their family on Kristen's blog at: http://fourmoremiles.blogspot.com/

We truly enjoyed our visit...it was wonderful to spend time together.

The birthday girl. Look at those baby blues!

All three girls sitting with Uncle Doug as Alayna unwrapped gifts.

Danika LOVES her cousin Julie...she finds her absolutely fascinating.

Which works because Julie loves an audience. :) I can't wait to see what these two are like together as they get older.

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As is typical for our family, nothing can ever just be "normal". We tried to go outside and get some fall "family" pictures while we were all together. But, we were side tracked by this HUGE fish that Dave caught. :) Ever the fishing/hunting kind of family, these things come first. :) This fish was rather unique...it had huge blue eyes and some wild hair going on. :)

Cutest fish I ever did see!



Happy Birthday Alayna!

"Ma-ma" and "ello"

I don't know how I could forget to tell you that our little girl is now saying "ma-ma". :) She has been doing that for about a week. It still falls way short compared to how often we hear "ba-ba", but I am thrilled none the less.

Randomly, she has also started saying "hello"...but she somehow misses the "h" and it just comes out "ello". She seems to repeat it when we say it at odd times, but she won't ever say it on command. (She likes to remind us she is NOT a performing circus monkey...if we wanted to impress our friends we should have bought a parrot.) Anytime we try to get her to say stuff in front of other people she just looks at us and smiles. I think she is laughing at us on the inside.

And, let me assure you that even though she looks just like Doug, I'm afraid my genes are in there, too. The little munchkin is already a drama queen. She has barely been sick a day since she was born...but from the way you hear her cough, you would think she is dying. My poor little girl just has a dreadful.....FAKE....cough. As soon as she figured out she could do it, she has been fake coughing for months. The doctor laughed at her at our last appointment and actually called her a drama queen. Don't worry...we actually do take good care of her. We aren't letting her go without medical treatment. But, the fake cough does crack me up. :)

Poor baby has a cough!

That's my girl!

Trinity's Birthday

Okay, all you blog stalkers....I'm sorry I haven't written anything for a while...things have been rather hectic in our home. Work has been insane, and we have been super busy in the evenings and weekends...it just hasn't been a very good week for moments of sanity and quiet to sit down and create an entry on the computer. But...Danika is asleep, Doug is off hunting, and the Bierer household is quiet for the moment. I figured I could squeeze in a few moments so all of you would have something new to read. :) All joking aside, we love all of you and appreciate that you care enough to keep track of our little family through our random adventures.

Danika with Trinity and Mike.

On Thursday night we got a visit from Danika's buddy Trinity. Danika loves Trinity, so whenever she comes to visit we have a good time. She turned 2 years old at the end of September and we got to go to her birthday party about 2 weeks ago. Here are a few pictures of the party.

Trinity blowing out her candles.

Trinity opening her gifts.

Danika in the walker Trinity loaned her and the shirt Trinity picked out for her. :)

Danika jumping on Trinity's new toys.

Trinity helping us keep an eye on Danika.

Trinity and her "Doodle-bop" cake.

Good times had by all! Happy Birthday Trinity!

Fish tales & "Da-da"

Well...it was a banner weekend for Doug. He managed to catch a 40-inch muskie (sp?) in a fishing tournament on Saturday. He got 3rd place and a nifty trophy...and Danika and I made the trip down to Tidioute to see him get it. :) (I dressed her in little girlie-camo pants...she needed to fit in for the occasion.) He was actually holding her when they called his name, so he took her up with him to get the trophy. You could hear the crowd collectively "aaawwww..." when he stepped up on stage. Cracked me up.




And...last night, she said (for the first time) word #2: "Da-da" . She was pretty pleased with herself and kept saying it over and over again. Doug was pretty pleased, too.

Doug said all he needs now is to get a huge buck for archery season this week and life will be complete. :) A big fish, his daughter saying "Da-da", and a deer all in one week. That's Doug's idea of heaven. :)