1 month old. Already!

May 21st means that Sophie has been around for a whole month already! We can't believe that that much time has passed so soon and so quickly. Janelle went back to work on Monday, and I have been Mr. Mom all week. I wasn't quite sure what to expect (as I have never done anything like this before in my life), but so far so good! It really mostly consists of a three-to-four hour repeating schedule of bottle-feeding, playing (which is mostly just me talking or singing to her while she fusses), and sleeping (most of which requires her to lay in my arms rendering me useless to doing anything else, i.e., household chores--as she often won't stay asleep if I lay her down in her crib until she is fully asleep). Then when she starts to wake up, I have to get the next bottle warmed up, and the cycle starts again. She seems to be getting bigger, but we won't have her official weight and height (I think calling it "length" is silly) until we get to the pediatrician's office tomorrow for her 1 month check-up. We are very curious. Janelle weighed herself with and without Sophie on our scale (which is hardly a very accurate way to weigh her) and found that she should be approximately 12.4 lbs. We'll see tomorrow though! Meanwhile here are a few more pics for you to check out!

Sophie, Sophie, and more Sophie!!!

We just can't seem to get enough of our new little Sophie! She's just the cutest, most amazing little thing that has ever happened to us...so here are a few more pics:

Sophie's one-week birthday!

Last night, at approximately 11:17pm, we celebrated Sophie's one-week birthday! There was no cake or ice cream or gifts, but it was amazing to think that we've been blessed enough to have received this amazing gift from God for a whole week already! The time seems to have flown by. We are definitely still adjusting to our new roles, but so far things are going pretty well. Sophie for the most part is giving us about 4-hour windows in which to sleep between feedings, which I hear is better than average! She doesn't do much more than sleep, feed, poop & pee, and look cute, but we sure love her a ton. Here's a few more new pics...

Sophie's 2nd Day...

Isn't she the cutest ever? We love her SO much. She's already had a few visitors in her second day of life...

Sophie is born!

Sophie Malia Bierdeman was born on April 21, 2009 at 11:17pm. We are so excited to have her here with us now! We will post more later when it is not 2am!

Harry Potter Mania

Janelle and I decided to have fun on Friday night by dressing up as characters from the Harry Potter series and attending the Grand Hallows Ball at our local Borders store. Janelle was Professor Minerva McGonegall, and I was camera-carrying Colin Creevey. Our friend Bridget was Professor Trelawney and her kids Andrew, 7, and Elizabeth, 10, were Harry and Hermoine. Janelle had stood in line earlier in the day to wait for an arm band, so as to be one of the first in line. She ended up getting #86 even at 9am!

Anyway, we arrived at Borders precisely at 9:30pm, at the beginning of the Grand Hallows Ball, just in time for us to be bombarded with papparazzi! We were by no means the only ones dressed for the occasion, as probably nearly 75% of the people there were dressed up in one way or another, but I do think we had some great costumes. Janelle and Bridget had made them two weeks earlier in preparation for our midnight excursion to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After reminding ourselves not to look at the camera and smile (which is way harder than it sounds) we kind-of got over the fact that we were being followed around.

We received Glowing Wands, played Snape Bingo, participated in a Spelling Bee, and even entered a costume contest! Janelle, Bridget, and Elizabeth all made the second round. Janelle and Bridget made the final round, and Janelle won! At least, she won the "Queen of the Ball"! They also picked the best male adult costume, and best children's costume. This unexpected turn of events not only got her a crown, but a $10 gift card, and, best of all, 2nd place in line!

All-in-all, it was a night to remember. What a moment in history! We walked out the door at 12:03pm with our brand new copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The next morning we were on the front page of the Greeley Tribune! The picture above is from the newspaper, and you can see all of us, except my head is cut off!

Holiday Blizzard 2006

It's not every day that you get to experience an all out blizzard, but when they come, it is really an extreme experience. Thank goodness Janelle and I were both at home yesterday by the time the snow really started piling up, as we are now stuck at home. As you can see in these pictures, which we just took minutes ago (that's Ryan's car in our driveway), there is no way to get around. Colorado has been declared in a state of emergency and the Governor has told everyone to stay indoors unless there is an extreme reason to leave.

That's fine with us, but I can't imagine being one of the 4700 plus people being stuck at the Denver airport for the past 24 hours or more! And they still have to wait, as they say that the airport won't even open until tonight at 7pm at the soonest! But the worst news is, since it is Christmas season, most flights are already very full, so the people that had their's cancelled may not be able to make it out until Christmas Eve or even Christmas day!

We are starting to worry if we will even be able to make it back to Peoria on Saturday like we planned. As of right now, all interstate highways in Colorado have been completely closed down until further notice! And interstate 80 in Nebraska is closed as well, at least halfway through the state, so we are just waiting to see when they reopen. The worst thing, even though the snow has started to slow down, there is still high risk of blowing snow. We have heard that there are snow drifts of up to 10 feet in areas!

So, right now, we are enjoying a cozy, lazy day at home with nothing to do but eat, watch movies, blog, and occasionally venture out into the the "Winter Wonderland!"

-Chris