A Message From Ella

Yes.... Ella is going to be the big sister! Karl and I are expecting our first child to make its arrival at the end of September, just in time for Big Ten football season. We have known for about a month but we wanted to wait until we had our first doctors appointment and were sure everything is going well before we broadcast the news to the world. We told our families two weeks ago and they are so excited. I used this picture of Ella to spread the word, the card turned out very cute and it really surprised everyone. So far I am feeling ok, a little sickness this week but overall everything seems to be moving along. We met with our new OB on Wednesday and he seems very nice. My fear of hospitals, doctors and needles is going to have to change very quickly! I will see him every 4 weeks for the next 5 months or so and then every 2 weeks until September, and then every week until the baby decides to come. We are really excited and are keeping our fingers crossed for a healthy and happy little baby. Boy or Girl? That's a point of contention right now... I want to find out but Karl wants to be surprised. We have a while yet before we have to decide if we want to know or not so we will see who wins out.

I will do my best to keep the blog up to date with pictures and news as we go through the next 7 months. Its an exciting time for us and we are so happy to be able to share our news with everyone! We do have some pictures from our ultrasounds but they are very fuzzy and scanning them made it worse. Stay tuned for a lot more pictures and updates to come to our electronic scrapbook of Baby Kraebber, aka Player to be Named Later.

We Have A Winner

Indiana got its first Miss America on Saturday! Katie Stam won Miss Indiana hands down in June and we all knew she would be a great representative at Miss America. After watching the TLC reality show leading up to the pageant, it became even more clear that she was a big favorite. She took the preliminary swimsuit title in her first appearance on stage Tuesday but then was really sick with a throat infection most of the week... not a good idea if singing is your talent. Indiana sent a big support crew to Vegas for the pageant and all of the reports coming back were great. On Saturday night, we went to the Roast and Toast of Coach Tiller so I set the DRV to record the show in case we didn't get back in time. Good thing I did, the roast went over four hours and I didn't get home until after 11. I was careful to turn off my phones so I would get any spoiler calls or messages. Apparently not careful enough because as we were rushing out of the event I turned on my phone and up popped the message from the Indiana crew that we had won! I was so excited but so disappointed at the same time... I hate knowing who wins before I get to watch! I rushed home and watched the pageant, fast forwarding through the boring talking and commercials. Katie looked amazing and really was the most consistent competitor. Im not crazy about the new format of the pageant, especially the 90 second talents but it is what it is and we have to deal with it. The top 7 were a really tough group so had I not already known who won, I probably would have been really nervous. Katie's reaction was classic, so surprised and excited. I can only imagine what the Miss Indiana directors were doing at that same moment. Since Ive been involved with Miss Indiana, we have continued to grow and improve the program. First runner up last year and now a Miss America is really exciting! Everyone is busy making plans for a big welcome home party in a few weeks and it will be fun to hear about her experiences as Miss America when she comes back to crown the next Miss Indiana in June. Katie is very deserving of this title and I am happy to say that I know her! Now to find new entertainment for Miss Purdue... as Miss America she doesn't get to travel around Indiana and visit all of the locals so I need to find a plan B fast.

Our New Toy

We purchase a new TV! It all started last Saturday when Karl was getting ready to head out of town to the Detroit Auto Show. We attempted to turn on the TV while eating breakfast in the morning but nothing happened. Karl presses more buttons on more remotes and we have sound but no picture. Karl continues to plug-unplug, turn things on and off and still no picture an no video game systems that work. Anyone that knows Karl can probably guess how he reacted to this, especially only an hour away from leaving town for the weekend. Finally he unplugged all of the fancy stuff and got a picture using just the basic cable- now that would be exciting to most people but that just wont cut it for us. A decision had to be made... figure out how to fix the TV inputs or buy a nice new one and not have to deal with it? We both have been talking about the possibility of a new TV for a while now so the idea of sabotage may have crossed my mind for a second at first. It really was only a second because Karl would not have been as irate if he didn't really care that his 3 year old TV was not working correctly. We quickly did some more research through Best Buy (Karl's favorite store) and consumer reports and saw a few good deals but without the time to go right away, we put off the decision until Karl came back from Detroit. By 7:30 on Tuesday night we had gone to Best Buy and purchased a new TV and stand for decent price. Actually, much less then I initially expected knowing my technophile husband. It was too big to fit in my CRV so we had to wait until Saturday to pick it up. Saturday was like Christmas! After a couple hours of building the stand and organizing the toys, its up and running. I had to take the before and after photos to give the full effect. And what was the first thing we watched on it.... you guessed it, MISS AMERICA! Still a few things left to clean up but overall we are very pleased with the new addition to the family.

Frozen Ella-cicle

This morning was quite the adventure for our little puggle... she experienced her first below zero day. Winters in Indiana are usually not very cold and not nearly as snowy as Wisconsin winters. Today was an exception and I think the first time it has ever been this cold since I've been here. Ella was also new to this and was not very happy about it. During the night she wanted to go out so I got all bundled up to take her out quick at 2 a.m. She took two steps out the front door and came right back in and climbed in bed. Then this morning, she did the same thing-whined to go out but once she got out she wanted nothing to do with it. I finally got her to get around to the side of the house where it was sunny and not so windy. She managed to squat down but when she went to get back up to run in, her little hind legs were stuck. She was starting to freeze! She couldn't move in the snow so I had to pick her up to get her inside. I felt so bad for her but it really was kind of funny to see her try and move her little legs. Apparently puggles cannot survive when its -7 outside. Maybe she should have asked Santa for a sweater and booties for Christmas! Something tells me that only my grandpa will appreciate this post... he thinks its funny to threaten family pets with cooking them, freezing them, or tossing them into rivers!

Lazy New Year

So I said that I was going to make an effort to be more consistent in my blogging efforts in the new year, but that has proven to be difficult. We are boring! So far the new year really hasn't brought us any new and fun experiences or things to share. Basketball season is very busy and now with three new sports starting, I wont have many days off. Karl is staying with his job at St. Elizabeth. We were really hopeful about an opportunity he had with a hospital in Bloomington, IL but it just didn't work out. It would have been a great job with more responsibility, freedom and money but in the end it went to someone with more experience. Disappointing yes but Karl was really happy with the way he interviewed (it was quite the process) and enjoyed the experience of being recruited instead of having to apply. For now we are just hanging around West Lafayette and enjoying some quiet time at home when we get the chance. Karl loves his PS3, Ella loves her new toys and I love wearing sweats and relaxing on the couch.