Ernie and his girls...

With a moo, moo here and a moo, moo there!

2012-01-22T16:45:00.006-07:00

Last week Monday the Krauth/Findell clan headed out to the National Western Stock Show. We explored all the booths and most importantly saw all the animals. One thing that Ella loves more than anything else in this world are animals and we sure saw our fair share of farm animals. She didn't have one animal that she loved more than another, but enjoyed them all. In all these pictures I can hear her little voice saying, "what's that?!" Needless to say, we very much enjoyed our trip to see the farm animals.

Look what I can do!

2012-01-10T13:40:00.006-07:00

Ella has become a spitfire, loving 19 month old. Can I use spitfire and loving in the same sentence to describe one person? I think she takes after Ernie in SO many ways. She is ambitious, scared of NOTHING, completely stubborn, personable, curious, a klepto, and laughs at everything. Her words have been explosive in the last month and I think she may be ready to start running because she is always in such a hurry to try the next new thing and always needs to get there as fast as she can.

Hopefully these pictures can show you some of her fun-loving, spitfire personality.

Loves to read:

Loves to play outside:

Loves her cousin Lia and screaming:

Loves to swim:

Loves to sort, collect, and organize (wonder who she gets that from??!!)

Loves all animals (horses and dogs being her favorite):

Loves to draw and color:

Loves to help (especially when it comes to throwing things away. We have lost a lot of things because of that trashcan):

Loves spoons and eating cereal. She is getting so good at using her spoon. Love this picture:

And... we are not so proud of this one, but loves to put her finger in her nose. It hasn't found its way to her mouth yet... so we will cross that bridge when we get there.

We love you Ella Jean and all the awesome things you are learning how to do!

Christmas Blessings!

2012-01-03T16:20:00.013-07:00

1. Our little family

2. All our family

3. Snow and Christmas cookies with the Beijer kiddos

4. Christmas through an 18 month olds eyes

5. Vacations away (Colorado Springs)

We had an incredibly wonderful Christmas filled with many great memories. As we look forward to another year, we anticipate those blessings to overflow even more from every part of our life. Wishing you all many memories and continued blessings in 2012.

Parade of lights

2011-12-21T21:44:00.003-07:00

One of our most treasured family traditions is freezing our butts off watching the floats, marching bands, and balloons parade on by in the Parade of Lights. This year's Parade of Lights was the best ever and even the 15 degree temps didn't bring down our spirits. Ella was afraid at first as the first marching band made its way by (it was a little too loud) but once she saw the first balloon, she was in awe. She loved every horse, dog, and balloon that went by. The "woofs" and "neighs" were heard throughout the evening. We were thrilled that someone else wanted to join our little tradition this year. Ernie, Ella, Amanda and I were joined by Anthony's presence this year (Amanda's boyfriend) It was a wonderful evening.

You want me to do what?

2011-12-21T21:35:00.004-07:00

This year Ella didn't like Santa and really was not interested in sitting on this funny man's lap! The only way she wouldn't cry is if I was sitting with her. Which was not to my liking, but I guess I'd do anything for this little girl. I had waited in line for almost two hours (that is because it is free, you get to take your own pictures and the Santa is amazing) and I literally rolled out of bed, put on a hat, and got in the car. So I apologize for my awesome prettiness. :(

Minne-so-colda!

2011-12-21T20:46:00.009-07:00

We enjoyed a five day get away to Minnesota last weekend. My cousin Matthew was getting married and asked Ernie to be an usher in the wedding. Can you tell that Ernie makes friends easily? Matt and Ernie hit it off right from the start and have loved each others company ever since. Ernie got to usher people to their seats, but also got to walk my aunt and uncle down the isle. Makes me smile just thinking about the love and tradition that flows through my family. My grandparents are closing in our almost 60 years of marriage and that is where all that love comes from; 7 kids, 22 grandchildren, and 23 (and counting) great grandchildren. VERY thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone during this Christmas season. Congratulations Matt and Cayanne! We love you both very much and and pray that 60 plus years of marriage will follow for you!

The wedding

My Family (Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and second cousins)

On Sunday, we had a Christmas family gathering. We ate a lot of GREAT food and had a gift exchange. It was a wonderful time to get together and catch up with all of my family.

Ernie's ice fishing adventure

And finally, as we made our way back down to the cities we stopped by my dad's parents for lunch. It was a wonderful visit with my grandparents.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2011-12-21T20:38:00.003-07:00

I L.O.V.E Christmas. It is my favorite holiday mainly for the soft white lights, family time, and now... an 18 month old! I get so giddy like I am ten again! I can't believe it is right around the corner. Here are a couple of pictures of our decorated house. (yet another reason why I love Christmas so much!)

Grateful Hearts!

2011-12-07T14:21:00.006-07:00

Our tradition every Thanksgiving is to make the drive through the Mountains to New Castle to see Ernie's dad. This has become one of our most treasured traditions. Our lives in Denver are so busy all the time. In New Castle, especially over Thanksgiving, it is peaceful, not hurried, lazy, and just wonderful. We pretty much do absolutely nothing the whole time we are there. Oh wait... I did sit through about a 100 football games, ate lots of great food, and tried to comfort my crabby daughter. AND the most important thing of all... I won Settlers of Catan twice! YEP... Awesome!

Despite the crabbiness of my little one... it was pretty much heaven! Thank you Mary, Lee, and Erik for always making us feel welcomed and extremely loved. We look forward to all the Thanksgivings to come. Enjoy the pictures!

This is what Ella looked like pretty much the whole time she was there! Not fun... sorry Grandma and Grandpa!

We found moments of happiness!

We rode horses too and played a couple of games of Settlers. I was the champion both games and proudly make this known to my husband as often as possible. We felt that Erik was finally old enough to understand the game of Settlers and so we bought if for him and Lee for Christmas this year. HE LOVED IT! We are so thankful for that and we found a lasting game and tradition for our families to play in the years to come.

We are so blessed with a great family and peaceful place to retreat to every Thanksgiving. We are very blessed and grateful this Thanksgiving for SO many things. Now as we look forward to Christmas we realize how much more blessed we are through our Savior's Birth. Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween "Spook-tacular"!!

2011-11-02T14:46:00.012-06:00

This years Halloween was amazing in all ways possible. I probably enjoyed it more than Ella did! When people say that "seeing things through your child's eyes is amazing", I really didn't believe them or fully understand what that meant until this year! Enjoy our Halloween adventure!

Our adventure started a couple of weeks ago when Grandma Krauth sent Ella a Halloween costume in the mail. Much to our surprise and happiness Grandma sent a tiger costume. Eager and excited, I proceeded to put on Ella's tiger costume. Needless to say... it did not go over too well. Ella cried and thrashed around and threw the biggest fit. I took it off and figured she was having a grumpy day so I would try again some other day.

I tried again... and to no avail she did not like having the costume on. She particularly did not like the hood or the mitten paws. However, despite the grumpiness, I did manage some pictures and a fun video. Hopefully next year she will be ready for the hood and mitten paws. Sorry Grandma!

I did not want to fight with her all Halloween to keep something on that she did not like so Ernie and I went in search of a costume that wouldn't go over her head or her hands and something that would be like normal clothing. First, we went to Party City and after a half our of standing in front of the kiddie costumes, and a frustrated husband because his indesisive wife couldn't make up her mind, we left.

We remembered that there was costume store right in our neighborhood. This is a great, family owned halloween store, filled with costumes for all ages. Thank you Aurora!!! Finally.... Success!! She would be a ladybug. :) And a darn cute one if I may add. The costume came with antennaes but those had a hard time staying on too, so mama improvised and made her own. Thank you short hair!

This year we got Ernie's family together and my family and we headed over to Ernie's mom's house for some halloween fun. Before we went over there we needed to stop by our neighbors house to say hello. We absolutely love our neighbors and they absolutely adore Ella so we needed to stop in to say "Happy Halloween!" Our little bug couldn't sit still and would rather collect rocks than get her picture taken.

We went trick-or-treating with cousin Lia. Cousin Lia was the cutest, most skeptical Elephant in town. She really did not know what to think of her costume, but it made for some great pictures and fun laughs. She was priceless and precious all at the same time!

Ella did great trick-or-treating. We probably should have worked on saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" before going. Ella did great at walking up to each house with mom or dad and she proceeded to take handfuls of candy. (We're going to have to work on her manners for next year) She was never scared and really enjoyed the wagon ride to each house. She also enjoyed sucking on a sucker at the end. We will save the rest of the candy "love" for next year.

After trick-or-treating we headed back to the house for some chili and cornbread and family time! Delicious! A perfect way to spend our halloween; with all our family together and a hot bowl of chili. What a great fun evening! Halloween never looked so good and I look forward to celebrating next year.

Happy Halloween from Ella Jean!

Tebow time!

2011-10-11T21:04:00.002-06:00

Our little Broncos Girl is in love with football, but like every woman on earth, she loves it more now that Tim Tebow is our quarterback! GO BRONCOS!

Ella loves her daddy...

2011-10-11T21:01:00.004-06:00

This is one of my favorite pictures. One Saturday morning Ernie went out to mow the lawn. I was busy doing things around the house and came across Ella looking out the window. She was saying "Dada" "Dada"! I look outside and there is Ernie mowing away. So I quick snapped a picture. Look closely and you can see Ernie in the background. LOVE it... priceless moment!

We have a walker!

2011-10-11T20:56:00.003-06:00

What has happened the last three months...

2011-10-11T20:28:00.005-06:00

Good question... we have been VERY busy. Work has resumed for me. Goodbye summer... hello school year! I started the year off part-time and LOVED every minute of it. I worked from 7:30-11:30 every day. I felt like I got there and I then I was done. The transitions between Erin (my partner) and I were smooth and working well. AWESOME!

Ella too fell into part-time daycare easily and life wasn't as hectic and chaotic as a full-time teacher was. My teaching partner was due the beginning of October so we all had a little time to easy and adjust into this new routine. BUT God seems to have other plans that don't really involve our input. Erin had her baby (Jada Maxine) a whole five weeks early! This was nerve-racking for us all but baby Jada was a healthy 6pds 2oz. No problems at all. This wonderful, incredible news was followed by crying on my part because selfishly I didn't want to go full time. It took me about a week to adjust to being a full-time teacher again, but after that things fell right into place.

It has been hard for Ella on the other hand. She does well at daycare, but is SO tired and crabby by the time she comes home it is exhausting for us all. Once we can do the afternoons together I know that things will get a lot easier. We are very appreciative to Jocelyn Swalley for watching our sweet baby Ella. She is so happy and loved with Jocelyn. We are excited to see Auntie Lo-lo though in a couple of months. We miss Leelee a lot too.

Other than work being crazy, but good... Ernie has been working his booty off at work and putting in tons of hours. He was traveling a lot (right around the time I went back full time) Again... God's plans are a lot different than what I would have chosen, but we managed. Daddy is handling things with ease. ONly mama gets stressed.

We have helped Auntie Mana move into her very first apartment, we have been busy with bible study and weddings. We have many babies on the way so we are celebrating many showers and just plugging along with life.

Enjoy some pictures of our sweet baby Ella these last few months. She is quite the talker and has a BIG personality. She doesn't make much sense when she talks but she is sure telling you a story. We have started to pick up on a few things like: "this Ella's?" She asks this a lot. She can say "all done", "uh oh!" and of course the standard mom, dad and Mylie. She has her own language and you can usually see what she is talking about.

Another thing that she loves to do lately is color. She scribbles with my colored pencils all the time and loves to tell me what she has drawn. We have found that she THRIVES on praise and gets frustrated easily when she can't do something. Remind you of anyone.... ERNIE!

This is Ella's favorite new spot... the fireplace. She loves to climb all over it, sit on it, and I have even caught her standing on it. Crazy little daredevil. (sorry it is sideways but I couldn't get it to change)

Wedding fun!

2011-10-11T20:17:00.004-06:00

This past weekend Ernie and I attended our good friend's (DJ Van Eps) wedding. It was a wonderful evening out filled with fun memories with all our good friends. We wish the new Van Eps family all the joy and happiness in the world. Marriage is a blessing and exciting ride. We didn't get that many pictures because we were too busy chatting and dancing, but the ones we did are priceless... especially the pregers and Phill. He was very proud to be in the picture with so many wonderful pregnant women. Thanks friends for a great evening out! When's the next party... Phill????

Stairs, stairs and more stairs....

2011-07-28T16:58:00.002-06:00

Ella is getting very good at using her strong legs lately. I think she finally realizes that they are there and that they actually do something. Ella has mastered stairs, which once again isn't the biggest thing ever, but for our little lady... IT IS HUGE! These are not just any stairs too... they are the stairs at grandma and grandpa's house and they seem to go on forever. She did them all! Wait to go Ella Jean. One "Step" closer to your first step!

The best Uncle Award goes to...

2011-07-28T16:53:00.003-06:00

...Uncle Erik!

Ella is blessed with MANY great uncles, but none are as quite as special as Ella's Uncle Erik. He takes very good care of her, makes her laugh, and just loves being with her! Thank you Uncle Erik for being special and wonderful to your niece! She loves you VERY much!

Golf, a hike, and a pig (or two)

2011-07-28T15:29:00.009-06:00

This past weekend we spent our time in beautiful New Castle, Colorado. I love going to the ranch for many reasons. I love visiting with Ernie's family, relaxing, eating great food, and taking in the beautiful, peaceful surroundings. Our weekend was packed full of many different things. On Saturday, we started off our morning watching Erik with his 4H pigs. He has two of them; Pumpkin and Oreo. Both pigs are HUGE and VERY stubborn.

I learned a lot about 4H while being around Erik. He is going to show his pigs next week at the county fair. Erik washes, feeds, and walks his pigs every morning and evening. A LOT of work but he is very dedicated. He rubs them down with lotion, but he doesn't speak softly. Oh NO... you can't speak softly to a pig. You have to yell at them and hit them with a stick. Remember, PIGS ARE STUBBORN! It was a fun experience and I am so glad I was able to watch Erik with his pigs. Pumpkin and Oreo will not live forever like Wilbur, however. They need a little spider to help fight for their lives. Their fate is sealed and they will be bid on at the fair and sold for all their 280 pound goodness. The Krauths will not be eating Pumpkin or Oreo. They will bid on a pig they do not know. You kind of become attached to those stubborn fellas. I tried to help Erik walk his pigs, but he takes his job very seriously and I just got in the way.

We saw some cows too that will be sold at the fair. We are still curious on how they judge all these animals. We need to brush up on our 4H rules.

That same day we also took in a horse show at the fair, swam, and golfed. I failed to get pictures during these activities, but they were still highlights of our trip.

On Sunday, Ernie stayed home with Ella while the rest of us went to church. (it was right in the middle of Ella's nap time) After church, we went for a hike. We wanted to hike Hanging Lake, but so did every other person and we couldn't get in because there was no parking spots left. So we turned around and headed back to New Castle where we ended up hiking a trail near the house. We hiked the Elk Creek trail and you will have to look closely at some of the pictures because there has been SO much rain there that the "creek" has literally swelled to a "raging river" and caused a lot damage to the hiking paths. It was extremely hot, but we really enjoyed our hike and I look forward to hiking the whole thing one day.

What a great trip! We love you Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Erik. Thank you for showering us with love and good memories.

Zoo day!

2011-07-28T15:00:00.006-06:00

My "gift" to Denver Christian this year was a trip to the zoo for two and lunch. A family in my class grabbed it up, set the date, and we were off. Ella came too, but I recruited my sister Amanda to come with to help me with Ella. It was a fun day for Ella. She enjoyed looking at the "moving" animals. The nonmoving animals she didn't even know were there. She enjoyed the fish and the monkeys the best. I never can get the order of pictures correct on here, but the pictures of the rain is what we had to drive home in. Look carefully to see all the street flooding. It was a scary drive home.

Bahama or bust...

2011-06-29T10:15:00.015-06:00

Aruba Jamaica ooo I wanna take you... Bermuda Bahama come on pretty mama... Key Largo Montego baby why don't we go

Oh Mama... did we go! We had a fantastic time while on our cruise to the Bahamas.

The title of the post is is Bahamas or bust for a reason. We did have a few bumps in the road... Read on!

I must start from the beginning. I was SO Excited to go on this cruise. I had never been on a cruise, never been to the Bahamas, never taken our babikins to the beach... I WAS EXCITED. Before the cruise I was closing up school, celebrating Ella's first birthday, and trying to pack for our trip. I must also state that Ernie was out of town on business the week before we left. Why none of this is my poor husbands fault, it did at to my stress. On top of all of that, because of Ernie being gone, I didn't sleep. I cannot sleep without my husband.

Finally cruise day came. School was out, I was ready to let loose, have fun, and relax. I was really tired, but FINALLY felt stress free. I was ready! Bags packed, we were on our way! We landed mid afternoon in Ft. Lauderdale. We got dressed in our finest and headed out to a birthday dinner party to honor GiGi's 80th birthday. What a wonderful night meeting family and new friends.

The next morning we headed down to Miami to board the boat. Anyone who has ever taken a cruise knows the process to get on the boat. I felt like a herd of cattle. Go here, do that, go this way, and go through lots of security. We finally got on the boat, did a little exploring, ate some lunch, and waited for our bags to come so we could go swimming.

After feeling settled, we showered and got dressed for dinner. All day long I had been feeling sluggish. I thought that I was just tired. I had a sore throat and some sinus pain, but thought I was just getting a cold. We ate dinner and by the end of dinner I was feeling pretty miserable. My whole jaw and teeth hurt, along with my throat. Still I didn't think anything of it, I just went to bed early with Ella.

Come the next morning I was feeling horrible. I couldn't swallow to save my life. The boat docked early in the Bahamas. We were up by 7, but the sick bay didn't open until 9:30. That was the worst two and a half hours of my whole life. I immediately went to sick bay when they opened. They took my temperature and proceeded to ask how long I have had a fever. I was unaware I had a fever I thought I was just cold because of the AC. They asked me why I was there and I told them I thought that I had strep. They looked at me in confusion. None of them were americans and didn't speak English well. They told me that it was 100 dollars just to see the doctor, plus any other medication that I might need. I said, "At this point, I don't care. Please get me better now because I don't want to feel this way the whole cruise."

I was brought back into see the doctor. She proceeded to look in my mouth and with a gasp and a disgusted look on her face she said, "I don't even need to do the strep test. You have the worst case of Strep I have EVER seen." My response... "Of course I do!! Why wouldn't I get strep on my vacation?" AND just to add.... I have NEVER had strep before. So once again I say, "Of course I do! Why wouldn't I get strep on my vacation?"

After one shot of penicillin in my a*# , another dose of antibiotics for my fever in my other a#$ cheek, and a bunch of meds I was sent on my way. And for the record. I did cry! It hurt so badly! NOT like normal shots. I had two bruises in my a#$ cheeks to prove it. I think they thought I was a big baby, but you would cry too if you got two big needles in you and your throat felt like mine did.

After about an hour I felt almost 75% better. Thank you shot of Penicillin. I was so bummed because I thought that my strep would ruin our trip. It did put a damper in the trip, but didn’t stop us from having fun. I wouldn’t allow it. Our first stop was in the Nassau. We didn’t do any of the excursions. Ernie and I decided to do a little exploring instead. We wanted to introduce Ella to the ocean. So we went in search of a beach. It wasn’t a resort beach, but we didn’t want to pay a lot of money when we knew we weren’t going to stay long. We found this little beach and had fun resting, playing in the water, and digging our toes in the white sand.

After an hour on the beach, we packed up, and head back for the boat. We ended up spending the rest of the day at the pool. Just a heads up for all the cruisin’ people out their with children who are not potty trained, you can’t take them in the pool with a diaper on. The first day we were talked to about Ella wearing a diaper in the pool. They said that they didn’t mind babies in the pool but they couldn’t wear a diaper. I said, “Alright, but if my baby poops in your pool… I am not to blame!” Good thing my sweet baby Ella has pooping problems and we knew she wouldn’t be pooping in the pool. ( I know… TMI)

That night we had a great “fancy dress” dinner! It was fun to get dressed up and enjoy a night of lookin’ good. I felt like we were at prom. They have so many cameras around to take your picture. We got some great family pictures!

The next day was the best day by far. With everyone feelin' good, we were off the boat for another day of exploring and fun. Our second stop on our cruise was to an Island owned by Royal Caribbean; CocoCay. This was a great beach, with not a lot of people, only the people on the boat. We enjoyed swimming in the clear waters and Lauren and I went Parasailing. Lauren has done it before, but it was my first time and I really enjoyed it. Great memories!

That night was a rough one again. Just when I start feeling better, Ella starts feeling yucky. That night Ella threw up. We found it odd, but thought it might be some motion sickness. The waters were really choppy. She did it again the next morning too, but we still thought it was a bout of seasickness. She wouldn’t eat or drink anything. We proceeded anyway to check out the Florida Keys, to do some sightseeing, and shopping with our sick baby. She did fine the whole day, but still refused to eat or drink anything. We enjoyed the Keys a lot. It has a wonderful atmosphere with some cute, quaint shops.

We enjoyed another great dinner that night and a beautiful sunset.

The next day was the end of our cruise. Ella threw up again in the middle of the night and once at the airport. It is NOT a fun thing flying with a one year old, but with a sick one year old is even worse. We managed to fly the whole three hours and twenty minutes with no throw up… thank you Lord, but she was sick for the next five days. It was terrible!

Despite the sicknesses, we did have a great adventure with LOTS of memories. It was wonderful spending time with Ernie’s family and celebrating GiGi's many years of life. We love you GiGi and we are glad we were part of your birthday celebration. A great big THANK YOU to Grammy as well. We couldn't have done ANY of this without you.

It's time to party!

2011-06-21T14:10:00.005-06:00

It's time to party for numerous reason, the first and biggest, is I have finally blogged! I have been meaning to do this for some time, but due to school ending, Ella's "Buggy" birthday, crusin' in the Bahamas, numerous trips to the doctor and one early morning trip to the ER, and another visit to Florida I have not found the time.

So, here is the first of many posts to come!

OUR DAUGHTER IS ONE! We are so blessed to have Ella in our lives. She has made the last year and incredible journey for Ernie and me. It is literally hard to remember what our lives were like before Ella. Enjoy Ella's "Buggy" birthday party! Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated this awesome day with us!

Happy Birthday Ella Jean!

Ummm... Yummy cake!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T11:26:00.003-06:00

I missed Mother's Day last year by a couple of weeks. Some may argue that even though Ella was still in my belly that I was still a mother. I would have to, in some aspects, disagree. Yes, I had been caring for this little life for 9 months! Yes, I was nourishing her and helping her grow. AND Yes, I loved that little face and those tiny toes even though I was unable to kiss them. I was a mother, BUT nothing could ever compare to loving Ella now, outside the womb. I thought I knew what love was during those 9 months I carried her, but I had NO IDEA! Loving Ella is a pretty amazing thing. One that is unexplainable. She is happy, incredibly smart, and funny! She is a part of me and part of Ernie. God is pretty amazing and wonderful because he gave us the responsibility to look after her, guide her in His ways, and stand by and look on with pride! We are proud parents of this wonderful little girl. I am privileged to be called her Mama! Happy Mother's day to every Mom who has smart, happy, wonderful little kiddos and who love them more and more each day!

Good bye 10 months... Hello 11 months!

2011-04-27T14:21:00.005-06:00

As I sit at home today with a sick kiddo, getting things accomplished and done around the house, I just stopped and noticed the date. April 27th! Although this has no significant meaning to us, it does hold some small meaning. Our little lady has been with us for 11 months and has one more month until she is 1. Hard to believe where the time has gone. I know this will not be the last time I say that!

Our easy going lady is still not crawling and has no wanting to pull herself up to try walk. Although these are milestones we look forward to her accomplishing, she still amazes us daily with her ever growing knowledge of the things around her. Ella is really starting to understand things like "no" (even though she doesn't always obey it). She loves to give me things when I ask. She loves repeating things after we say them. The other day I said, "oh nuts!" and Ella repeated, in her baby language,what sounded like "oh nuts." Ernie and I both just laughed. She is starting to play with her toys and talk to them and laugh at them. The other day she was playing with her toys and kept repeating; "I, I, I, I, I". I think she was saying "hi".

I visited the doctor yesterday and we found out that she has her first ear infection. I am grateful we have gone this long without being sick. It is hard for a mama to see their little ones sick. I hate it. Ernie has been traveling this week so I have done it all on my own. We miss daddy and we look forward to having him home too! The doctor also said that Ella is cutting FOUR teeth on top! Poor baby! We look forward to those coming in soon! We haven't had a new tooth since the end of January and I am sure Ella looks forward to a little relief! (until she gets more)

We have had some play time outside lately too when the weather has been nice. Ella hates her feet touching the grass. See the picture below of how she sits in the grass! She'll have great abs if she continues doing this. While we were playing outside the other day too, Ella proceeded to pick up grass, look at it, and gag. The grass didn't even go in her mouth. I just laughed at her. She did the same thing on Easter with the colored grass in her Easter basket. What a strange child!

We love Ella so much and can't believe that in a few short weeks will be celebrating her first birthday! Happy 11 months Ella Jean! Enjoy some 10 month pictures!

He has Risen!

2011-04-26T08:40:00.010-06:00

Easter is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons. I find it even hard to sleep the night before because I am excited to celebrate. Here are the reasons why I am so excited:

1. Knowing that we don't have to die a sinners death because our Savior has done if for us. Pretty stinkin' amazing and wonderful!

2. Family

3. Easter baskets with fun goodies

4. Good food! These are Chocolate chick cupcakes that I made. Thanks Martha Stewart!

5. Getting all dressed up in our new Easter outfits

6. Fun cousin moments

Happy Easter from the Krauths

These are a few of my favorite things...

2011-03-19T14:17:00.014-06:00

Long walks with Mommy:

Eating:

Sleeping on my tummy:

Getting stuck in small spaces:

My cousin Lia:

Swinging:

My dad:

Mylie:

Being 9 Months old is SO much fun!

Winter Break and more...

2011-02-26T11:23:00.004-07:00

Ella will be nine months tomorrow and it is hard to believe where the time has gone. Ella is so full of life, laid back, and has her dads humor (she laughs at everything). It amazes me daily how much Ernie and I love this little girl. I can't believe we lived so long without her. She fills every part of our lives with joy, wonder, and continuous laughter. Here are some pictures of my time off with Ella. I had so much fun with Ella during my Winter Break and, as always, it goes WAY too fast. The most fun part was having play dates with Jansen boys and with cousin Lia. It is so fun to watch Ella interact with other kiddos. Very much looking forward to Florida in three/four weeks for Spring Break!

Football and Ella

2011-02-19T19:11:00.002-07:00

I know that its been a while since we last posted something but with football now on the back burner and who knows when we are going to see football again with the lock out looming but Ella really wanted to share this with the blogging world.

Kim Ella and I tried to get together with some people for the big game but we were too late as everyone else already had plans so we decided to throw our own Super Bowl Party. We went to the grocery store got a bunch of junk food, cleaned the house, and parked ourself down in the basement for about 6 hours.

Over all I'd say it was a good super bowl party (Minus the fact that the broncos stink this year) Here is a video of our fun times

8 months

2011-02-02T20:58:00.003-07:00

8 months. Can it already be Eight Months? Where does the time go. Its been an unbelievable ride and while we are so busy with life I am realizing that Ella is 8 months old already.

I mean geesh she has her first 2 teeth already.

1 month

8 Months

Oh the joys of growing up

2011-01-08T09:25:00.002-07:00

It's not that I don't like the baby phase but I am really starting to enjoy Ella and all the new things that she is doing. She has such a personality. I love the way she smiles when I come home from work, I love the way she gets excited when she knows when she is going to eat (A true Krauth), I love the way she gets in the bath and just starts kicking, I love the way she starts imitating people with her actions. We have the coolest baby and I just Love the way she is.

Speaking of imitating people Oma taught her how to do this.

Christmas Fun!

2011-01-04T10:36:00.011-07:00

This years Christmas was a three day event! After all was said and done it felt more like a three day marathon. Our darling daughter did all three events with such ease and grace like only Ella can. Her laid back personality let her take in all the new and crazy happenings and traditions.

We started our pre-christmas eve celebrations with a Mackenzie Christmas get together.

On Christmas Eve, Ernie, Ella and I went to church. We followed up church with stockings and then we celebrated with the Krauth kids at Ernie's mom's house with our traditional Fondue experience.

Christmas day was kind of a blur as Ernie and I were extremely tired from staying out late the night before and of course Ella was up early on Christmas morning. (and rightly so... it is Christmas after all) A lot to fit into three days, but we managed. Here are the final pictures of Christmas morning and some pictures of Christmas at my parents.

Merry Christmas from the Krauths! We hope you were blessed this Christmas Season by family and friends and the remembrance of Christ Birth.

POTATOES

2010-11-30T23:04:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving was a great day for Ella because she got some bites of her first solid food... POTATOES! She was very confused by it, didn't like it, tried to throw it up, and smiled the whole time while eating it. She has since eaten some sweet potatoes too. She had the same kind of feelings toward sweet potatoes as regular potatoes, but is starting to enjoy it. It has been fun watching her reactions towards new things, but the second time she has eaten it she has loved it. It will be interesting to watch her try more new foods.

Potatoes:

Sweet Potatoes:

Gobble, Gobble... Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-30T20:14:00.011-07:00

For the last two years Ernie, Mylie, and I have traveled to New Castle to visit with Ernie's family for the long Thanksgiving holiday. This year was no different (minus Mylie staying back because it was too cold) It has become a welcomed tradition for our family with lots of relaxation, fun memories, and LOTS of good food. This year we were able to share it with Ella. We introduced her to the horses, played with Uncle Erik, and laughed with Grandma and Grandpa. We look forward to many more holidays together. Thank you to my in-laws for opening their home and making us feel welcome. We are VERY thankful for all of you. We LOVE the Ranch and all that it brings.

We did some shooting this year too... SO much fun! Amanda was scared, Erik was scary, and Ernie did well and I beat the pants off Ernie! Let's just say I have a knack for shooting. I fit right into the Krauth family.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Krauths!

thankful

2010-11-29T20:17:00.001-07:00

Loving life right now. There are just so many things to be thankful for. My daughter, my wife, my job, my family, my friends, my God, and life. Just thought I would share my thoughts.

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October and a little more...

2010-11-15T19:54:00.017-07:00

The month of October flew by in our family. There were many challenging things that happened in this month. However, God has continued to show us His grace and faithfulness despite everything. Although some of those challenges will not go away anytime soon, we have learned a lot and Ernie and I have learned to rely on one another and stick together despite everything. When you feel like the world is against you, it is so nice to have a partner in crime to fight the world with you!

Ernie, I love you and I am so proud of how hard working, obedient, and faithful you are to God and to me. Your hard work and perseverance have shown me that we can fight anything together. The odds are never against us because we have each other and God to rely on. Thank you for helping me realize that God is in control and that he has a plan that far exceeds my expectations. Thank you for letting me cry when I needed too and be angry when I needed too. Thank you for being a GREAT stay at home daddy for Ella Jean! You can see in her eyes that she feels the same way about you that I do.

Despite the hard times, we also had some fun times too... ENJOY!

MINNESOTA

HALLOWEEN

CLEVELAND

We're excited October is over and we are looking forward to the rest of November and celebrating Christmas! Ella Jean is VERY excited to go visit Grandpa and Grandma Krauth and Uncle Erik for Thanksgiving and of course celebrating Jesus birth in December!

5 Months today

2010-10-27T10:18:00.001-06:00

Ella turned 5 months today. She is doing great and Kim and I are such proud parents. Every day she is sitting up better, eating more, smiling more, tracking more, and loving more. Maybe one day she will sleep through the night more. ha ha

Here is a video of the past 5 months.

Mr Mom

2010-10-26T10:15:00.002-06:00

So now I know why Kim never blogs. Over the last 3 weeks I have had the absolute pleasure of staying home with Ella playing Mr. Mom while Kim goes to work and feeds me. She simply doesn't have time after days like this.

I start my mornings with a nice feeding around 7:30 am (Don't worry peeps I'm using a bottle only to protect my nipples). At about 9:00 am Ella goes down for an hour and a half nap. It is only during this time that I can get things done and let me tell you I have a lot to do during the days. Nope I'm not applying for jobs or networking (who has time for that). I have laundry, dinner, grocery shopping, picking up the toys, organizing the closets, baking some cookies, planning what's for dinner, letting the dog out, raking the leaves, etc, etc, etc...

At about 10:30 Ella gets up for another feeding and then we play under the activity gym for about an hour. She loves this rattle thing and I get to enjoy the majestic sounds of "All around the mulberry bush" (sorry pop culture you and I are taking a break while I belt out the theme to Little Einsteins). On another note that baby einstein is genius. I could watch that for hours it's some hypnotic trick to get dads to forget that they have a life. Seriously, Ella gets bored with it before I do (says a lot for my intelligence level).

Ella is then up and we laugh and play until abut 1:00pm and then Daddy realizes that he forgot about the laundry and needs to switch it over. What is that noise that keeps coming up? Oh yeah Daddy's stomach hasn't been fed all day. I guess I better get something to eat. Whoops never mind gotta go change a poppy diaper. Not hungry anymore.

What!? its already time for nap number two? Sweet now daddy can get all the chores done before Mommy comes home. Ok it's 2:00pm and Ella is down and Daddy finally starts looking for jobs. I apply to a couple of jobs, write a couple of e-mails and i'm cruising. Maybe now I can eat? Nope just kidding my baby beeper is telling me that Ella is up and ready to play. DON"T forget tummy time Ernie... Oh yeah let's play on the tummy Ella. Good Girl.... I'm so proud that you can raise your head and look at me now. What is Mylie doing? (Does anyone else find it weird that you end up asking stupid questions to your kids?) Mylie is just sitting there. It's nothing spectacular yet I want Ella to appease me with a smile and maybe a smart allec remark.

So now we sit and wait........ Is that the garage door? Sure is!!! MOMMY'S HOME!!!!!!

Kim asks , "So we working out today?"

Are you kidding? Do you realize what I just went through and what my day was like?

She looks at me with this glare of "Don't even start with me....." so I don't :)

Oh gotta go, I'm about due to get puked on this morning so I'll leave you with this. I LOVE my daughter, my wife, and this time where I get to stay home. Praise be to God and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Rice Cereal: Take one!

2010-09-28T20:24:00.004-06:00

I have come to the conclusion that the little things, in the life of a parent, bring major excitement.

For example:
My daughter rolls over for the first time: EXCITEMENT!
Did you hear that burp?: EXCITEMENT!
Did you see the color of her poop?: EXCITEMENT!
Was that a smile or just gas?: EXCITEMENT!
WOW she slept through the night... oh, wait... haven't experienced that one yet, but I only can imagine that would bring MAJOR EXCITEMENT!

All these things while minor, are HUGE to a new parent. When we get to experience something new with our first child it brings such joy and excitement to our lives. Over the last four months, Ernie and I have experienced a lot of "first" with our daughter. Everyone being more exciting than the last.

Last night we had another first. We got to experience rice cereal for the first time. Now to the people who don't get it, I pray one day you will, because trying something new with your child for the first time is EXCITING. Rice cereal was a new adventure that we were eager to undertake. Our experience was interesting and fun to watch. We ended up with rice cereal everywhere but in our mouth. BUT we hope this is the case with all new time rice cereal eaters. Not a total success, but close enough.

Tonights experience was better. I stripped her down to the diaper, tried my hardest to get it in her mouth while maneuvering around flailing hands and feet, and tried not to get it up her nose this time. We finished the whole bowl of rice cereal and immediately headed to the bath for a wash and a good scrub down. SUCCESS! I am EXCITED to try again tomorrow night.

We will NEVER tire of watching Ella try something new for the first time. It brings so much EXCITEMENT to our lives.

A declaration and a day to remember!

2010-09-27T20:30:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was an important and special day in the Krauth household. Ella doesn’t realize it yet, but September 26, 2010 will be known as one of the most important days of her life. Yesterday was Ella’s Dedication. We stood in front of God, family, friends, and the church to proclaim that we would do everything we can to raise our child in the ways of Christ. We actually made this decision the day Ella was born, but wanted to tell it to everyone yesterday. We know that as a couple this is a hard thing to do. We need the support of all to help us with this tough job because we are sinners and can’t do it on our own.

Here is our letter to our little Ella Jean:

Ella Jean,

Daddy and I love you so much! We love you so much that we have chosen to raise you in the knowledge and in the power of Christ. We want you to grow up knowing how much Christ loves you and also for you to know that a life without Christ as the center is a life full of nothing. We promise to pray for you daily, help you understand His word, and be good examples of Christ. We want you to one day choose to follow Christ on your own and proclaim that to all. We look forward to that day when you will stand before Christ and his Church to declare how much you love Him and that you are a sinner and are in need of his grace and love. Until then and even after then, we promise to show you the love of Christ and help guide you in His ways!

Happy Dedication Day, Ella Jean!

We can't forget about Heater too! It was an even more special day because we got to share in it with the Jansens. Mark and Abby, we promise to stand by you and help you guide Heath in the ways of Christ too. We promise to love him and support him in all decisions. We will walk by you both as we raise our Children together to love the Lord! Happy Dedication Day, Heater! We love you so much and we're glad we got to share in this special day with you!

Are you ready for some football?

2010-09-19T11:56:00.006-06:00

Anyone who knows Ernie knows that nothing really compares to football in the fall. His draft day for fantasy football, preseason and finally opening day are the most wonderful days of his life. (even compared to his daughters birth or his wedding) ERNIE LOVES FOOTBALL!

He doesn't have a boy to share in his football love yet, but that doesn't stop Ernie. About a month ago Ernie brought home a receipt for three broncos onesies for Ella. She wares them religiously every time the Broncos play. Ella seems to have taken a liking to football as well because any time ANY football is on she contently watches. Yesterday, I caught Ernie and Ella watching the Air Force game and Ernie swore she started crying when they lost. “Oh dear!” I said to myself. Now I will have two criers anytime our favorite football team loses.

I look forward to watching Ella’s love for football grow and watching Ella and Ernie bond over something that Ernie cherishes.

GO BRONCOS!

Ella the Amazing

2010-08-17T17:43:00.004-06:00

So I know that every parent thinks that their child is the next genius but in this case I think Ella is a brain child. Definitely didn't get the brains from me but that's ok. If she is a genius then I'll take it because Daddy is going to need a nice nursing home some day. So what did she do you ask? She just rolled over. I know I know... Ernie.. you made it sound like she solved the next quadratic equation but I think it's pretty cool that she can roll over.

She started doing it a couple of times and then it dawned on me to grab the camera and tape it. So here is the proof, PS don't mind the girly reaction by daddy. It's pretty feminine I will admit. I guess it's only a matter of time until I'm wearing a big floppy hat having tea with my daughter.

Summer is ending and we are entering Broncos Season

2010-08-08T13:45:00.004-06:00

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I LOVE me some Denver Broncos football. Yes it has been a rough 5 years but that doesn't damper my enthusiasm for my team. Every year I try and hit up a couple of Broncos practices and last night was our opportunity to do so. The Broncos had a practice at invesco field for all the fans and more than 20000 fans showed up to see the team in a number of different drills. All i have to say after the kickoff team was on the field is SUPER BOWL! HA HA

Enjoy the video of our experience below. Ella loves her some broncos!!!

My blogging man card has been taken

2010-07-20T10:23:00.002-06:00

Well as many of you have seen that Kim decided to change the look and feel of our blog. Slowly but surely pink is overtaking my life and I must succome to the fact that my testosterone is being drowned out by Estrogen. That's ok. A happy wife = a happy life right?

Well I just wanted to show you all my anthem now that I'm a dad and maybe this will create some manliness on the blog. "Its the Dad's Life"

A photo shoot...

2010-07-17T19:52:00.005-06:00

Ernie and I are VERY camera happy… Ernie more so than me! We take pictures of our darling daughter all the time. The camera is always within an arms reach for those perfect picture moments. She will probably grow up to hate the camera or totally love it. Either way, I don’t think we’ll stop anytime soon! Here are some of my favorite pictures of Ella Bella!

July Birthday Celebration!

2010-07-17T19:24:00.007-06:00

Today we celebrated the July birthdays in our family by going to Cherry Creek Reservoir for a little fun in the sun! We boated, played a little Frisbee, and ate some great BIG cupcakes. It was the perfect day to go because it was 100 degrees. The reservoir was a perfect 76 degrees, which made it feel really good on a 100 degree day. Ella did well by napping most of the day and also taking in the sights and sounds of the reservoir! Happy, happy birthday to my Mama, Uncle Bruce, and cousin Jason! Let’s celebrate the same way next year!

Old Glory celebrates her Birthday

2010-07-05T10:44:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was a rocking day as we celebrated the 4th of July at the Bosch cabin up in Indian Hills. This is always the best party in all of colorado and it was a riot to see everyone and their kids just celebrate by hiking, wiffle ball, eating, and of course fireworks. The weather wasn't the best conditions but we were able to get everything in that we needed to. What a great time! Enjoy the video.

Futbol and Fun

2010-06-28T07:56:00.005-06:00

This past weekend I really wanted to experience watching a world cup game at a good old fashion American pub. Where the locals who actually watch football know what they are talking about. Now I have to say that I like watching soccer but I'm not fanatical like some people. On Saturday when the US played Ghana my friend Ryan and I went down to the British Bulldog early (We got there at 6:30 am) to watch the game. Good thing we got there that early because we woudn't have got into the pub if we got there later. Let me just say that I have a new found respect for American Soccer fans. The place was packed with cheers,chants, songs, painted faces, flags, drums, and yes even some Vuvuzela's. It was awesome to watch a game in that environment and I'm now a fan for life. Maybe it's time to plan a trip to Brazil for the next World Cup (hopefully the US does better next time).

It was nice to see the country United behind one good cause and I'm sad that we lost but here is a little taste of what I experienced and for 120 minutes we all were best friends without any differences. Just rooting for a country that we all love! This is a video of the reaction right after Landon's Penalty kick. Good times had by all! To bad we didn't win but I have to tell you that this experience made a believer out of me that Soccer can be big in the States if we can just get over that hump. USA! USA! USA!

Going for A dip in more ways than one

2010-06-17T18:24:00.002-06:00

On Monday, Kim and I celebrated our second anniversary together. Wow have we done a lot in the last 2 years. But I have to tell you it's been the best 2 years of my life. So on Monday we went on our first date without Ella and headed to the Melting Pot for our anniversary dinner. What a great night of food and conversation. Look it how far we have come.

Then today we decided to join Cara and the gang (sounds like a great eighties band -- Let's bring back the puffs Cara). Ella is not old enough yet to do anything but sleep and chill so we didn't get in the pool but it was fun just hanging out with our family friends. Karen and Colleen joined us as well so it was a full family affair. The boy's got to hold Ella and my favorite part was Alana telling us that she is going to name her baby Ella. Melts my heart. Here is a fun video.

one week down!

2010-06-04T10:55:00.002-06:00

Well Kim and I survived the week and we think we are starting to get the hang of this parenting thing. HA HA I'm sure things will change rapidly but we are loving our moments with Ella. Here are some images from the first week at home.

Our Little one has arrived!!!

2010-05-30T20:58:00.005-06:00

Well what can I say? This was TOTALLY worth everything!!! Ella Jean Krauth came into our lives officially on August 17th 2009 when we found out that we were pregnant but on May 27, 2010 at 12:10 am Kim and I got to see God's creation first hand. Our little girl is 100% perfect and we love everything about her. This is definitely going to change our lives for the better. We want to thank everyone for their prayer and support, the labor and delivery went well and baby and mom are doing fantastic. Can't wait to share all the new memories with everyone who is willing to listen.

Enjoy the video!

Well Since everyone else posted a blog this weekend

2010-05-23T17:39:00.004-06:00

Just trying to kill some time before the big Lost finale and I noticed that all the Jansen/Syers decided to post their weekend life on their blog. And since I pretty much do everything the Jansen/Syers Families do I will post what we did this weekend.

Here's what we did this weekend.

1. Went to America's on friday and got the Denver Hot wings.
2. Then went to Iron Man 2 with Kim and Her sister. (Nothing like sitting in an uncomfortable position for 2 hours to kick start labor)
3. Got up and because Kim won't do her Mary Katherine Lunges I convinced her to do some landscaping with me. (Making kim plant is just as good as squats I guess)
4. Went to Church Prayed that baby would come. Didn't work
5. Mowed the lawn, weeded, put some seed down.
6. Kim went shopping with her mom to get out of the house. Saw lots of cool sales.
7. Anticipating LOST series finale.

Here is What we Didn't do this weekend.

1.HAVE A BABY!!! COME ON!! I'm about to resort to slipping some Castor Oil into Kim's prenatals. ha ha ha

Any way Enjoy the picture of our newly lanscaped bed. One bed down 2 to go.

We have the Fever!!!

2010-05-21T10:47:00.004-06:00

So any day now. Any moment. Any Minute. Any Second Kim and I are expecting the birth of our first child. What an amazing feeling. There are feelings of nerves, excitement, fear, joy, and love. We have been so blessed through this entire process and now we are both ready for this new chapter in our lives.

We have been so fortunate to have a new niece in that time frame as well as my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Lia Emily Reitsema. Here is our first vist to their house to see and hold the precious little angel.

Love these women!

What are you starring at Ernie

Guess who's next?

But before we bid farwell to the belly we need to give you one more look at the belly and how big our daughter has grown.

The most beautiful image in the world. My wife and My Daughter!!!

Checked!!!

2010-05-07T11:54:00.004-06:00

Ok we are down to weekly visits and baby is well. BK is cooking a little bit longer but Dr. says everything is progressing nicely.

So here is a list of things that we can cross our list.

Bags packed?..............Check
Nursery done? ........... Check
Carseat installed?........Check
Baby Class completed? ....Check
Breast feeding class?.....Check
Pediatrician set up?......Check
Financial planning?.......Check
So we have everything done right? Sure looks like it to me.

Oh What else... Oh yeah
no sleep?..........................Check..ing the bathroom every 2 minutes
Reading The Expectant Father? ....Check..ed it out from a friend
Payment to hospital?..............Writing the Check soon
Driving route to hospital?........Check..ed Parking map 30 times

So are we ready right? Ummm Let me Check!!!!! AHHH This list is too long!!

Let's Play a Game!

2010-04-19T08:46:00.003-06:00

Ok Everyone needs to look at the picture. This is our disasterous living room after Kim's last Baby Shower. I think we have everything but I could be wrong. So the Game is to review the picture and tell us what else Kim and I need before baby comes. First one to name some things that we need that we don't already have wins!!! Good Luck

The joy's of Winning is Crushed by the Losing

2010-04-14T16:02:00.004-06:00

So Kim and I ventured to Vegas this last weekend. Remember the hugh that I was on after winning my Bracket. Well that was quickly dashed the minute we walked into the New york New York. My first $20 gone. That stupid slot, it said on the slot that it was Party America although I wasn't having a party by just giving the machine $20.

We later walked up the Strip (which is an incredibly long walk) the scale in Vegas is totally different from how I pictured it. Kim did great by walking about 34 miles the entire weekend but she is definitely a trooper. I ended up winning some on the first day because the Rockies won on opening day and we played roulette and ended up doubling my money at the Casino Royale.

Other than buying fake club tickets, Walking out of a restaurant after looking at the menu prices, all the smoke, and the naughty pictures all over the place...Vegas is actually a pretty cool place. It's an experience and I'm glad we took the experience. Oh and I made all my money back on the alst day on the Rockies and betting against the Lakers. LOVE IT. Now I just need the Broncos to win my 35:1 bet and I'll be what Vegas calls a WHALE.
Below are a couple of pictures of the memories and being with all our best friends was definitely a treat for us to have before baby comes.

Oh the Joys of Winning

2010-04-06T08:53:00.003-06:00

So today is a good day. Why? Because my Duke Blue Devils are on top once again. I love being a fan of a team that so many people despise because when we win it's so lovely to rub it in everyone nose. Now many of you will say, "Oh Ernie is such a poser and just likes Duke because they are good" false. I grew up a Duke fan because my father, who I love and respect tremendously, went to Medical School there. Then my brother decided to go to Duke and while he was there I was fortunate to go to a Duke game and sit with the Crazies!!! Once you have been to an environment like that of course you are a fan.

This culture and society just loves the story and loves to build teams and other people up, and then when they are up we love to tear them down. (Tiger woods, Any president, Duke, Yankees, and when Butler starts winning all the time them too) It is a fault of our society so I don't get mad when people bash my teams.

So Today is my day and nothing you say will bring me down. GO DUKE now and forever more!!!

Transitions of a Nursery

2010-04-03T15:13:00.002-06:00

Well we are almost done. The only thing we are waiting on now is the name that we are going to hang in the nursery and that will have to wait until after baby comes. Kim and I finally feel that we are done with the Nursery. As the time gets closer to the due date we are realizing how much stuff we are getting. The room definitely fills up fast and I have a feeling that all the room we have in our house now will slowly be turned into a baby factory. We are so blessed to have the space though so we aren't complaining. Take a look at what we have done to our front room. We think it turned out great!

Good Friday and Seder

2010-04-02T23:29:00.002-06:00

I thought it was Seder (like Cedar) the wood but it is Seder (Say-Der). A very traditional Jewish traditional feast done the first day of passover to worship Jesus as the Messiah.

James and Lindsey had us all over for this very customary dinner and celebration on Good Friday and it was a very rewarding experience. I loved just taking time out of our daily lives to learn more about the history of Christ and the traditions that occured over 2000 years ago. James led us all in the traditional Seder dinner and celebration and then after the feast we ate Pasta.

I know.. I know... You are actually supposed to eat a kosher meal that the Jewish people would've eaten but let's face it, we didn't have the time or the desire to learn how to cook a traditional Jewish meal. Although maybe one day we will. The night was filled with laughs, somber moments, prayers, and most of all Glory to God. Thank you James and Lindsey for hosting us to celebrate Good Friday with you. It was great to see everyone!
Pictures below.

This March Weather Is Madness!

2010-03-22T10:15:00.003-06:00

So what is up with the weather. 72 last wednesday. 30 on friday. 64 on Sunday. Tomorrow back in the 30s and snow! Here's to Colorado! The most schyzophrenic state on the planet.

Any way for all you Rock Chalk Jayhawk fans maybe you can go golfing this Saturday considering there is nothing else going on for you. Who knew! I guess that's what happens when Obama Picks you to win the championship. Yep out in the second round. Makes me wonder how this Health care thing is going to work out.

Anyway Kim and I had our own madness this last week as we entertained our cousin from Minnesota. It was a great week of watching Basketball, Watching "She's out of My League", Golfing, and a Nuggets game, Oh yeah Then we got some more stuff for the Nursery. MADNESS I TELL YOU!!!! BYUA HA HA HA (que Dr. Evil)

Btw... "She's out of my League" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. Highly recommend it.

Enjoy the pictures of OUR March Madness. Now we just are waiting for the April and May Madness.

Oh the winds of change are amoung us...

Matt makes Denver Unique

Not the most flattering picture but Kim's wearing Nuggets gear. Its a once in a lifetime she gets to watch a game with me (ha ha)

Our Nursery project. Hopefully we can find some pictures to hang by May.

Why yes... Those are Swedish Models on the cover of the Baby Bjorn.. Thanks for asking.

30's all around

2010-03-14T16:20:00.003-06:00

So a couple weeks ago I turned 30 years old. Today our baby is 30 weeks. Sure there is a huge discrepancy there but hey I wouldn't want it any other way. How did we celebrate this weekend you ask? Well we spent some more time getting the nursery ready. Yesterday we bought a new ceiling fan and some curtains. (Yep you can tell I'm being girl-ified when curtains are the exciting part of my weekend)

Anyway check out the new pictures of my baby and my babe at 30 weeks.

And Now from Denver Colorado standing 5' 7" .........

2010-03-03T08:54:00.006-07:00

#30 ... Wearing the depends t-shirt........ ERNIE......... KRAUTH!!!!!

Thats right folks, That is how I was introduced at my surprise party on Sunday. Ok Not really but Kim totally surprised me by throwing me a 30 year old 3 on 3 tourney.

I Had NO idea. Turns out Mark was in on the planning and got me to the High School where there was about 30 people that I dearly love waiting to scare the crap out of me. Actually now that its over I give Kim a lot of credit. She says that she isn't a party planner but I have to tell you it was one of the best Birthday Parties ever.

What Sunday made me realize (Other than my friends are great and my wife is greater) is that I now know why God didn't make me tall. I'm just no good at basketball. I'll stick with cheering on the Nuggets and Blue Devils, and of course the Crusaders until I'm old. Oh Wait I might be Old already Just check out the pictures below.

THE SHOCK AND SUPRISE!!!

THE REALIZATION AND MARCH MADNESS BRACKET

THE PREGOS! AND ME WITH CAKE.

MY MAD DRIVING SKILLS. (FYI.. I TOTALLY DUNKED IT DURING THIS PLAY)

THE TOURNAMENT WINNERS AND BIRTHDAY BOY!

Sunday's Closing Ceremonies

2010-03-02T14:40:00.004-07:00

Looking back at the Olympics and all the athletes that competed really inspired Mark and I to capture our own "Golden" moments on the slopes.

Shawn White and Bode Miller have nothing on us.
The proof is in the videos below.

Engineering of the Greatest Kind

2010-02-21T19:29:00.005-07:00

Forget all the Chinese Engineers and all the Engineers that build amazing structures all over the world. I'm convinced that the greatest engineers work for Graco baby accessories.

Last night Kim and I had our first baby shower and the Highlands Ranch staff was so good to us. They got us our play swing and our pack and play. Yes I know.... They are so generous!!!

So Kim and I figured it would be a 5 minute ordeal to put these things together but I have to tell you that between the 1st grade drawings of the instructions, the mislabeled pieces, and all the plastic fasteners we finally got the swing together in a record time of 49 minutes. (Chalk one up for me being dumber than a newborn child. I would suck at that 5th grader gameshow.)

Luckily the Pack and Play is the best single invention ever. Again credit to the Graco Engineers. Heck it only took us 10 minutes to get this together. Probably because there is no assembly required. You just snap and push and BAM You have a Pack and Play (Sorry for the horrible Emeril impression there) Hopefully the Birth is as easy as a snap and push. HA HA HA (see evidence below)

Tips to Having a NORMAL Delivery

2010-02-13T14:33:00.004-07:00

So as Kim and I start planning for BK (Baby Krauth) We decided that it would probably be a good idea to get a tour of the Hospital where we were going to be delivering. I'm not sure if the tour was helpful or if it freaked me out even more about the whole process.

But no need to worry. Our tour guide told everyone on the tour that "We would all have Very Normal Deliveries." She only said it about 47 times (Probably not to freak anyone out)

We also went with Lauren and Josh so that If Josh passes out I can show his family where to go. And vis versa. ha ha

Here is a video of our Tour at Swedish!

Hall of Fame Saturday became Hall of Paint Saturday!

2010-02-06T19:46:00.004-07:00

One step closer I keep thinking to myself. One step closer to being done with the nursery. Kim and I were going to hold off painting until next weekend and start a new Valentine's tradition of painting a room every year. (If you recall last V-day we painted our bedroom.. HEY OOOOO!- No but seriously we did paint the bedroom) BUT then I realized that next weekend I need to probably be a little more romantic so we decided to paint the nursery today....

Good times as I was able to get an extended rod for my roller and I will never paint the same again. God's Blessings are perfect and timely.. (Yea that's right I just said that one of God's blessings was an extenda rod roller... It's the little things that we miss).

Anyway Here is a Before Picture.

Here is the After. It looks subtle in the photos but it's actually really nice and comforting.

ONE SIDE NOTE: NO Kim did not do any painting as I didn't want our baby's beautiful brain to get high.

Kim was humbled to the couch along with her sister watching "keeping up with the kardashians!"

To be honest maybe I should have let her paint as I'm not sure what is worse for the baby's brain. The Kardashians or Toxic fumes!

Baby Bumpin

2010-02-06T19:24:00.003-07:00

Well since our last blog Kim and I have been trying to figure out what we were going to talk about. Apparently we have a lot going on these days. Then it hit us. Jayne has a baby bump picture on her blog so why not show the progress of Kim and her growing experience.

(Does anyone find it funny that this is the only time in the world That I will be able to post pictures of my wife getting bigger?)

Ok so here is kim at 16 weeks.

3 weeks later at 19 weeks and the balloon has popped.

And Here is the Latest and greatest goodness. (24 weeks)

Can you tell our dog is very disinterested in the belly pictures? So there you go world. We are over half way there and loving it. Kim's doing ok... Ernie is starting to feel the pains too -Call them simpathy or heartburn... Baby is healthy and continues to grow. (Along with Kim's belly)

A Mass Shooting Occured

2010-01-29T18:40:00.002-07:00

Ok here is a question for everyone. Who was the first person/couple to register for a baby? My second question is HOW IN THE HECK did they get through it without any help?

Yes that is right Kim and I entered the registration nation for our baby girl and I have to tell you that I owned that Pricing Gun. To be honest I could be the fastest draw in the west. Yes Faster than Ned Nedalander.

So the night started out in the bedding section where we found out that a baby needs 4-6 sets of every type of bedding. Bassenett bedding, Portable crib bedding, crib bedding, living room bedding, sleeping in the high chair bedding, etc, etc, etc. That's ok we ended up doing ok.

We then moved to the Diaper section. WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!! sorry for the pun! I was lost from that moment on. Cue the speed dial to Abby and Mark. Thank you Abby for telling us that pampers are good for newborns and huggies are good for toddlers. "Keep the phone by you Abby because we have no clue what we are doing"

2 Seconds later... Abby what type of monitor do you have? What is a safety sheet? What is this what is that?

Ok I'm going to stop asking Abby and ask the Babysrus staff. Excuse me mam 'what is the best type of bottle?' Oh never mind!!! The Sales woman was a 13 year old girl. Actually mam I hope you don't know the answer to that question.

I have to be honest. My gun skills were tested when I had to start scanning the breast cream. It's just not the same when you point a gun at anything with the title "Breast" on it. AWKWARD!

It was all down hill from there. Kim's feet started hurting, we couldn't find the convertable car seats, and worst of all there are no unisex diaper bags (I'm going to have to find a man bag online) A couple can have 2 diaper bags right? If they have separate sinks whats' the difference with having 2 diaper bags.

So the night was done. 133 items scanned. Which was average...said the sales woman. Ugh!!! I guess i'm just going to have to deal with being an average father....

But I will tell you one thing: All the items in the world will not make my baby happy. My baby needs only one thing and she will get it every day of her life. MY LOVE!

Join me fellow Americans and let's start a registration revolution. Give Love , Not Breast Milk Storage bags.

Peace I'm out!

The Nesting has begun!

2010-01-10T15:22:00.003-07:00

Apparently when you have a baby girl you you must sacrafice a room specifically for all the pink stuff. So this weekend Kim and I spent the weekend clearing out our office to make way for our little girl. The fun part is trying to figure out what we are going to be doing as far as the bedding and decorations. I though Blue and Orange would be fine with a big mural of Invesco field but I got the "Veto" on that idea. (What Girls can't have broncos rooms? Where in the rules does it say that?)

Anyway we think we have our bedding picked out. See the link below for the bedding.

www.babysupermall.com/main/products/ban/banmgd6767.html

And Enjoy some pictures of us getting the nursery ready.

Also please notice the paint swatches on the wall. I need your advice on which color to go with. HA HA

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

2010-01-01T19:04:00.005-07:00

This is my first blog ever, (Kim... I know... pretty sad), so there are a couple of things I am learning. For example... all the pictures are in backwards order. The ones at the bottom should be at the top and and ones at the top should be at the bottom. So, when viewing, start at the bottom. I will learn because Ernie says "I need to do my own blogging from here on out." I don't really believe this, but I am willing to branch out and learn a little. I tried to blog one time but it only ended in tears and disaster. So, here is my second, hopefully better, attempt.

The stockings, tree, and all Christmas decorations were put away today. I am kind of sad to see the holiday season go. It always seems that there is so much expectation and excitement and then it always goes by too fast.

Our Christmas was filled with lots of family; which is how every Christmas should be celebrated! We always do Christmas Eve at Ernie's mom's house, spend Christmas morning with each other, and end it at my parents. Lots of family in a short amount of time, but wonderful!

Every year we always go away with my family for a short vacation. We stay in an Embassy Suits hotel, drink, play games, see a movie, and hang out together. This year we decided to switch it up and head up to Loveland instead of our traditional Colorado Springs.

We enjoyed our time very much. We started our time off by going to the New Belgium Brewery for a tour. Everyone, minus pregers, got to sample many kinds of beer. Our tour guide was fun and entertaining. The best part was the slide we got to slide down. It actually kind of hurt, but was entertaining to see my parents do it. Thank you Beer! During the weekend, we saw Avatar, which is good, but WAY too long, played lots of games of Settlers, and watched the Broncos play! It was a nice way to end our Christmas.

That was our Christmas... Fun had by all! Now back to the "normal" life... sigh!

First Attempt at the Chevy Chase Award

2009-12-01T19:44:00.002-07:00

So I would hardly say that I'm anything like Clark Grizwald, BUT Kim and I did decide that this is the year that we would decorate our house a little more than we usually do. Below you will find our 7 foot Christmas tree from the forest of Chambers and Parker (AKA Home Depot).

I know it's in a weird spot but I thought it was the same size as we got last year. Nope now that I recall we got a 6ft tree last year.

Here is my extravagant Light Show in the neighborhood. Good thing there is a park across the street other wise my neighbors wouldn't be able to sleep it's so bright.

What you can't see is the audio that is blasting from my Bose I-pod deck at the highest volume.

The song choice of course couldn't be more appropriate for the town of Aurora. "Breath of Heaven."

YeeeHAW!! It's Christmas Time!

2009-12-01T14:58:00.003-07:00

So Kim and I are back from our Cowboy Thanksgiving as we went to my family Ranch. It was a lot of fun as we did nothing but Eat, Sleep and Eat some more. (So guess what i want for christmas? Yep my old weight back. ha ha - Let's just say that I didn't want Kim to be left out and I'm gaining the baby weight as well.

Here are some photos from that Weekend.

Cheesey Pose, It's like we are engaged again.

Awe!

City Slickers all the way. Except my dad.

Welcome Back Krauths

2009-11-17T07:50:00.005-07:00

Ok I know it's been a while since we posted something but that's because we have been so busy.

I'm working 2 jobs (ncm and Denver Christian) and that has been taking up a lot of my time. In addition for those who don't know already Kim and I are expecting in may! Wahoo!!! Therefore we have been busy trying to figure out this whole pregnancy process that I term "Will Ernie be smarter than a 5th grader?" I'm not so sure.

Anyway we did get our first ultrasound pictures yesterday of the little one. We are extremely pumped and we are just in awe of God's blessings every day.

Enjoy the pictures

Tis the season

2009-10-02T07:33:00.005-06:00

Yeah that's right, its the best time of the year. Broncos are 3-0, Avalanche said goodbye to a legend and welcomed another one, Nuggets are starting soon, and the Rockies are back in the playoffs. All is right in the sports world in Colorado.

Here are some pictures as I was at the game right behind home plate. AWESOME!!

Always Remember

2009-09-11T07:34:00.003-06:00

Today is a special day in the History of the world. 8 years ago today I was just finishing a huge Spanish test and went to the Calvin Library to check my e-mail. I ran into my friend Jeff at the Library and asked him about the e-mail that every student received from Gaylin Byker. What!? One of the twin towers has been hit with a plane? Was it an accident? Who did this?

Jeff and I went back to our house on Ridgemoor just in time to walk in and see the second plan hit the second tower. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then the Pentagon! My Uncle worked at the Pentagon. Immediately I started freaking out.

What a sad day. Classes were cancelled and So began the reflections and decernment my Christian College. How sad for the families, how sad for America, it's just sad. Today let's Remember this special day and Honor those who are fighting for our freedom and trying to search down those responsible. God Bless all my friends and family, God Bless this day and every day, and of course in the words of our great president who had to endure this tragedy "God Bless America"

Labor Day Fun!

2009-09-08T07:41:00.005-06:00

Wow what a weekend. First Kim and I spent all day saturday doing chores. Sunday we went to the CU CSU Game ( Total bust from a football perspective but good times tailgating). Then Monday went up to the Jansens Cabin. Thank you Jansens for being so hospitable.

Enjoy the Picts and Videos.

HERE COMES RALPHIE!

Cabin Fun

2 Honey Do's Down..... 5000 to go!

2009-08-24T07:20:00.005-06:00

I am into 1 year and 3 months of marriage and I am just now learning that there is always something to do. Always something to improve and always some money to spend. Well last week I was able to finish 2 things on my list. First I painted the Kitchen once again making it more homey and less apartment feel. Below are the results.

The second project that Kim and I decided to tackle was our front flower bed. Yesterday Nick's Nursery down the street was having a 30% off all perennial sale. Thanks to Cara Syres for the suggestions because I think it turned out great! Below are the Before and After Pictures.

Landscaping Design

2009-08-19T11:31:00.006-06:00

Does anyone have any ideas of what I should do with my flower beds. I don't have the first clue as to what to do with these beds. So if anyone has any perrenials or ideas of what i can do let me know. Here are pictures of the beds. Let me know and if you don't forward to your friends.

The Front of my House Bed. Any ideas?

Back Yard Right side

Back Side Left Side

Going shopping this weekend let me know what plants I should get.

Even my Fingers are sore!

2009-08-15T18:50:00.006-06:00

So I'm going to try and push my way through this blog as I every part of my body is sore. I just finished the Denver Oyster 2009 with some friends and it was a really good time. We did biking to the Cherry Creek Market, We did some stair climbing, Some Platte River walking, Some Cemetary visiting, and of course beer tasting at the end. Here are some picts from the adventure. Time to pass out. Does anyone have a wheel chair I can borrow? Otherwise tomorrow I don't know how I'm going to get up for Church.

Warming up the Kitchen

2009-08-06T07:11:00.005-06:00

So Kim and I are back to our honey do's. We have been thinking about painting our rooms to warm up the house a little bit. First we started in the most important room in the house, The bedroom of course. Well we wanted to spruce up the main living area so we decided to paint the kitchen. Kim and I are definitely getting bold and we went with the color Sly Fox. Now because all of you are painting experts I will just remind you that it is a red with a hint of brown in it.

It took us all of 3 hours or so. Kim worked on her artistic ability by doing all the trim while I did the rolling. Good times. What a transformation. Now it's starting to feel like home.

Kim doing her work while having an agelic glow. HA HA

What a difference!

Our Dog Just sat on her bed the entire night.

The night ended with a beautiful sunset.

Now I know what the 60s must have been like

2009-08-05T07:59:00.004-06:00

About 2 months ago a bunch of my work buddies decided to get tickets to the ZZtop and Aerosmith Concert. They kept beggin me to go as it was going to be a good time and I would experience some amazing rock and roll. So I was told.

I decided to do it because well I had nothing better going on and well Kim was out of town so why not.

The Concert was on Saturday and I have to tell you it was not for my generation. I think I was a little out of my league as i saw all these 40 -50 year olds jamming out while they siped their wine coolers and even puffed a little "cigarette" that they held between their index finger and thumb. WEIRD!!! ZZtop was alright considering i knew only one of their songs. Aerosmith was cool but i was a little disapointed they didn't play the Armegedon song. I wanted to relive my college days crying while watching that movie in the BHT basement.

Anyway here are a couple videos from that night.

Welcome Back Ernie and Kim.

2009-08-04T09:19:00.006-06:00

So yesterday when I was talking to Barb Jansen about the blog she told me that Bruce had updated their blog. I was totally shocked to see that they finally had posted something and kind of gave her some grief for not posting as often.-- Then I realized that I was totally being a hypocrite as Kim and I haven't posted anything in a while either. So here I am eating crow.

Kim and I have been really busy over the last couple of months as we recently got back from China on a Mission's trip. Man was the experience awesome. We both now have a new perspective on how big God is and he truly blessed our time over in China as we were able to minister to students about Christ through our English teaching. There was so many experiences that we had and so many stories to tell so if anyone is interested lets do lunch/ dinner and we will tell you all about it.

Below are just some fun videos of during our off time of teaching.
Enjoy.

We Made it!!!

2009-06-15T20:29:00.004-06:00

Well I guess we can't officially be called Newly Weds any more but we are going to go with it as I really don't want to change the name of our Blog. Kim and I just celebrated one year of Pure Marital Bliss. I don't know what other couples are talking about but our first year of marriage was flawless. We didn't have any fights. Kim never cries for no reason, Ernie is completely understanding of everything and helps out with the cleaning, and does all the laundry. This stuff is a breeze!!!

RIIIIIIIIIGHHHHHHHT!

Well Like every couple our first year was fun and interesting but one this is for sure. Kim and I are still very much in love and our love continues to grow daily as we continue to walk this journey together. I for one am not perfect (this I know) but I am thankful that God Blessed me with perfection in Kim.

We just got back from celebrating our 1 year anniversary in New York City and Here are some picts and Videos to prove it. Thanks for all your support and every year is going to be just like the first... Full of Perfect Love!

Massive Hail Storm

2009-06-07T15:18:00.005-06:00

Kim and I just finished cleaning up the gutters trying to unclog them. Luckily we got that done. No sooner than we got the gutters cleaned Aurora was hit with a Massive Hail Storm. We got some mad golf ball size hail in Aurora. See the pictures and video below. Craziness

Time Blocks for Delivery

2009-02-24T09:12:00.003-07:00

So this morning I am working from home only because we decided to get a new bed. Well of course what that means for everyone that doesn't have a semi moving truck it means that we needed to schedule a Delivery for the furniture. This is my favorite time. Just waiting at home not knowing when they will show up. Oh don't worry though. Yesterday I received an upbeat call from a gentleman from the distribution center.

"Ernie, How are you today? I am just calling to give you the delivery window for your new bed"

Great i replied when do i need to be home?

"They will be there exactly between 8:30 am -- 12:30 am"

What I found pecular was the word EXACTLY. Doesn't this word give definition to a more exact time? What does exactly mean if retail starts using it in delivery.

So I am thinking that this terminology can be a benifit for all people.

Think of this,
If you don't want to display your age to someone just say "I'm exactly the age of 25-60"

or when its tax time and they need your salary say "I make exactly $10000-$150000" That way the goverment has to figure it out. wouldn't that be nice for a change.

So next time when delivery comes calling and they give you the EXACT time of when they are going to be there just know that this probably means that they will show up exactly between January 1 - and December 31.

Gotta love Exact delivery windows.

The Smell of Fresh Paint not Flowers

2009-02-16T19:04:00.009-07:00

Welcome back Ernie and Kim, It's been a while since we last posted anything and trust me it's only because we haven't sat down and done it. We have had plenty of topics to blog about but we just haven't done so. Therefore I'm going to try and catch you all up on this one Blog.

Couple of things happening.

1. Kim and I decided that we are going China this summer

2. We got a Wii Fit and are currently training for the Bolder Boulder in May

3. Celebrated Kim's Birthday January 3rd

and

4. Spent our first Valentines day weekend together as a married couple doing what else....

No you sickos... we spent the weekend fixing up our house. So instead of flowers we had the fresh aroma of paint as Kim and I decided to finally paint our bedroom.

It was a great day of Prep work, having the inlaws over to help, and rewarding them with a home cooked meal. Guess what Barb J. we had the baked Ziti. It was great.

After painting Kim and I celebrated Presidents' day by running 4 miles outside with our dog and had Mark and Abby over for dinner. It's always a good time when Abby, Mark, and Nolan come over because Nolan always does something spectacular when he is here. The first time we babysat he learned to hump..(NO Not from me, I don't know where he learned it). Well tonight he decided to have the biggest blow out that anyone has ever seen. It was the equivalent of 4 chipolte pinto bean burritos. THANK YOU ABBY FOR MAKING CHILLI THE NIGHT BEFORE AND FEEDING HIM BEANS. So we all stopped dinner to bathe Nolan and burn his clothes(not really) Good times and might I say the steak was actually really good as well.

It was actually quite humorous as we were all eating our nice steak dinners and Kim looks down at Nolan and says (in the most calm voice) "oh that isn't very good" As we all looked down mount vacuvious was erupting out of the diaper and all over the floor. HA HA HA Kim and I have now experienced Nolan's puke and Poop first hand. YES we love him to death but it definitely good Birth Control! Kim and I just aren't ready for that. Then again i don't know if Mark and Abby are quite ready for those situations but it breeds good stories of fellowship.

Below are a couple of pictures of our adventures on Valentines Day.

BEDROOM BEFORE

BEDROOM AFTER #1

BEDROOM AFTER #2

HAVE TO GET ONE OF OUR CUTE DOG DOING HOUSE WORK!!!

AND THE ADVENTURES OF NOLAN AT THE KRAUTH!

AT LEAST WE CAN ALL LAUGH ABOUT THESE THINGS!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T16:28:00.003-07:00

So this was Kim and Ernie's first Christmas together as a married couple. Last year I introduced Kim to the wild family tradition of Fondue and crazy Christmas time with the Krauth family. So this was the second time we have experienced this together. The night started out going to church with the Findells and the Mackenzie's and Krauth family. Then we indulged ourselves with lots of food then great times opening presents. Of course my mom went overboard again but there are some good pictures. Enjoy the video of Christmas Eve 2008.