"Zai Jian" Chinese School!

Ni Hao Ma? (How are you?) Wo hen ke ai! (I am very cute!)
Playing a game with the class .

Lorelei was a lao shu (mouse)
Her friends in class.

She seems upset about something!

Lorelei completed her first semester at Chinese school! We went every Saturday for an hour. The teacher was fantastic and for the most part Lorelei enjoyed it. She did learn some Chinese words, but it will be something we will need to practice over and over. She realized that Chinese school was cutting into her time with daddy on Saturdays, so she didn't want to go at the end. At least we get a break for the summer until it starts back up in August. It helps me keep up on my Chinese too! Lorelei is the only white girl on campus and most of the other students have been taught Chinese since they were a baby, so Lorelei has a lot to catch up on. Lorelei has decided that she doesn't want me to be in the room, she wants me to drop her off like her other preschool, however, I want to know what Chinese words she is learning for that day so we can practice. I guess we'll have to come up with a better plan for next semester.

All about Lorelei!

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 6:00
2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? Diamonds, because they are sparkly. She didn't know what pearls were until I showed her just now.
3. WHAT IS THE LAST FILM THAT YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? "Enchanted" it is the third time she had seen it and now we own it
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOWs? Dora, Diego, & Little Einsteins
5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Toast with butter, yogurt, juice & bananas, & sometimes waffles
6. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE FOODs? Cheese, Bread, Chocolate
7. WHAT FOODs DO YOU DISLIKE? Most everything else, she is very, very picky
8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CDs? Disney princess, Little Mermaid, Music & Lyrics Soundtrack
9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG? "It's just a Shame That's All," by Genesis, she calls it the camel song and wants to listen to it everyday, She also loves "Hollerback Girl," By Gwen Stefani, she learned to spell "Bananas" from that song and she loves the "Bad Day," by Daniel Powter.
10. FAVORITE SANDWICH ? Cheese Sandwich
11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? if I share with them and they don't share back with me
12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? her navy blue striped dress with the flower on it, she calls it the zebra dress.
13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON VACATION, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? "China, but it's so far away."
14. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? Green & Brown accents
15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? shirts and pants, she doesn't know what "brand" is yet 16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? Far away with her cousin Tia
17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? my 4th birthday, I had princess/pirate party, I love the pinata the best
18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Football with my daddy
19. FAVORITE BARBIEs? Mermaidia & Mariposa
20. FAVORITE BATH TOYS? Duckies
21. FAVORITE ANIMAL? Bear bEAR blanket, she sleeps with it every night, since 6 months old
22. FAVORITE MOVIE? Barbie Mermaidia (it changes everyday)
23. FAVORITE COLOR? Pink & White
24. ARE YOU A MORNING OR NIGHT PERSON? Mornings because I get to play with toys in the mornings and watch cartoons
25. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 12
26. PETS? Harry (rabbit) but he died a few months ago
27. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? I got a new barbie like Mermaidia
28. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? A mermaid, I like mermaids the most right now. But I want to be a doctor and a ballerina too.
29. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? "I'm doing great, I feel much better and no headaches today." (not that she has headaches very often) those were her exact words
30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CANDY? Chocolate bunnies
32. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday, because daddy stays home, but I don't like Chinese class because I don't want to go every Saturday. (luckily Chinese is over for the summer, we'll talk about next semester)
33. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Fruit Rollup
34. FAVORITE ICECREAM? Chocolate
35. HOW MANY PLACES HAVE YOU LIVED? Coralville & Waterloo, IA, Higley & Mesa, AZ
36. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? yes, I like those
37. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? pink
38. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? the sun is up and it is hot outside
39. FAVORITE DRINK? Water, Lemonade, Juice (Cran-Grape & Apple)
40. FAVORITE FAST FOOD? OLD McDonald's (she used to call it EIEIO) and Arby's
41. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Red Robin & Olive Garden
42. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, my Birthday
43. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A BABY? I carried around a honey dipper everywhere I went, it was her favorite toy
44. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter, with short sleeves
45. HUGS OR KISSES ? Hugs
46. FAVORITE SMELL? Flowers & Strawberries
47. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate, OF COURSE
48. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? I played with toys, took a bath, read a book, said a prayer, went to bed
49. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? today, "my leg fell asleep in the car and it really hurt and I couldn't walk with this leg." "It's better now, both of them are better."
50. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAYING? OH GREEAATT!
51. WHO ARE THE FRIENDs THAT YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Nana, Bailee Packham, Aspen Riley, Ruby Reynolds, & Elizabeth they were my friends in my first play group when I was only 4 weeks old.
52. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? Spiders, sharks, and other bugs are scary
53. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES? Swimming
54. WHO DO YOU LOVE? I love Nana the most
55. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY? When my friends come over.


These are just some fun facts about Lorelei. Now I tag all of Lorelei's friends to do this one.

Fairy Tale Ballet!

Nana & Lorelei

Another adorable week of Lorelei's performance! She danced to the "Little Mermaid" song. She was so excited because Nana got to come and watch her dance this time. Lorelei really enjoys ballet and although they are simple dances we still love watching our little girl show off her moves. My favorite is watching her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as she concentrates. I love these classes because each week we get to go in the last five minutes and watch a little recital they have prepared for that day. It is too CUTE!!

Here is our last weeks performance. They danced to "Lady and the Tramp's" song, "We are Siamese." It was so adorable, I loved when they would shake their booty and their little tails moved! The footage at the end got a little crazy as I'm not able to zoom out to get them as they came closer. Still got to love the show though. We'll see what next week brings in their awesome fairy tale ballet class.

Chef LeiLei!

Lorelei loves to cook! So after swimming and a bath we got out some ingredients to make some cookies. She quickly goes and puts on her apron and chef hat to complete the whole experience. This is one of Lorelei's favorite activities to do with her mommy. Unfortunately, mommy hasn't felt well enough to cook regularly, so we haven't been as creative with what we make. We made chocolate chip cookies and Lorelei and daddy enjoyed them all. Mommy had a bite here and there, but chocolate makes the baby sick for some reason. So no chocolate for me, I miss chocolate! Chad and Lorelei had no problem finishing them off. Yum Yum.

Sea World!

Sea World!Family Close UP!Feeding the Dolphins!
Lorelei wasn't too sure about reaching her hand out to pet the dolphin, but she reluctantly did and even threw in a couple fish for the dolphins.

Dolphin Show!
Go Dolly Go!
Watching the Sea Lions and Seals!
Don't Mess with me!
Shamu Show
I'm glad we didn't sit in the Splash Zone!
This guy is about to take off running!
Can you imagine a shark this big, luckily these kind of sharks don't live in the ocean. I wouldn't be caught swimming in it if there were.
Riding on a Manatee, YeeHAW!Gondola ride across the bay!
"Is that coming from the flamingo's bottoms?"

Feeding the Dolphins!

We had a fabulous time at Sea World! As soon as we got in the park, Lorelei wanted to see the map, she took over and directed our every move. She first wanted to go see the Sharks, I don't know why, because she has nightmares of Bruce the shark on Finding Nemo. I thought maybe that would stop the nightmares, but it hasn't yet. She really did enjoy watching the sharks.
We had a great time watching all the shows. We went to the Shamu, Dolphin, and Pet's Rule Shows. We also got to feed the dolphins, which is one of my favorite highlights of the trip. I love dolphins and of course, penguins and flamingos too. So I got to see three of my favorites. One of the kids described a dolphin as feeling like a HOT DOG, I would have to agree. We got to throw fish into their mouths and pet the dolphins. Lorelei's favorite highlights were feeding the dolphins and she loved to watch the sea lions and seals getting fed. We were right next to the bucket of fish that was being poured over the edge so we got to see up close and personal with all the seals and sea lions barking and trying to make the most obnoxious sounds to get the trainers attention. It was hilarious. Lorelei was giggling and laughing so much. It was definitely a close encounter that we all enjoyed. Chad's favorite highlight was the Sharks. He is obsessed with them, but I think they are just too creepy, especially now knowing a Great White just took out a swimmer in San Diego this past week. They are just too unpredictable and nasty looking.
We got a great laugh at one of Lorelei's observations. We went to go see the flamingos and Lorelei quickly noticed the noises that they were making. She said, "Mom, is that coming from the flamingo's bottoms?" It really did sound like the flamingos had gas. It was so funny. We had a great laugh about that one. We couldn't stop laughing!
We also enjoyed a gondola ride over the bay. And overall we got to see polar bears, penguins, flamingos, beluga whales, sting rays, otters, seals, sea lions, dolphins, orka whales,and all kinds of fish. We even saw Clydesdale horses and of course the Pet's Rule show includes all kinds of dogs, cats, ducks, pigs, and birds. I always wondered what farm animals were doing at Sea World, but oh well, we still enjoyed it all the same!

"Mary had a LEGOLAND!!"

Legoland! My scanner is broken, so I just tried taking a picture of this picture. So at least you get to see a family picture of us together at Legoland
Are we in New York? That octopus is made up of all legos?Lorelei learning to drive her first car. After she got the hang of it she zoomed around the track, passing everyone. Notice her tongue sticking out as she concentrates, she gets that from her mommy.

It was too scary! Check out the lady in front, even she was petrified. Poor Lorelei!
Beetle Bounce Bruce the Shark!
The Royal Joust
Splash park, she really loved this water pad.

The last ride of the day. She was crying and complaining of an ear-ache. Here she is with her hand covering her ear.

Giddy UP!!

On our way to Legoland, we hear Lorelei singing in the back seat, "Mary had a Legoland," it was so cute. It's amazing what pops into their little heads. It made us laugh! It was a great little theme park with lots of lifesize Legos built everywhere around you. It is perfect for her age group and she had so much fun. She even went on the big rollercoaster with her daddy, although she did try and protest about going on it. But, because her mom loves rollercoasters so much and wasn't able to ride, I forced my little girl to do it for me. She said, "it was too scary." OOoops, I guess I pushed her too early. She did however, continue to ride the other rides after that and her favorite ride was the Dragon rollercoaster, a little less intense. We ended up leaving a little early, because Lorelei was complaining of an ear-ache. Luckily, she was okay, because our next days adventure was Sea World. It was fun to see what they can build with Legos. We bought her a little lego set, that she has been playing with ever since.

Son of a Beach!

San Diego, CA
Collecting shells
Hanging out with daddy!
We love the ocean!
I'm going in!

We decided to take a fun family trip to San Diego! Since we are only six hours away, this will probably be the place that we visit most often. We were so excited to do a last family trip together, before the baby comes and I get any bigger. Our first stop was La Jolla Beach. It was too cold to swim, but we did have a fun time searching for shells, spotting crabs, and making a sand castle too. Lorelei was brave enough to go in the water a little bit. Although it wasn't the best beach because of all the seaweed and sand pits, we still had enough there to entertain us and had a great time. We then went back to the hotel to swim and prepare for our next day at Legoland.

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!!

I am announcing that I got the call today to set up my C-Section appointment. WE now know that baby McCrea will be born on July 15, 2008, unless he decides to come earlier. It is a little scary to know that I have less than 90 days to prepare and I haven't STARTED on anything. I'm scared, but very excited!

31 Flavors!!

Happy Birthday Babe!
Make a wish!
Tana (Chad's Mom) Lorelei, Chad and Steve (Teresa's Bro)

Our Family picture Teresa, McCrea (in Belly) Lorelei and Chad

Celebrating Chad's 31st birthday! April 15, 1977 What can I say about Chad? He is a wonderful husband and father and we are so lucky to have him in our lives. WE LOVE YOU Sweetie!

Here are 31 flavors of Chad!

1. He is an only Child
2. His full name is Chadwick McCrea Graham, McCrea will soon to be our son's name
3. He was born in Rochester, NY, but grew up in Cupertino, CA
4. He loves being a father, Lorelei is a daddy's girl. He can't wait to have McCrea join the family too
5. He is the pickiest eater on earth
6. He played football and baseball in highschool
7. He is a wonderful husband and friend
8. He works as a Corporate Migration Attorney
9. He is very smart and intelligent
10. He is very good at grammar and has an extensive vocabulary
11. He is very funny and witty
12. He is a germaphobe
13. He gets up early every morning to go workout
14. He loves to read
15. He is an excellent writer and has had things published for law school and his job
16. He hates traffic, has a bit of road rage and hates large crowds
17. He is the 1st counselor in the Bishopric
18. He loves the movies, Lord of the Rings, True Lies, Gladiator, & Elf
19. He speaks Spanish
20. He served his mission in Uruguay
21. He loves to travel and has been to about 25 countries
22. He loves Vanilla Coke
23. He hates to be interrupted
24. He loves to play sports and is an excellent athlete
25. He loves Chocolate
26. He is terrible with directions
27. He is a hard worker and provides well for his family
28. He has a bad memory and forgets things quickly
29. He loves fast muscle cars and just sold his 94' Camaro
30. He loves the Giants, A's, 49ers, Raiders, and the Suns
31. He loves the FooFighters, Beck, Jack Johnson, Mana

The list goes on and on. These are the many things we love about our Chadwick!

Happy Birthday Babe!

Swimming Lessons!

Lorelei and Sophia ready for swimming!

HOLD ON, I got to get my goggles on!
Ready, Set, Here I go!

My little fish has hit the water again! Swim lessons have finally arrived and she couldn't be more excited. She has always been my little fish and has loved the water from the beginning. I guess it helps that her name "Lorelei" is from a German legend of a mermaid on the Rhine river. I guess she fits her name well. My little mermaid hasn't lost a beat. She has picked up swimming again right where she left off from last year. Having a swimming pool at our home has made swim lessons a priority here. She has no fear of the water and although we take precautions to protect her from it, the best thing is having her learn to swim at a young age. She praticularly excels at swimming underwater and loves jumping off the diving board.
We need to work on our strokes now! Hooray for swimming!