EARTH, DAY 3!

She is so proud to be the big sister!My little girl grew up overnight!

Lovin on my Baby McCrea It's worth all the pain! But don't ask me to have another one! Taking care of his boy!
Daddy & McCrea! Look at that big yawn!

Baby McCrea enjoying his first 72 hours of life! Chad had taken over as the proud daddy as mommy tried to recover from day 2. He worked hard to keep his baby happy! He changed him, fed him, and took care of all his needs. He definitely formed a quick bond with his boy. McCrea wanted and preferred his daddy over everyone else. Chad had left for a couple hours and he was so upset and fussy during that time, he knew something was not right. But as soon as he had returned and heard his daddy's voice he was at peace again. It was amazing how smart McCrea already is. He is finally getting to know his alien family!

EARTH, DAY 2!

Lorelei took over all my mothering duties! She loves to take care of McCrea. She loves to hold him, kiss him, feed him and sing to him. He actually responds to her well and stops crying to hear her sing. There is an obvious bond between them. But how much is too much smothering? She still treats him like a rag doll, moving him here and there. She lies down one second, sits up the next, swings him to the left side, then suddenly changes her mind and puts him on the right side. She then kisses and hugs him TIGHTLY! I guess she REALLY loves her brother and looking on the bright side, she is taking on that maternal role and not the JEALOUS sister syndrome. It could be worse, I'm glad there is no hitting or hurting him involved, just an over enthusiastic, sisterly LOVE. Mommy was in bed on Day 2 in excruciating pain for most the day, so luckily Lorelei and daddy were there to save the day. We finally got the pain meds under control and Day 3 turned out much better.

Visitors from Outer Space!

Our first family photo!
Lorelei is in love with her baby brother!
Nana and McCrea! We don't know what we would do without her!
Uncle Steve and his favorite Nephew!

Who are these Strange people? Are you sure I'm supposed to be here? These are the people you are entrusting my whole life to? Are they supposed to look like this? I recognize their voices, but they all look very strange. Are they going to feed me NOW? I'm sure these are the thoughts of our little McCrea in meeting his new family. However, welcoming our little boy to our family was the highlight of our day! We had Nana, Grandpa, Lorelei, and Uncle Steve as our first visitors. WE all had been anticipating this day for nine long months and now we could see him face to face. He is so precious and he's definitely a keeper! However, we are all trying to figure out who he looks like. He definitely looks very different from Lorelei when she was born.
Who do you think he looks like?

THREE PLUS ONE MAKES FOUR!

Getting ready for surgery!
Check out my cool Scrubs!
Love at first Sight! The Proud Daddy!The first time I laid eyes on him I was in love!Dr Reyes-Hailey and Baby McCrea!

The one who made it all happen!
McCrea Daxten Graham

Born July 15, 2008

10:49 a.m. @ Chandler Regional Hospital

7 pounds 12 ounces 20 3/4 inches long.

We Did it! McCrea is finally here! I cried through the whole procedure, mostly because I was scared, but when I finally saw his face I was so relieved and happy. He gave out the cutest little cry and I knew everything was going to be okay. I was so glad to know he was healthy and doing well. He made it here and we couldn't be more thrilled or more in love with our new baby boy.

The Last of the Three Musketeers!

Here we are just hours before the welcoming of our baby boy. We are able to get some family pictures of just the three of us before baby McCrea comes into our family. Hugs and Kisses before we head out the door for our planned Csection at 10:30 a.m. Here I am in front of the Chandler Regional Hospital. I loved the sign "Pregnant Patients Only." It was the last day I would be pregnant. Hooray!

BEFORE. . .

I'm ready to POP!



Here I am at 40 weeks a long. Tomorrow is the big day! Thought I would take some baby shots of the before and after. Here is baby McCrea in the belly and tomorrow baby McCrea will make his entrance into this world. Hopefully I'll be able to have access to a computer to post all the pictures of our baby boy. Wish me luck! Can't wait to finally meet him face to face! Hooray it is finally here! I'm so thrilled and excited to see this little guy who has been kicking me and punching me for so long!

Singin' in the Rain!

Ready to go play in the rain!

Lorelei was so excited that it finally rained! She got a new princess umbrella and has been waiting for it to rain ever since. It was pouring cats and dogs! Lorelei got her rain boots, rain coat and whipped out her umbrella and went out in the rain. She absolutely loved it and was begging for me to get my umbrella and come join her. I decided to pass, but enjoyed watching her splash in the puddles and the rain coming down. It definitely cooled things off here and was a nice change of weather. This is Monsoon season so we will be expected to have more and more of these experiences.

Projects 3,4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 COMPLETE!

Projects around the house!

Family Room
Family Room
Dining Room
Living Room
Kitchen Guest Bath

Master Bedroom

Here is the Family room, Dining room, Living Room, Kitchen, Bathroom, and Master. I just now have to get packed for the hospital and go through last minute details. It is nice getting all the projects done around the house. Now I will have the peace of mind that everything is Ready! Notice the desk in the Living room. We moved out our office from McCrea's room and put it in the living room. We found this great roll top desk on Craigslist and Chad worked hard for the past month sanding and staining this desk to match our bookcases. It turned out great! Way to go Chad, but next time let's just buy a matching desk!

McCrea's Room Complete!

Finally got McCrea's room all organized and ready for him. Another project completed! Hooray! We decided to go with a sports theme since that is what Chad loves the most. Watch, he won't even like sports when he grows up. Tomorrow is the big day! We are ready for you McCrea and more excited than ever to have you join our family. Yea!

One down, eight more to go!

Here is Lorelei's room! I got it all organized and cleaned for baby. Too bad it doesn't look like this everyday, CLEAN, that is! I had to take pictures to enjoy from time to time, cause it won't stay like this very long. Lorelei said to me last night, "I really like it when my room is clean," I couldn't agree more. She has too many toys and they all come pouring down like rain. It would make it a lot easier to clean her room if her Nana would stop spoiling her with toys all the time! I don't have ANYMORE room! Baby room is next, it is almost all done!

Girls Day Out!

Girls Day out! Ready to go get pampered!

Pedicures and Manicures!
Finally got my roots filled in!

In the middle of trying to get everything together for baby, I've enjoyed a fun little date with my little girl Lorelei. Of course I've tried to do something fun with her everyday, but I made it an extra special day just for us to do something girly. I figured we should go get pedicures and manicures (something on my to-do list anyway.) Lorelei loved this idea and so off we went. I've gotten used to my monthly pedicures and thought I needed one last time to pamper myself. I wish I brought my camera to capture how cute Lorelei sat for the whole procedure. One of the Vietnamese daughters who is seven (they start them young in this business) painted her nails and she was so excited. We both got cute little flowers on them. Usually I can't stand looking at feet, so sorry for the images, but they are just freshly washed and done. After feeling so good about my toes being done I then decided to wax my eyebrows and scheduled an appointment to get my hair done. Now I'm ready for BABY! Hooray!

"Change is Good!"

I have one week to go and I will have little McCrea join our family! I have been so scared but so excited at the same time. I am scared because I want to know exactly how everything is going to turn out. I want a play by play down to the last little bit. I have been going crazy marking off my to-do lists, that sometimes I forget to enjoy the moment.
I am scared because I keep asking all these questions to myself, but already know, that what will happen will happen. Do I have everything ready? Will my house be perfect and clean enough? Is his room in order? Will the doctor's be well rested and ready to perform surgery? Will the anaesthesiologist be able to find the "right" spot in my back? Will I have a spinal tap or go under completely? Will I have a spinal leak and spinal headaches like last time? How much pain will I be in this time? Will the baby be healthy? Will I be able to breastfeed? How is Lorelei going to react to a new baby? The questions go on and on.
In testimony meeting on Sunday, I was looking for some clarity and peace. Someone said "Change is Good," although it is only a simple three words, it impressed me and gave me a better attitude on what I'm about to experience. When people ask me "Are you excited?," I always responded with a roll of my eyes or a shrug of my shoulders and something about the fact I will be more excited when I have everything complete and ready for the baby. I'm not sure if I'll ever be completely ready and especially ready to take on the demands of another baby but I will do my best to be the mother he deserves.
I'm definitley one who likes routine, however, I do need to embrace this new phrase "Change is Good." I know this will be a new opportunity to grow and get out of my comfort zone again. So I am up for the challenge! And I am EXCITED!

Happy 4th of July!

Watching the fireworks from our roof!I even got up on the roof with this big belly!
Lorelei pointing out her favorite fireworks!



Although our 4th of July wasn't all that relaxing, we did take a break from all our chores, to go swimming, BBQ up some hamburgers and climbed up on the roof and to watch the fireworks. We tried to sing some patriotic songs to get into the 4th of July spirit. Lorelei was so thrilled to look up at to different areas in the sky and be able to point out her favorite colors as each firework popped open. Of course, she liked the pink and the purple ones the best. Hopefully, next year will be more relaxing as we won't be panicked to get all the projects done for baby.