SURGERY MONTH!

February was no ordinary month! I decided to schedule three surgeries this month and get it all over with. It is nice to be able to look back at it now and sigh in relief that it's all over. We started our month off on February 9th where Lorelei had her tonsils and adenoids out. Needless to say, that week was pure hell. I was so happy when it was over. She came out of it nicely, but it was a very long week for all of us. On the 20th I had scheduled oral surgery. All I can say is that I have stupid teeth. I had already previously had my molar pulled out, bone grafting done and stitched up, now I was due for the second part of the surgery. This time they opened it up, drilled down, placed the screw and stitched me up. This was a piece of cake compared to last time. I was so happy it went so well. Now I just have to let this heal and then I can get a new tooth. Hooray!
On the 27th, I had a lumpectomy on my left breast. I had discovered a lump in my breast back in December. After an ultrasound, a mammogram and meeting with a breast specialist, I was off to surgery. They put me under, cut me open and removed the lump. Luckily, the lump was benign, however the type of lump they found is not the best kind. Supposedly, I have the type of lumps that like to grow quickly and very large, so if not detected, I could possibly have half a boob missing by the time the take it out. I will have to keep an eye on everything and make sure I catch it early on. After a week and half of recovery I was back to myself again. I had a hard time doing anything that week. It is amazing how much you use those muscles, even holding a plate was painful. The worst part was that I couldn't really hold my baby McCrea. It was so sad because I knew he really wanted his mommy, but I couldn't pick him up. The relief society brought in meals for the week and Lorelei was a big help with McCrea. She was my big HELPER! Also, Tana was a big help through it all, not only did she take stay with us the for week while Lorelei had surgery, she helped out by watching the kids and cleaning the house. I spent most that week scrapbooking, watching movies and just relaxing. So we made it through HELL month. Looking back I'm glad it's all over and ready to move on to happier times. We all survived and are all better for it.

7 MONTHS OLD!

Crawling
Sitting Up

Eating Peas

Disgusting!

Rolling Over!

McCrea is on a fast track to doing new things. We finally started him on solid foods. We have to take it slow because of his allergies and watch him carefully. So far he is enjoying his rice cereal. His first food was Sweet Peas but those didn't go over too well. He was very gassy and we are thinking we won't be trying that again for awhile. Probably didn't agree with his body. However, he loves Sweet Potatoes so far. It is fun to see him gobble it up. He loves it. Now that he has the rolling over thing down, he moved on to easier ways to getting around. On March 7th McCrea started crawling. He is already a pro. He is all over the place. He also learned to pull himself up on things. He's going to go from crawling to walking in no time. On March 9th he finally got his right incisor tooth and on the 10th his left incisor came in. It looks like his incisors are coming in before his front teeth, so he's going to look like a little vampire. McCrea is enthralled with ceiling fans. He loves them and watches them any chance he gets. We also just got McCrea an activity jumper. This is his favorite toy. He loves to jump and bounces up and down. I guess this is why they call them, "bouncing baby boys!" He also loves his bath time and as soon as he hears the water he gets very excited. He splashes away as soon as he gets in. He loves washcloths too. He loves to suck on them, so cleaning him can be a chore because he grabs the washcloth right out of your hands. He is a little stinker! He definitely has a smile to melt the hearts of many. He has the cutest little giggle. We love to make him laugh. He adores his older sister Lorelei and lights up as soon as she comes in the room or when she pays attention to him. He is the light of our life. We just love our little stinker so much.

TONSILS AND ADENOIDS BEWARE!

Check out those tonsils!

Getting ready for surgery!
She got these cute scrubs and got to pick out her hat.
She even got to get her doggy ready with very own hat and wrist band.
She is trying to be very brave.After Surgery, watching a movie. She seems quite relaxed.


She even gave us a little smile. It must have been the drugs!

Lorelei was super lucky! The NHL Coyote Hockey team came to visit her.
She got an autograph picture and a cute teddy bear. The guys coming to visit with Lorelei. It made her really happy.

It really cheered her up.

We discovered Lorelei had a snoring problem over a year ago. We just thought this to be an annoyance that this household would have to get used to. However, we didn't realize the lack of sleep she was getting because of sleep apnea. I guess it makes sense now, she was always up two to three times a night. Even McCrea was a better sleeper than Lorelei. It was sad. We didn't realize she had a severe problem. After taking her to the ENT doctor and after an X-ray of her throat she was diagnosed with hypertrophy tonsils and had 80% obstruction due to her adenoids and tonsils. He immediately advised us to get her tonsils and adenoids out and wanted to schedule us right away. Unfortunately, the next available surgery was during the holidays and we were going to be out of town. Because of the severity and because of her asthma she needed to be hospitalized for the day for observation. So we set the date for February 9th. We prepared Lorelei the best we could. We had a little book we read to her each night that helped her understand the surgery and how she would feel better afterwards. We went out shopping the week before and got food, ice cream, a stuffed dog she wanted to bring to the hospital and some new pajamas. We even got lots of movies to watch. However, as much as we prepared her, we were not PREPARED! It was a nightmare for us. We went in to the hospital for a scheduled 10:00 surgery. Lorelei got in some cute scrubs and they even gave her a bear. The doctors came in to meet us and talk to us about the surgery. We said our goodbyes as they wheeled her away in a wagon. Lorelei was so BRAVE! They said she didn't cry and put the mask on and fell right to sleep. It was so sad to see my little girl disappear behind the doors. Luckily, the procedure was done in 20 minutes. The doctor even commented on how well she did and that the surgery was a success. He couldn't believe how big they were and said that she will have a better quality of life after this. We finally were able to go back to see her where she was quite out of it and was crying. I finally took her in my arms and rocked her to sleep. She couldn't breathe, because the anesthesia caused her asthma to flare up and it was so bad. Luckily, they gave her a breathing treatment and she was off to sleep again. She was a not a happy girl. We finally got to our room where we entertained Lorelei with movies. She cried a lot and was in a lot of pain. It was so discouraging. One of the highlights was that the NHL Coyote Hockey Team came to visit her. They gave her an autograph picture and a cute little teddy bear. We even got pictures with them. It was cool to meet some of the players.

Unfortunately, McCrea was sent to the ER while we were there. Lorelei screamed out in pain, as I looked over for one second McCrea rolled off the couch and on to the floor. Chad spent an hour and half in the ER making sure he was okay. It was definitely not the best timing, especially because we already had our hands full with Lorelei. It was so sad, but luckily McCrea was okay. Lorelei struggled through the night. Both Chad and I stayed at the hospital while Tana took McCrea for the night. We didn't get much sleep because Lorelei was up most the night. It is so sad to see your little girl suffer. They released us from the hospital the next morning. The rest the week was a nightmare. Lorelei was in so much pain, she didn't want to eat, take her medicine, drink or do anything. It was terrible. I hated that whole week. She couldn't sleep at night, she had the worst breath EVER and she constantly was spitting up mucus and saliva. It was so disgusting. Luckily, after we survived the week, she was ready to go back to school and has been doing so much better. She is finally sleeping through the night and doesn't even snore anymore. I know the week from hell has already paid off. She is doing so much better. No parent wants to see there child suffer like that ever and this is supposed to be a routine surgery. I'm just not cut out for this stuff. We were so lucky to have Tana come help and stay with us during that week. She was a lifesaver. Thank you Nana! Lorelei is back to her normal shenanigans. She is fully recovered! Hooray, Hooray!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Disneyland 2009 McCrea on his first Carousel ride.


Chad enjoying the bumper cars.

Daddies little Princess!

Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella
Snow White

Ariel at Ariel's Grotto!

The sword in the stone.

Buzz Light Year. McCrea really liked this one.

Astro Orbiter

We all love the carousel.

Happy Birthday to me! Eating a yummy dinner

at the Blue Bayou.

Dumbo with daddy!
Would you like a cup of tea!We waited forever to see Tinkerbell.

Lorelei was so excited.

So I turned 32 years today! What better way to celebrate then to be at the most magical place on earth. This year at Disneyland you get in free on your birthday. So after talking Chad into going we were on our way for a weekend trip to Disneyland. It was my birthday weekend after all and I was so excited, probably more so than Lorelei was. What better way to feel young and free again. It was awesome! We spent the first day at the Magic Kingdom. I got a special birthday button and $70 dollars to spend on souvenirs. Although it was extremely busy we still had a great time. We went on all the big rides, I especially enjoy Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad. We also made reservations at the Blue Bayou where I had a delicious birthday dinner, filet mignon with lobster and creme brule for dessert. It was delicious. Lorelei and even McCrea had a great time on all the rides. We tried to do it all, but unfortunately didn't get to all the rides. The next day we went back to the Magic Kingdom and enjoyed some more fun. Lorelei's favorite rides were the Thunder Mountain Railroad, Dumbo ride, she refused to go on Splash Mountain and had a huge tantrum over it. McCrea loved and I mean Loved the Tiki Room birds. He giggled and was very entertained. He also really like the Winnie the Pooh ride, probably because it was neon bright in there. We then headed over to California adventure where we had reservations at Ariels Grotto. Lorelei loved seeing the princesses. There was Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Jasmine. She was disappointed because she really wanted to see Belle and we never found her. However we had a great time with the princesses and ate a yummy meal. Chad and I loved the rollercoaster "Screamin" and took turns going on it over and over. Lorelei really liked the Orange swings and McCrea liked all the fun rides in "A Bug's Life." We had a great time and was so sad when we had to say good-bye to Disneyland. Can't wait till next time.

DANCING QUEEN!

My Pretty Ballerina!She loves to pose for the camera!
Moving to the music! Lorelei and Sophia
Ready to go!

We love to dance!

Lorelei loves to dance! She is my little ballerina girl! Even more than dancing she likes to dress up in her dance costumes. Every day when she gets home from school she gets in her dance costume and dances around. She changes several times throughout the day. She practices and even puts on a show. She loves to dance with her friend Sophie. When they get together they go in the bedroom choreograph a dance and then come out and perform it for us. It is so funny. They just watch what the other one does and copy each other. They even announce who will be performing this evening and they take turns in for their solo routines. It is so funny as they try to do turns, leaps and jumps. It is the highlight of the day. Lorelei loves to express herself through dance. She is my Dancing Queen!

DEEP THOUGHTS BY LORELEI GRAHAM

"When I grow up I want to be an artist and teach art class. I will have a kid and we're going to have fun. We are going to do art and make mice and eat sugar and drink water and juice and have fun. We can have recess. The only bad thing is that we will have timeout."

This is what Lorelei was rattling off in the back of the car. Since I was parked at a store, I was able to write it down. It is so funny what kids come up with. She always knows how to make me laugh.

She also has started to use the word "Freakin." It is so funny and emphasizes what she is really trying to say. I wonder where she learned that from!



We were playing a guessing game. What animal is a certain color, size etc. Chad and I were having hard time guessing Lorelei's animal. She kept giving us different clues, however, we weren't getting close. She finally said it started with a C and lives in the ocean. Chad thought of clown fish, but that was wrong. After different things I finally said, "Seahorse," I was right. In her little mind, of course Seahorse started with a C. It was so funny. Later I asked what letter Seahorse started with and she told me an "S," I think she was just trying to give us a better hint than just what letter it started with. It was so funny.



We were having a conversation about having babies. Lorelei asked me if it hurt to have kids. I couldn't lie and didn't want to get into the different ways we woman have kids. Lorelei went on to say that she doesn't want to have kids, because it will hurt. However, she said maybe she would have one kid. I asked, "Why not have eight kids?" "Oma had eight kids!" She said, "No way, that would mean I would have to make too MUCH DINNER!" She is absolutely right, and we all laughed about that one. Hopefully she will reconsider having kids when she is much older.

Lorelei is into art projects. Since she wants to be an artist, she is busily creating new things. Each week she chooses a theme and makes 10 or 15 of the same thing. She started this routine around Christmas time and started to make mice. She made mice out of red and green paper. She made a whole army of mice. I think she got the idea from the Nutcracker.
The next couple weeks she was into making caterpillars and insects. She made little puppets with popsicle sticks. She then made ladybugs and butterflies. It was so cute. She wanted to have a little puppet show with all her friends and was already planning a birthday party for herself. She wanted a puppet show and she needed to create all the puppets for it. She then started writing all her friends names on the back of them, so each one had their own puppet. She is now ready for her birthday/puppet show party. It is so funny.
Lorelei then learned the Humpty Dumpty song and started making Humpty-Dumpty puppets. She sings the song as Humpty Dumpty has a great fall.
Now she is on to making Peeps for Easter and chicks in Easter eggs. She is quite creative and even cut off half the egg and glued the peep in the egg.
She is so creative and it is fun to see what else she is going to come up with. I guess we'll wait until next week to see what her new creation will be.

SIX MONTHS OLD!

Look at this Handsome Man!

I'm 6 months old!

He loves his bathtime with Lorelei!

He doesn't know what to think of dress up time.

Lorelei likes to make him into a princess.

He likes to show off his cute moves!

A half a year old! I can't believe where the time is going! We went in for his six month check-up and he is now weighing in at 17lbs 13 ozs. He is thinning out a little, but he is still growing taller. He is 28 inches long and is off the charts for height. We haven't started him on solids yet, because of his allergies. He is now rolling back and forth. He has also started scooting. In fact, I found this out when he scooted himself off the bed, while he was napping. He basically can get to the things he wants to. I guess it's time to start childproofing the house. McCrea loves to sing. He has a very loud singing voice and loves to express everything from the top of his lungs. It is quite embarrassing especially when you are trying to be reverent at church. He loves to join in with the singing and tries to top everyone's singing voices. We might have an American Idol contestant in the future! He loves to drool, probably due to teething, but we may need to carry around a bucket real soon. He has gotten his first two teeth and because he loves to bite on everything I'm sure more are on their way. He is very entertained by his sister and wants to know what she is doing at all times. He watches her contently until she comes and pesters him a little too much. Lorelei is in to dressing him up like her prince and sometimes princess. He allows this for only a little while, before he protests and wants to be alone. He loves to eat paper. Lorelei now and again leaves paper on the floor and that is his first mission. He will find a way to get it in his hands before anyone else sees. Luckily, he's not allergic to paper, YET! We are enjoying every new month with our baby boy. He is the light of our life!