Colin

God brought us another angel this month. Colin Joel Crossley. He was born happy and healthy on Monday April 9th, at 11:25am. When he was born he weighed 5lbs and 11oz and was 19 inches long. Because he was two days late and the doctor had though he would be somewhere around 7 pounds we were of course very surprised to see him come so small. It was such a miracle seeing him being born and coming into this world to complete our family. Sydney and I immediately felt incredible deep love for Colin and now feel like our family is 100% complete. Colin is growing bigger and stronger each day and is shaping into his own looks very rapidly. We will be sending out birth announcements soon. If anyone would like to receive one, please just contact us and we will put you on the list. Thank you to everyone who has provided support and love to our family during this pregnancy. We would not have been able to do it without you.

Abby

Abby, as well has adjusted to having a little brother very well. Of course you can imagine how she wants to be a mother to Colin and Trey and does a very good job helping us out. She has mostly overcome her fear of throwing dirty diapers away (mostly) =]. She lost another tooth this month and the tooth ferry brought her some cash and two gold coins =]. She continues to draw, color and is now writing almost all on her own. She is becoming a very good reader and can sound out most Dr. Seuss books. She LOVES to read at night both by herself and with us. She likes playing Angry birds and talking with family over Skype. We are contemplating getting her a track phone so that if any family wants to contact her directly they can call her anytime. She also likes to talk on the phone so give her a call anytime and she will be happy to chat!

Abby and Trey both had a great Easter and were able to spend it with one of their Nana's. We did a moonlight Easter egg hunt by putting glow sticks in plastic eggs and hiding them around the yard. Abby dyed eggs with Nana Kerry, and was able to eat lots of marshmallows and CANDY!

Trey

Trey has adjusted to having a little brother very. He has been very awesome and thinks that Colin is just the funniest thing in the world. He now understands just about everything you say and most of the time he can answer back with something that is somewhat close to English. We are going to attempt to potty train him starting this month and we will keep you posted as to how this goes. He has become even more active (believe it or not) and can now climb out of his crib and coincidentally thinks that he is an acrobat. (VERY SCARY). Trey has a very tender heart and loves to give his new brother kisses all the time. We have let Trey hold Colin a few times while sitting on our laps and he has done very well and loves to hold him whenever he gets the chance.

He is starting to talk and listen a little bit when on the phone so if you get a chance give us a call, he would love to chat with you =].

Sydney

Sydney has been so amazing this month. Up until the day we arrived at the hospital to have the baby, she was cooking, cleaning, and doing everything as normal business. I have to constantly nag her to just "take it easy." I have seen her in the last two months grow so much as a wife and a mother and I love her deeper with every minute that passes by.

Sydney was such a trooper in the hospital. Sometimes I think that she was made to have babies because of how well she does =]. We went into the hospital around 6:30 and after we checked in and she was all hooked up she started to have contractions some time between 8-9. We had decided before we went in that because she has had her last two naturally she wanted to have a pain free labor with an epidural...well that's what we wanted. Little did we know that Colin would be here way faster than expected. Her water broke some time around 11:15 and then she said she was ready to push right after. Colin came at 11:25. The doctor barely made it in time to catch the baby. The nurses literally told her to "Just hold him in" in fear that they would have to deliver the baby with their bare hands!

After Sydney gave birth to Colin, she was glowing with love and excitement. I love to see her after we have a baby because I think that she feels something at that moment, that she feels only after giving birth. Her smile is a little bigger, and the love in her eyes grows a little stronger. To me it feels like she has performed a miracle and brought something in to this world that we know will always carry a piece of our heart.

Please say a little prayer for Sydney, I go back to work next week and our family is leaving so she will be on her own with TWO boys. She will definitely have her hands full.

Micah

Well, we have officially lived here in Washington for a little over two months and we feel pretty at home already. Although we miss our family a lot we are so happy to have moved and to be around the endless opportunity for both Sydney and I and our kids. It has been a bit of a struggle to adjust to the weather here as it has been much colder here but we have also had a lot of sunny days and will take the good with the bad. April, although only half over has already been quite the roller coaster. We finally reached the finish line on April 9th though. Our son was born, and yet again, my life is changed forever. It seems as though ever since Sydney and I have been together I have experienced more moments of sheer miracle than I ever knew possible. This time it was my new son and words cannot describe how I felt when he was born. I think that God has given us the blessing of having children so that every once in a while when they are born we can experience the feeling of heaven on Earth, a miracle, and the ability to hold an angel all at once. Needless to say it is a bit overwhelming but the most powerful thing in the world. I love my wife more than anything in the world and the blessings that she has given me are sent straight from heaven.

I am finally adjusting to my 4:00am work schedule and it has been VERY nice to come home and have the entire afternoon to spend time with my kids and family. I am incredibly happy with the company that I work for. They are very family oriented and really just want their employees to be happy. It is nice to work in a place that truly appreciates their employees and rewards them accordingly.

 It is funny how moving away from everything can really bring a family together, we have all grown so strong as a family being here alone and having only each other to rely on. We cannot wait for everyone to come visit us and are open to whoever whenever!