Happy Birthday...

Trenton Michael

Born: Tuesday, October 27, 2015

At: 11:00am

Weight: 7lbs 15oz

Length: 22.5 inches

Status: Our adorable little man is finally here, eight days after his due date! Mama was in pre-labor for five LONG days before his arrival. He is a precious boy with adorable little dimples and loved immensely by his parents and two adoring sisters. He spent three days in the NICU after birth due to breathing issues, but is doing well now and came home today, October 30th, 2015. We are all so in love, our family is complete.

Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch Trip - Bastiao Farms, Sacramento

First trip to Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch, Sacramento

Alina driving the John Deere tractor, this would have made
her Great Grandpa Crothers so proud during his farming days

Plenty of great selections in the pumpkin patch

Fun day at Bastiao Farms, they especially loved the seesaw

Little goblins at Goblin Gardens

Alina by the Haunted Barn, the paintings here are great!

Inside the haunted town of Goblin Gardens

We took our first trip to a new pumpkin patch for mommy's birthday this year. We visited Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch at Bastiao Farms in Sacramento. This pumpkin patch is the perfect place to go if you only want to spend an hour or two on activities and get some great photo opportunities along the way. With mama being hugely pregnant (38 weeks) and pretty uncomfortable walking long distances, I enjoyed our trip here as the pumpkin patch is relatively small, but there were still plenty of activities to entertain the kids. The admission here is pricier than other pumpkin patches we've visited, but the kids had the best time here despite the sweltering 90+ degree Sacramento Valley weather...is it fall yet, seriously!? 

Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch has a cool mini town area for the kids and they loved playing and exploring inside. Also, most of the buildings here are adorned with great paintings, which make for fantastic photos. They also have small hay and corn mazes, hay rides and a train ride through the corn field with costumed ghouls who jump out and surprise everyone on board. The hay pyramid here was one of the tallest we've seen yet. Dad, of course, helped the girls scale it...success! All in all, it was a fun/overly hot day. We went home with a few large pumpkins which will eventually be turned to jack-o-lanterns before Halloween. Mama had a fun birthday this year, though a part of me wished all my walking that day would have jump-started labor. I am over being pregnant and ready to meet our little man.

The fun kids town at Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch

Alina exiting the saloon 

Everyone ready for a very fun hay ride

Alina and Daddy, all smiles before the hay ride

They scaled their tallest hay maze yet

Smiles and waves from the top

Goodbye Goblin Gardens pumpkin patch!

Happy October Birthday Mama!

Beautiful birthday flowers from dad & the girls

Happy Birthday Mama!

The best birthday view; cake and our sweet girls

Mama enjoyed a very fun birthday this year doing all her favorite October activities surrounded by the best people she knows; the fam! Being 38 weeks pregnant with baby boy somewhat limited the amount of walking I was able to do, but we still managed to fulfill my birthday request of visiting a pumpkin patch and decorating for Halloween. October is my favorite time of year, although the weather is still very warm here in the Sacramento Valley and we were sweating at the pumpkin patch. Despite the heat, we all had a fantastic time and took lots of photos (stay tuned for another post to come). Dad and the girls spoiled mama with beautiful flowers, a special birthday cake and helped deck out the house for Halloween. After the house was Halloween ready, the girls enjoyed creating a haunted gingerbread house and lighting candles to get into the spooky October spirit. We sat and told stories by candlelight and discussed how excited we all are for baby brother to arrive. We sure hope he gets here before Halloween, so we can dress him up and he can enjoy his very first holiday!

Early Halloween fun creating a haunted gingerbread house

Basking in candlelight after decorating for Halloween

LOVE these October flowers

Maternity Photo Session - Baby Boy's First Photos

Maternity photoshoot - Baby boy is due in October!

These two are going to make the best big sisters

Baby brother's big debut is just over a month away, and we are all so excited for his arrival in mid October. I was happy to get a chance to do my first maternity photoshoot, as I never did any when I was pregnant with the girls. I was so tiny with the girls, and even though we took some photos I really wish that I did a maternity session like this. I'm grateful to have a wonderful and talented best friend, Christy, who took these beautiful photos. We will cherish these memories for years to come and I especially love seeing the genuine smiles and excitement on the girls faces. They are on pins and needles waiting for the arrival of their sweet little brother and my belly has received plenty of love and kisses over these past several months. He moves like crazy now and loves when his big sisters talk to him and give hugs (well actually, that's a maybe...he usually kicks when they smother my stomach). We are so eager to meet this little man and see his sweet personality unfold. The countdown to October 19th is on!

Obligatory belly shot, he's a squirmy fella

The little man's first photo

Alina showering baby brother with love

Happy 4th Birthday Alina!

Our adorable little four-year-old birthday girl, Alina!

Happy 4th Birthday to our littlest baby girl, Alina! It seems like such a short time ago when she was placed in our arms for the very first time. I could tell from the start that she had a special little spirit. She was the easiest baby and almost never made a fuss over anything. She was a very active and inquisitive toddler, but one thing always remained central; her thoughtful personality. Four years later and she still really is the sweetest girl with the biggest heart! She never went through terrible twos or the tantrum stage, which has been amazing for mom and dad. Her favorite saying is, "momma, no matter how big I get I will always be your baby". It gets me every time. We had a fun Sleeping Beauty theme birthday party for her last weekend with her close friends and family. She had the BEST day!

Raising her and watching her grow these past four years has brought so much joy to our lives. She loves swimming, riding her scooter and bike, playing with her princess dolls, drawing, gymnastics and finding other fun outlets to get her energy out. She is excellent at coloring and very meticulous about staying within the lines and using the brightest colors possible. She now recognizes all the letters in the alphabet and has started sounded out words and associating them to each letter. I feel like reading is on the horizon for her soon! She loves to learn, but also has such a playful spirit and thoroughly enjoys immersing herself in imaginary play. She is a great caretaker to all her dolls and toys and makes sure they never get lonely. While we celebrate four, at the same time I find myself wanting to bottle up her sweetness and adorable little high pitched girl voice. I find that we dote on the words and phrases she says because she truly has the most optimistic and positive view on the world and how things work. She is growing up so quick, but I have a feeling that her sweet nature and thoughtful spirit will always remain a central part of who she is. We love you Alina, Happy 4th Birthday!

We love you, sweet birthday princess!

The Girls Gymnastics Summer Olympics

Little medalists

Performing in the Summer Olympics challenge at gymnastics

Out of all the sports that the girls have tried, one stands out above all the rest; gymnastics. The girls started up gymnastics again earlier this summer and they have been loving every moment of it. I've had them both in teams sports and I think Alina is still a bit too young to really get in competition mode, while Elise does not like being aggressive whatsoever and she usually will fall back to the rest of the team in most cases. With gymnastics, I think they really enjoy challenging themselves and I am proud as I've seen so much improvement from the both of them. Elise has been working on her bridge and cartwheels, she's got great form now and much more flexibility. Alina is a little ball of energy at gymnastics class. She is excellent on the bars and can flip herself over easily now. Their gym recently hosted a mini Summer Olympic challenge for the kids. They both got to do some circuits and an ending floor routine, which left mom and dad very impressed. They were excited to receive their medals. I look forward to watching these little gymnasts grow and progress even further! 

Alina preparing for the podium

Alina showing off her medal

Happy Fouth of July 2015!

Fourth of July festivities 2015

Cuties all ready for fireworks

Hanging out with Nana & Papa

Smoke bomb fun

Alina's first sparkler of 2015

Such a joy to watch the girls play

Happy Fourth of July 2015! We enjoyed a very fun and festive display on our court this year. The grandparents joined us along with some close friends and the kids thoroughly enjoyed lighting up the night sky with sparklers and fireworks. The biggest hit each year have been the smoke bombs. They love the colors and running through the vibrant smoke filled air (whilst plugging their noses and laughing hysterically of course). Later in the evening, once the fireworks were exhausted, they moved on to glow stick dancing and we had to drag them inside by the end of the night. It was a very fun holiday and so nice to be able to enjoy all this just right outside our front door, no crowds or traveling involved. We're certainly loving these lazy summer weekends.

Elise with her super sparkler XXL

Sparkler fun

Alina with her super sparkler XXL

Firework display

Glow stick dance parties are a must

Elise has got the moves

Alina's got the twirls down pat

End of a fun evening. Happy 4th 2015!

Elise's 6th Birthday Party at Wacky Tacky

Sweet sisters celebrating Elise turning six

Birthday girl with her party balloons

Elise's delicious Princess & The Frog cupcakes

The five of us (still getting used to saying that!)

Cute sisters by the playground

Little party friends having a blast

Posing with friends in the birthday chair

Cupcake time and more fun with friends

Book party gift bags - we enjoyed making these