Happy 7th Birthday Caden Montgomery

1 Samuel 1:27 "I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request." 

I am in absolute denial about this post.  I can't believe I gave birth to Caden 7 years ago...it honestly just seems like yesterday.

Caden's verse was a no brainer...really.  After struggling for so long to get pregnant, he was our miracle baby.  We were beyond thrilled to have him and it has been an amazing journey to parent him the last 7 years.  God  has allowed me to see myself in a new light while parenting Caden.  God has also used his life to teach me things about my own, and show me my need for Him!

Have you ever had to parent yourself?  This is what I do daily with Caden and it is quite the reality check!  Caden is just a carbon copy of me...it is scary and funny at the same time.  He is so passionate and extreme about everything he does.  He is very bright, funny, athletic (not from me), and caring.  He is the best big brother anyone could have.  He does stir up trouble but he is really nurturing, especially to Crosby! 

It is a joy to see how he has grown and the potential of what he can become!  What I have learned from caden over the last year or so is that you can't just talk the talk anymore.  Caden is really paying attention...you must walk the walk.  So he challenges me to be the best Momma I can be and allows me to admit I am not the best, but that I have to lean on God for help.  I pray that he grows into a man of God like his Daddy and can see that we do what we do for him because we love our LORD so much!

Looking back over these pictures reminds me how fast time can fly...

This is my favorite newborn pic of him...2 days old!

6 months

14 months, Oct. 2005

 2 yrs. October 2006

3 years old - First Day of K3 - August 2007

4 yrs - August 2008

5 yrs - First Day of PreK Aug 2009

6 years - Oct. 2010

7 years - August 2011

Caden, we say this all the time, but we truly mean it...you are the BIGGEST blessing to our lives.  You will never know how deeply I love you, we all do!  I just can't believe I blinked and now you are 7!  CRAZY!!  I pray you continue to teach me how to be a better Momma and child of God!  Thank you for being my son!  May you continue to allow God to teach you as well and mold you into an amazing young man!  We all wish you the Happiest of Birthdays our Biggest Big :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Cole Jackson

Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb.  Before you were born, I set you apart."

This is Cole's verse and it was so fitting for him.  I remember telling people I was pregnant with Cole and they were all SHOCKED!  Caden was not even 3 1/2 and Carter had just turned 1 and people thought we were nuts...can you imagine what they think now!  But I was reminded that even if others thought we were crazy, God knew Cole and knew him before he was even conceived.  He knew all of his days and how he would bless our family tremendously!

Cole is definitely the wild man of the family.  He is a full time job alone :)  If one of the boys is going to do something crazy it will be him!  He keeps me hopping from the minute I get up until the minute he lays down at night.  He is stubborn and ornery, but those chocolate eyes and his infectious smile melt my heart EVERY single time he looks my way.  He is a Momma's boy still and although it frustrates me at times, nothing is quite as good as loving from my Col-e Bear! 

He is tough as nails, especially since he swallowed one this year!  He can hold his own with just about any kid around.  Cole does everything over the top, playing, fighting, fit throwing, loving, etc.  He goes all out all the time!  I love watching him grow up and become his own little man, while still trying to keep up with the older two boys.  Cole blesses us constantly each day and I am so thankful that God chose to give us the opportunity to parent him!  Enjoy the pictures of him over the last 3 years...

First Days at Home

 

2 months

First Real Vacation - November 2008

1 year - August 2009

16 months - Christmas 2009

 2 years - August 2010

Christmas 2010 - around 28 months

 3 years - August 2011

Happy 3rd Birthday to our very spirited 3rd blessing!  We love you so much and you bring such laughter and fun to our lives!  You never stop and keep us on our toes and we LOVE every minute of it!  May God continue to help us mold and shape your spirit to be used in a mighty way for Him! 

Happy 1st Birthday Crosby James

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, may the name of the LORD be praised.  Job 1:21b

I can never look at Crosby without thinking of this verse.  I pray about verses for the boys and I feel like the one I choose is the one that best fits that boy and that it came straight from God.  I had one picked out for Crosby, but as all of you know, around 12 hours after he was born, we received the call that Kaci was with Jesus.  So God showed me this verse and it couldn't be more perfect.

I can't believe it has been a year.  This has been a year of many ups and downs, many emotions, many events, etc.  But my littlest of littles in ONE!!!  He is such a joy to our lives and although the thought of his birth is equated with the thought of Kaci's passing, I know her spirit will live on in my littlest man and she is helping me mother them all from above!

Crosby blesses us in so many ways.  Being the 4th boy, he is just so flexible with all the schedules we must keep.  He rarely fusses and if he does you know something is wrong.  He is very mild mannered and smiles all the time!  He is growing right on track, eating like a champ, and just basically a great boy and the best ending to our family!  Here is a look back over the year at some of his cuteness!!

 Just a few weeks old and Cole was already in love!

Just in time for football season!

First Halloween

First Christmas

February 2011

June 2011

 July 2011

August 2011

Happy  1st Birthday Crosby James!!!  We ALL love you more than you can imagine and Momma is actually a little sad that you aren't so little anymore!  May God continue to bless us through you and may He grow you up into a mighty man that will live for Him!

Crosby's One Year Photos

Crosby's photos were a breeze!  He did so good!  I did his on the spur of the moment one night after church in the backyard.  I just grabbed our blue rocker and headed out back.  The hardest part was getting him to look at me and smile, but Caden and Cory were a great help for this!  I can't believe my little man is one!!1

Cole's 3 Year Pictures

Taking Cole's pictures provided quite the challenge.  I knew it would, so I put it off as long as I could!  He was in such a great mood one morning several days ago, I just loaded everyone up and did my best.  He is so stinking active that 90% of his pictures were blurry, or his eyes were closed, or his hands were by his face, etc.  I literally took around 30 pictures and only had two turnout.  I was super frustrated when I got home that day, but vowed to try again in a few days.  I posted these two on facebook and both my mother and mother in law called and said they were perfect!  They totally capture Cole's spirit and I love them!  So they will do for now!!

 Those chocolate eyes just melt my heart!

Caden's 7 Year Photos

I decided to save some money and try my hand at taking the boys' pictures this summer.  Caden was so easy!  He is photogenic like me :)  He loves to have his picture taken!  He kept asking me to take him to different places in town to take pictures!  I cheated a bit and took him to several places that a local photographer had taken our family two years ago.  We had a great time and he did so good!

Carnival Fun

On Saturday, Grammie and Papa came down for a quick visit and brought Brooklyn and Aunt Sharon too!  We had a fun afternoon at the house then hit the carnival for a few hours.  The weather was great and we had tons of fun!

Cole on the train.

Caden on the carousel.

Daddy and I volunteered to take all the kids on the ferris wheel...

Cory, Carter, and Brooklyn

Momma, Cole, and Caden

Our view from the top of the ferris wheel

Cole and Brooklyn on the carousel

Crosby did great until the end, he didn't want me to  leave him and not take him on the ride with me!

Thank you Grammie and Papa for a fun evening out!

Playtime With Two

On the first day of school for the big boys, Cole seemed pretty bored and Gigi and Pops were even here.  So I knew that the second day I would have to do something.  What do you do with two little boys, one of whom isn't really all that active?  You make a spontaneous quick trip to the park and store!  It took a bit to get everyone together and loaded up but we got there and they had a great time!  Cole ran all over the place and Crosby just crawled around trying to keep up!  We had a lot of fun and it took most of the morning!

Crosby was trying to keep up with Cole and take a turn driving!

Could he get any cuter?!?!

Cole was everywhere all the time!!

This picture is my favorite!  Cole has a hard time being completely gentle with Crosby, but he means well!  In this instance, they were sitting next to each other and Cole was telling Crosby something about the ducks in the lake on the other side of the playground.  Then I said, hey boys look at me for a picture and Cole grabs Crosby's face and says Crosby say cheese like this...poor Crosby!

Cole is ornerier than all get out but so stinking cute!

This boy is quite the charmer too!

We had a wonderful morning, just the three of us!