Six Months

So exactly six months after his surgery I took Gabriel to get his pictures taken. Needless to say I spent too much money but it was worth it.

Gabriel had his six month check up and he is on the small side. He weighs 14.2 lbs and is 25.5 in long. He is doing really well. He is hitting all is developmental goals.

We are so thankful for everyone's prayers. We are truly grateful.

Gabriel Six Months Old

Camping

We went camping this week. It was the first time for all the little kids. They all had a blast. Gabriel did really well for a six month old baby. He did not like it when it rained at night because the roof of the camper makes a noise similar to popping popcorn. He was also cold on the last night so did not sleep well unless he was on top of me keeping warm. All in all a great experience and I can not wait to go again with them all. I am sure as Gabriel gets older he'll enjoy it more and more.

Like I said on the other site the slide show is the same on all. But check the other sites because I have told a bit about each child's experience.


Camping 07

Sorry it's been so long.

Things are going well. The hospital gifted us the majority of the hospital bill. We have about 6-7,000 dollars to pay out. Much better than what we had before.

On another note. Gabriel is doing well. At his last check up about 3 weeks ago he was 13 pounds. A little small but he is developing well. He can roll over from is belly to his back. It's exciting but also a pain in the but because he cries after he has rolled over when he is sleeping. So I have to get up in the middle of the night and flip him over. Because he loves to sleep on his belly. We call him our turtle.

I have put together a little slide show that has lots of pictures from the last few months. I hope to be better about updating. Sorry it's taken so long.

Isn't Insurance Grand

Yesterday was not such a great day in the Karadimas household. We learned that we had a $100,00.00 annual allowance on our insurance. Which normally would be enough, but in Gabriel's case was not. We are now struggling to figure out how we are going to be able to settle the rest of the debt with the doctors and hospital. Right now the figure that we owe is around $70-80,000. We are hoping that the hospital at least will reduce the amount that we owe. We should find out in a week or so about that. It seems a little bit like monopoly money.
I have told Gabriel that he more expensive than some luxury cars. I asked him where is expensive label was.

I shared at my last MOPS meeting that I can look back at most of my big challenges in my life and find a reason for each one. So I am sure the reason for this challenge will be revealed to me at some point. I have to put my trust in God, knowing that he only wants good things for all of us. Though right now it does not seem like it.

Jason has said that we can not let this run our lives. But I can not seem to not stop thinking about it. It seems insurmountable.

We are going to be having a benefit dinner and silent auction at some point. I will let everyone know when that is. I will post it and be sending out invitations.

Please keep us in your prayers. This is a trying time in our household. Not as trying as when Gabriel was born but still hard.

Almost 3 Months

Gabriel is almost three months old. I think that he giggled for the first time last night. He is getting so big. Daddy will be home in a few days. He has been gone for almost 7 weeks. Here is the latest picture.

Bath Time

Well it finally happened; Gabriel had his first bath. I wanted to wait until Jason got back, but another three weeks was a little long. Don't get me wrong. He has been getting sponge baths. But today he actually took a bath.

He is getting so big. He is sitting in his swing behind me cooing and smiling.

It is is 85 degrees here to day so everyone is in shorts. We are very excited to have the nice weather to go outside. Enjoy the pictures and I'll update again soon.

Smiling

Gabriel started smiling about a week ago (6weeks old) and I was finally able to get a picture of it. I have also posted a picture of him with his brothers and sister. Enjoy.

Home for a Month

Gabriel has been home for just over a month now. He is now 10 pounds 4oz. He is smiling now mostly at his brothers and sister. He also can hold his head up on his own. He wakes up less than his brother and sister did. He's up twice on night on average and does not stay awake between feedings.

I can not believe this child he is so much like a normal baby. I want to have shirts made up that say I had open heart surgery to advertise how amazing he his.

Gabriel's Video

There is a saying, God only gives you as much as you can handle. Well I think he might have given me a little more than I could handle on my own. It think that the saying should be God gives you more than you can handle on your own, but if you reach out to him then you can handle anything that is thrown at you.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and it is hard to believe that we are home and starting our life with Gabriel. There are so many people to thank. So I will say thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and provided so much support to our family through this challenging time,

I have compiled pictures from Gabriel's exciting start. It is amazing to see how far he has come. I hope that you enjoy watching his journey home.


Gabriel's Journey Home