CrazyBusy - My Gabe Is SEVEN Today!

CrazyBusy

May. 15, 2008

My Gabe Is SEVEN Today!

I sometimes hate how fast time flies by. It doesn't seem possible that Gabe is seven years old already, but he is. He's such a sweet boy. He's going to make a great husband someday. He already points out things I do that he doesn't approve of and says, "I'm not going to ______ with my children." "My wife is going to ______." The stinker. (he doesn't say it to be mean)

He's going to need a wife that enjoys a touchy-feely hubby. He will shower her with compliments and if she is even just slightly a decent cook, she'll have his heart forever.

His dad is his hero. He wants to become a RN and work the same floor, same shift when he's grown up so that he can work side by side with his dad. He notices everything his dad does and tries to imitate him.

He's also pretty chummy with his big brother and they have plans of a family farm and going on missionary trips together.

His smile makes you want to just squish him and he has a great laugh.

He's a good student and math comes pretty easily for him.

He's going to make a great father someday too. Josiah's his little buddy. His siblings are constantly accusing him of spoiling Josiah. He will sit and hold Josiah and rock him if he's upset or hurt and Josiah's perfectly content with allowing Gabe to do so. Josiah has his own bed but prefers to sleep with Gabe. Gabe never minds. Sometimes I'll here him say, "Josiah, if you don't _____ , I'm not going to let you sleep in my bed tonight." Josiah won't do what he says, yet Gabe still lets him sleep with him.

And here we are on the day of his seventh birthday.

I thought it would be fun to see if I had any pics I could dig up on my computer of Gabe. I didn't have much until I started exclusively using a digital camera (but then those are hard to wade through because there are so MANY!), but here are some of my favorites over the years. It was fun to go through these- they brought up lots of memories and sentimental feelings! Our old home, our old town, The Move but mostly how much my children have changed and grown over the years. Anyway.

Here's the announcement we sent out soon after Gabe was born. I took this while we were still in the hospital. He's been my only baby over 8 pounds so far!

His first trip to the pumpkin patch. Five months old.

Nine months old. One of my favorites of him.

His first birthday!

Fifteen months old.

Sixteen months old.

Twenty two months old on a field trip to the Oakland (CA) Zoo with a homeschool group.

Almost 2.

On his second birthday!

Another from his second birthday.

Two years old, Fourth of July. And would you look at the color my children had in their faces!

Another from July. I love this one. :)

Then we moved to WA in October of 2003. This was our first Christmas in WA. Gabe was 2.5 years old.

Not too long after that, Gabe's eye problems began. Well, actually he probably had the problem all along, it just didn't show up until a couple of months before his third birthday. His left eye suddenly started turning in. We got him to a pediatric ophthalmologist (a 2 hour drive) right away (because I was freaked out thinking the worst) where he was diagnosed with strabismic amblyopia, or something like that. Basically, he had very poor vision in his left eye so his brain just said "forget you" and quit using that eye, thus its turning in. His doctor immediately gave him a prescription for glasses and ordered us to patch his good eye (to force his brain to use his bad eye) for a few hours a day.

Here he is with his new glasses, a couple of months before his 3rd birthday.

And here he is on his 3rd birthday. As you can see, the patching so far was not working. His eye was still turning in. These pictures really break my heart- I wish he never had to go through any of this. He had/has the most beautiful eyes and it just really saddens me to see them misaligned and covered up with glasses.

Nothing worked, even after having to keep his eye patched for 6 or 8 HOURS a day (on a 3 y/o!) so he eventually had to have surgery to align his eyes. Here's my poor baby after his first surgery, in July 2004 (3 years old). He was SUCH a trooper about everything- the glasses, the patching, the surgery...

His eyes stayed perfectly straight.... for one week. Back to patching just about all day long. It still wasn't working. His ophthalmologist said he'd have to have another surgery. He told us that the chances of a successful surgery go down every time you operate. It was a scary time, but we knew we had to give him that chance. It's critical to take care of these things when they're young to give them the best chance at their optimal vision. So that December, just days before Josiah arrived, Gabriel had his second surgery. And (thank you Lord!) this one proved to be successful! His eye still turns in when he's really tired and he's not wearing his glasses, but according to his doc, that's normal. His eyes are perfectly straight with his glasses on, and that was the goal. He'll most likely always have to wear them.

Here Gabe is, still age 3, riding the bike he won at church WITHOUT training wheels!

Here are a couple from his 4th birthday. Being goofy.

And a forced smile (I like the goofy one better):

A couple of months before his 5th birthday (starting to get into photography a bit more here):

Some of his "5 year old" pictures I took just after his birthday:

And some from his SIXTH birthday:

And a couple of recent favorites, since I haven't taken his 7 y/o pictures yet. Of course there are more recent pics of him from his 7th birthday party here, in case you missed those.

Gabe is SUCH a blessing to our family!

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Comments

May. 15, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Juliestew

such a cute little guy. i want to hug him in the photo where he's had surgery.
i'm exhausted today after not sleeping well last night.
wondering how i am going to make it through the day. my husband has been gone for 4 days.
julie

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May. 15, 2008 - :)

Posted by CelticMom

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday Dear Gabe,
Happy Birthday to you!!!

Hope you all have a *wonderful* time celebrating Gabe's birthday! They grow FAR too quickly, don't they? I can't think about it overly much, or I will just break down. Grab each day and hold tight. I just love the picture of him walking over the bridge with his back to you. It's beautiful!

See you when I get back, Lys!
love,
Shani (who's so very happy to be back, and who missed Alyssa so much, she told her husband that if there was one blogger we would plan a family vacation around, it would be her!)

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May. 15, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Kirstin

What a handsome boy! Happy Birthday!!! I love the picture of him walking on the bridge.

I also loved the Wordless WEdnesday pic

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May. 15, 2008 - Happy Birthday

Posted by Anonymous

to your little guy. He sounds like a blessing. Love to see the progression of photos from a photography standpoint too. - Pam (Everyday Snapshots)

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May. 15, 2008 - Hi

Posted by AussieinAmerica

Just wanted to leave a comment and say hello. This is my first time to visit your blog - it is lovely.

Happy birthday to your son. They grow fast!

Stacy

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May. 15, 2008 - Awesome pics!

Posted by Anonymous

I could really see in the one where his sister is hugging him tight...that Josiah resembles him!

Happy Birthday Gabe!

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May. 15, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

Happy Birthday little man! I loved seeing those photos because I feel like I've watched your kids grow up through pictures over the years. (& videos, too, now that I think about it!!!) Love ya little dude!

Liz

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May. 16, 2008 - Is is possible?

Posted by Anonymous

I kept thinking you were going to stop with 'and here he is at 5" and then show us this year's pics of him turning 6..but then it went on to show him as a 7 yo! Aaahhh! I do remember him as a little guy..with the eye problems and all..from all the pics over the years. He really is a sweet boy and it comes through in your pictures of him. Happy Bday, Mom and Gabe. :)
Lis

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May. 17, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

I am also a homeschooling mom of 5. One of my boys had the same exact diagnosis when his eye started turning in at age 2. He then had to have the same eye surgery. So sad. He had the biggest most beautiful blue eyes too and it made me so sad to see them turning in. We are still in the patching phase but it seems to be working.

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May. 19, 2008 - Melting...

Posted by April

Sigh, well you already know how I feel about that kid :D I teared up a little remembering his second surgery (we barely knew each other then! Crazy!) and seeing the picture of him looking so sad!

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May. 19, 2008 - Melting...

Posted by April

Sigh, well you already know how I feel about that kid :D I teared up a little remembering his second surgery (we barely knew each other then! Crazy!) and seeing the picture of him looking so sad!

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May. 23, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Haflingerhorses

I love the way you did this - took pics from birth up to now. Such a great idea. Gabe has such gorgeous eyes.
Antoinette
(I love that sailor outfit!)

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Jun. 7, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by crazybusy

Thanks for your comments, ladies!

Julie- I know, that pic breaks my heart every time I look at it.

Shani-thank you! :) Yes, they do grow too quickly!

Kirstin, Pam, anon- thank you!

Stacy- thank you & I'm glad you stopped by!

Liz- I know, man- you've known me since I was pg with Gracie!

Lis- crazy, huh? thanks!

Anon- I'm sorry you've had to go through that with your little guy too! I'm glad the patching's working.

April- HUGS! :)

Antoinette- thank you! :)

Love, Alyssa

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About Me

Hi and welcome to my crazy busy world! I'm Alyssa, pronounced A-lee-sa. Hubby & I have been married for 15 years and we have 5 wonderful children and one on the way! Their ages are 11, 8, 7, 5 & 3, with the latest model due early July! Spend any amount of time here and I'm sure you'll quickly learn that I love photography! You'll find quite a mix of posts here- lots of photo blogging, some photography tips and tutorials, posts about home schooling and posts that will give you a glimpse to the goings-on in our lives. I hope you enjoy your visit! Thanks for stopping by!