Showing posts with label first birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first birthday. Show all posts

4.16.2012

Happy Birthday (pt.3)

For Pierce's birthday party, I wanted something simple. Something low key. I had no idea how my emotions would hit as the day unfolded. It was after all the anniversary of the most traumatic day of my life. And yet, the most joyous occasion as well- my son's first birthday. So we decided to keep it small- just immediate family. It was perfect. And Pierce had a blast being the center of attention. Here are a few shots from our party at home:

 
Circus themed masks for the guests
 the spread... popcorn bags, circus peanuts and cupcakes
 P's elephant cake



  We pitched a tent in the backyard

 
Green beans all over his face 


"Hmm...I think that looks like a fun toy"
Hamming it up for everyone

Side note: this was our second cake smash. We had done one earlier in the week for our family photo shoot. Sadly, both attempts ended in tears. (I guess we've always got August to try again!) He enjoyed the taste of cake and even managed to swallow a few bites, but he couldn't stand the slimy feeling of the icing between his pudgy fingers :)



 Right before the tears...
 and with the tears, we concluded our party. 

Overall, it was such a wonderful day. Everything was perfect. Our visit to the NICU. Our party at home. And the down time spent in the in between. Was it emotional? Sure. Did I make it through without shedding tears? No way. BUT it was perfect. The tragedy of the anniversary did not overshadow our joy. 

Please be praying for us as we have lots of appointments this coming week (pediatrician, eyes, pulmonology, neuro, PT, etc.). Our biggest appointment is on Friday. Pierce will be going to the neurosurgeon to have an MRI to check on the status of his shunt. Please be praying that this will go smoothly and that the results would show the shunt is functioning properly and that Pierce's brain has grown sufficiently.

Much love, The Franks Family

4.14.2012

Happy Birthday! (pt.2)

We survived the big birthday! Really, there were no words to describe the amount of gratitude and joy that swelled in our hearts on Friday as we reflected on how far Pierce has come.
Take a look at the difference a year has made:

Our first stop to celebrate: The NICU. It only seemed logical that we would head back to the place where it all started. Celebrate with the some of the most amazing folks. Literally the Levine NICU team are the most talented and skilled team we've ever met. Not many 23 weekers survive, and even less do as well as Pierce has done- we know this is nothing short of a miracle. We also know that God used each every one of the staff at Levine to help Pierce.


We saw Andi, one of Pierce's amazing nurse practitioners.
And then Tony, another amazing practitioner that cared for our boy
Then there was a special meeting with Dr. Keuser. Dr. Keuser was Pierce's primary Doctor for a good portion of his stay. He will always hold a special place in our hearts as he was there with us in the very beginning when Pierce was so sick and not expected to survive.
And then, of course, we HAD to see our very special primary nurse Lindsay. She's no longer our nurse, but now our primary babysitter :) And of course, our friend.

And then we headed down the hallway to NPCN, where we saw Pierce's NPCN primary nurse, Vicki. We bragged about how well P is eating now (the NPCN girls spent endless hours teaching our boy to bottle feed)

And Linda was there too!
Finally we HAD to get a shot of the hospital behind us. We hope to only see the inside of that place when we go for elective visits now :)

Stay tuned for pt.3... which will include photos from our family party at home!

We're off to celebrate another miracle today- little Liam. Liam was Pierce's neighbor in the NICU and his first best bud.

Happy Saturday!







4.12.2012

Happy Birthday (pt.1)

Today's the day. He's one. From one lb to one years old (and 19lb 4oz!). God has been so, so good to us. We're off to celebrate with the ones who made this all possible- the amazing NICU staff who cared for P in the very beginning.

But before we run out, we wanted to share with you our new and improved project website. Check out the website, read our update and consider helping us as we launch this effort to support local families of micropreemies.

www.piercesproject.com


Loads of pictures on the way!!!

Love,
The Franks Family