Giving Thanks

Yesterday was Henry's first Thanksgiving. This holiday has never meant so much. We want to share what we are thankful for this year.

• Henry, of course. He's truly a miracle. With what he has been through and the odds that have been against him, it is amazing to see him as such a happy and healthy boy.
• Our families. Everyone has been so helpful and supportive. We are so thankful we moved back to Tucson and now have the support of Kate's family. If we were still in Philly, I don't know how we would have been able to cope.
• Our friends and well wishers. From our closest friends to people known to us through six degrees of separation, we are thankful for your thoughts, prayers, and gifts.
  
• The NICU staff. While we may have had some gripes while at the UMC NICU, overall they did an amazing job. We especially are thankful to the nurses and nurse practitioners. They were all incredibly proficient and professional. The dream team of Kathy, Joyce, and Holly went far beyond the call of duty and really made a positive difference in our lives at an incredibly difficult time.
• Modern medicine. How is it possible that a child can survive when he only weighs 1lb 4oz and skips the entire third trimester? Through countless hours of hard work, strangers dedicated to furthering medicine have prevented us from experiencing the grief we likely would have experienced if Henry had been born only a few years ago.
  
• Our employers. Both Kate and I have had incredible support from workplaces not only while Henry was in the hospital, but since he has come home as well. We have constant doctor and other appointments. The flexibility of our work has relieved some of the stress that could easily arise from trying to juggle career and home.
• Life. Henry's situation has given us new perspective on the fragility of life in general, not just Henry's. We are thankful for our physical health, our wonderful environment, family, friends, pets, and the great many things we shouldn't take for granted but sometimes do.
  

Returning to our regular blog format, this is how the rest of the day went. In the morning we took a longer walk than normal after sleeping a bit later than normal. Henry is continuing to sleep for several hours at a time at night which is fantastic. Henry weighed in at 12lbs 12oz.

We headed over to the grandparents house for dinner around 4pm. Kate's two sisters and their significant others were there. We met Erin and Brian's dog Wembly for the first time. He is a very energetic little guy and managed to get Roger to play with him. Marley didn't want anything to do with him and tried to attack him when he tried to initiate play. She's such a party pooper.

Dinner was great. It was nice to see everyone, and thankfully no one was sick. Henry was rather fussy through the afternoon and it continued through dinner. We took shifts trying to console him in a bedroom away from the dinner table. Finally, he went to sleep on Grandpa after dinner while sitting in from of the tv watching ASU lose to USC in football. Henry seems to be an avid sports fan already.