month 2

As of yesterday, our little Pier is 2 months old!  

Isn't he such a joy?! I kiss those cheeks approximately 2304987 times a day.

This baby walrus LOVES baths.  If he's fussy, a bath calms him down immediately.  He goes to town kicking and splashing away...We might have a future swimmer on our hands ;).

We're still working on sleeping! He has started to take naps more frequently but still thinks nighttime is play time...particularly at 3 a.m.

He's starting to put on some pounds....I'm not complaining because this mama is a sucker for baby rolls. I've hatched a secret plan to make him as chubby as possible mwhaha.

We love you Pier Francis! You teach us something new each day and we can't wait to watch you grow sweet boy.

brad's 27th

It's Dr. Brad's birthday today!!!! So....sorry guys, I'm about to gush a little...

In case you didn't realize, I hit the jackpot marrying Bradley Fossier.  His joy is contagious. He tells the lamest corny jokes ever (and I secretly love it). He is selfless, humble, and courageous.  He is a genuine person and doesn't pretend to be anyone he isn't.  He is the most talented person I've ever known -- from drawing, to playing multiple instruments, to learning complicated medicine things -- he can do it all.  Above all, he is a holy husband and father and strives daily to bring his family to heaven.  I often tell people that he's my role model and I mean it.

Pier wanted the chance to give his daddy a special birthday shout out! But side note: there were probably 70 photos of him making the face on the left before I caught the face on the right.  He's all like seriously mom? And just like that his teenage years flash before my eyes.

As a true Ina Garten fan girl, I made her Mocha Ice Box cake to celebrate the big 2-7.  It has all the things I live for in a dessert -- coffee, chocolate, and cookies.

And since it's so rare for me to get all dressed up (aka wear clothes that are not pajamas), we took a few family photos!

We tried someplace new for dinner tonight called the St. Joseph Brewery. It used to be a Catholic Church! Um so we were all about that.  Beer, food, and Gothic architecture? Sign me up. 

I love you Bradley Fossier and I am so grateful you were born. Happiest of birthdays to you!

chop chop

Surprise!!! So, this might be pretty vain of me to dedicate an entire blog post to hair, but since since blog is about my life and this was a pretty big change for me, I thought why not?

In case you need a really cute before picture....

^ #nofilter

Ah those long locks --it was time. That picture captures me day 3 without a shower and the baby may or may not had just spit up in my hair... It exudes a nice new mother glow doesn't it? :)

I've been daydreaming of chopping my hair for about six months now and boy did it feel nice once it was finished.  Caring for Pier and a few health issues postpartum has left me feeling less than glamorous, so a trip to the salon was just the ticket to get me feeling like myself again. 

PSA to new moms....GO PAMPER YOURSELF if you can!!! Pier has been going through a 6 week growth spurt (aka eating round the clock) and sleep regression and I have been running on 3 hours of sleep for the past week.  I left my house feeling like a zombie and came back home feeling like a rock star ready to take on whateva this baby threw at me.  That's the power of a haircut people.

 

month 1

Here's to ONE MONTH with Pier Francis!!!!

First, let me apologize for being lazy in the baby-update department.  This baby sure loves to eat and I haven't quite figured out how to breastfeed and type with two hands at the same time... I'm getting better at it though, so from here on out no more excuses. And sorry if you feel like you're scrolling for forever on this one, but I have lots to update you on! 

Brad and I have loved getting to know this lil dude.  This past month has been the most joyful, exhausting, emotional, and challenging month of my life and we wouldn't have it any other way :)

Now here are a few things we're learning about Mr. Pier...

he loves food (like his mama)

I call him Very Hungry Cater-Pier because I'm pretty sure this baby could win a food eating competition in the infant division.  The only time he cries is when he's hungry (which I can totally relate to because the struggle is real when ya need food and ya need it now).

he's curious

Doesn't Pier do an awesome blue steel?! He's pretty unsure what to think about that pacifier, but I just can't handle how cute he is when he's using it! 

I've noticed that Pier is a very alert baby.  He's always checking out his surroundings and is very aware of different noises and movement.  And those blue eyes of his? They make mama weak in the knees.

he's already bff with gertie the cat

Like we even needed to question that... I mean come on now.

he's always up for an adventure

 We are an active family, and Brad and I agreed that our kids wouldn't slow us down.  Pier tags along with us like a champ in anything his parents want to do!

Here we are walking along the Canal downtown when Annie and Papa were in Indy visiting us.  Just like his namesake, baby Pier loves to be outside .  If he's fussy all we have to do is bring him out to play in the backyard or on a walk and he's instantly calmed. 

And we had a blast spending a weekend outdoors on Ellis Lake for a young adult retreat put on by our parish.  The Frassati Society is a young adult group we're a part of whose mission is to celebrate Blessed Pier Giorgio's example of living a life of adventure. 

We spent the weekend unplugged, focusing on our family and reconnecting with the Lord. There were great talks, daily mass, Adoration, a rosary walk at sunset, and a bluegrass seminarian band. And I must say baby Pier was a little celebrity! Everyone wanted a piece of him, and I don't blame 'em.

he sleeps allllll the time

HA! Just kidding.  Don't let such pictures fool you, a napper he is not.  I'm lucky if he maybe takes a nap during the day, and lately at night he sleeps in 2-3 hour increments. But he does look so sweet and angelic when he does sleep doesn't he?

We love you Mr. Pier and we can't wait to see what month 2 has in store!

pier francis | behind the name

Before I begin, here's a friendly PSA about how to pronounce Pier's name.... it's like this, you see:

Just wanted to clarify because our little man has been called Peter, Piers, Pierce, and Pierre more times than we can count.  Technically in Italian it's pronounced kinda like the French Pierre but in one syllable, which we Americanize simply as the word pier (like a pier in a lake, or a peer in your classroom...you get the idea).

So, why exactly did we name him Pier and not something a little more...normal?

Ever since I was little, I’ve been obsessed with baby names.  I had names for all of my dolls, notebooks filled to the brim of each of my future children’s names, and would even research the meaning of names at a very early age.  Names fascinate me, so when it came to decide on a (very permanent) name for our firstborn, we put a lot of prayer and thought into the decision.

In true Catholic tradition, we plan on naming all our children after saints who live out the Gospel in extraordinary ways.  We ask for the intercession of these saints in order that our own children will become holy, virtuous men and women as they grow to carry out the love of Christ in his or her unique way.   Our Pier Francis is named after two very important men that hold special places in our hearts – Blessed Pier Girogio Frassati and Saint Francis of Assisi (we also really love this guy). Of course, "Pier" is Italian for Peter, so actually he has three pretty legit men looking after him ;). It was my prayer throughout my pregnancy that our baby Pier would possess the spirit and virtue of these great men. 

Most of you probably know the story of St. Francis, so I am excited to tell you about Blessed Pier Giorgio.  First off, if I were to have a saint crush, he's definitely it.  This guy was an Italian hunk -- super attractive, incredibly wealthy, and joyfully charismatic.  See studly photo for reference:

And he wasn't afraid to live a full life, either.  He loved to hike, ski, play practical jokes, climb mountains, smoke his pipe, and drink his wine with the best of 'em. 

Above all, he had a heart for the Lord and the Blessed Mother, and a deep devotion to the Eucharist.  This pure love for Christ and His Church stemmed an intense love for the poor.  His parents were ridiculously wealthy, but he gave everything -- even his bus fare -- to those in need.  His humility was so profound that even those closest to him had no idea he did these things. At the age of 24, he contracted polio from the poor that he so devoutly served, and died quickly after.  In fact, at his funeral, thousands of the poor of Turin showed up in vast numbers to say goodbye to their friend. 

So, you can see why we love Frassati so much!  We are blessed to have such a powerful intercessor for our firstborn and for our family. P.S. His feast day is TOMORROW!!!!! Blessed Pier Giorgio, pray for us!

“What does it mean to be “blessed” (makarioi in Greek)? To be blessed means to be happy. Tell me: Do you really want to be happy? In an age when we are constantly being enticed by vain and empty illusions of happiness, we risk settling for less and “thinking small” when it comes to the meaning of life. Think big instead! Open your hearts! As Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati once said, “To live without faith, to have no heritage to uphold, to fail to struggle constantly to defend the truth: this is not living. It is scraping by. We should never just scrape by, but really live””

— Pope Francis

Wanting to learn more about Frassati? Here are 10 More Reasons to Love Blessed Pier Giorgio.

And if you're still interested in his life (which you totally should be), here's a great short video about how vibrantly he lived out the Gospel, earning him the title "Man of the Beatitudes".  Also, if you're curious about the meaning behind verso l'alto Fr. Barron does a great job explaining it.  It's one of my favorites!