The July 4th holiday is a hard one for me. This was Archer’s first holiday, and I was excited to celebrate with him. 

Every year my brother throws a little cookout/get-together for the 4th. When Archer was first born, we weren’t sure if we would go. He was only about eight days old, and we weren’t sure if the weather would be too hot or cold for him. We decided we would play it by ear and make the decision that day.

We went and got some of our first family photos together. 

Also, I could have picked a different photo of Squishy, but I love how this one had him touching his face, losing a sock, and a concerned Zelda. This photo just felt like it captured who he was best!

Theo and I were so proud and felt we got to show him off a little bit. We were happy that we had gotten a newborn out of the house and ourselves without looking like the exhausted new parents that we were. 

My brother continues to throw his annual 4th cookout, and we have gone both years since Archer passed. 

Theo has always had this one popsicle shirt since we were first dating. I liked it, but you could tell he needed a new one. When Archer was here, we bought him a little popsicle shirt to be like Dad that he would have worn this year (2023, since we bought it on sale). We also bought Theo one that was pretty similar. However, we no longer have Archer, so the popsicle shirt was never worn.

This year, I wanted to do something special. You may know, or not, that Archer gets bowties for the holidays or every month. This is one way we have kept him involved in our lives. This year, I found a popsicle bowtie. Then as we got closer to the holiday, I felt left out because everyone had popsicles but me. So I went out and got myself a shirt.

It was a special moment to feel like we were one of those families that all got to match, even if Archer wasn’t here on Earth. Having these popsicle outfits is how we made the holiday easier this year.

We wore our popsicles to my brother’s 4th of July cookout. 

Oh, how I wish Archer was here and wearing his popsicle shirt. July 4th will always be hard. It was a first that I will never get past.