P's 1st birthday

We decided for Pierce's birthday we wanted to spend the whole day as a family. Having fun together and thinking about Pierce. We got up and went to breakfast at Kneaders. Koen loved their french toast and said it was "worth the wait." We didn't eat till almost 10 AM. Before we left I had to take a shot of Pierce's rose bush. I thought it was special because it only really had one big bloom and the others were still buds. 1 bloom for his 1 year birthday.

After breakfast we headed up to the canyon for some hiking. The boys wanted to collect some rocks and brought a balloon to send to Pierce. The weather was great. It had just rained so it smelled so fresh but wasn't too muddy. We were comfortable in a light jacket.

 (I brought P with us. ;) and I have stopped trying to get good pictures of B, this is him)

The whole time walking we kept saying things like "This is when Pierce's heart rate was high and we said "he doesn't want to be evicted." or "Now I was getting my spinal." etc etc. It is so weird to think about it all because in ways it feels like another life.

When we got to Doughnut Falls we let the balloon go. It got a little stuck in a tree and Phil told the kids maybe Pierce was sitting in that tree and caught it. ;)

On our way home we stopped by the cemetery so Ko and I could put out his "Happy Birthday" sign and banner in his tree. Then we went home and got a quick lunch and blew up the balloons before heading back to the cemetery for his birthday celebration.

Ko and I had fun taking pics with the balloons!

I was on the verge of tears or I should say in and out of tears all day. I figured makeup would just make the problem worse so I decided to forgo that. It was no different with the tears when we got to the cemetery and I saw all the people there who love and support us and our little man. Thank you for coming. It was so special.

We brought 48 balloons for the 48 days Pierce was here. And one birthday balloon for his first birthday. People wrote notes on the balloons then we sang happy birthday and sent them to heaven. Cute little Koen's balloon said "♥ you" It made me cry, I love him. Then we just had cupcakes and visited. It really was nice. Thank you to every one who came, called, text, brought me something. Thank you. Thank you for thinking of me. It was definitely a hard day and everyone helped make it a little easier.

 That is quite intense in the picture area. I couldn't narrow them down. :) You know me and I also had to take pics of some of the things people dropped off.

 Thank you thank you! We are so blessed to have wonderful people in our lives.