Peyton's 1st St. Patrick's Day

Peyton and I had a grand 'ole time celebrating one of my favorite holidays yesterday! I just really love St. Patrick's Day for some reason and I was so excited to get to enjoy it with Peyton this year. Our festivities this year were a little different (don't worry I still got my Reuben sandwich and my Irish beer) than in the past, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

It wouldn't be a proper holiday in the Roche household without a themed outfit of course :)  

The main reason that St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays is because it also happens to be the day that Jared and I met for the very first time. This is our first photo together, on that day, NINE years ago! My how times have changed.

Like any other holiday around here, this called for a photo shoot :)

A fun present from mommy for the holiday. This necklace was a bad idea. I never stood a chance at getting her to pay attention to me or look at the camera after this. But she loved it.

Peyton and I spent St. Patrick's Day at our local Irish Pub and she had a blast. This child loves going to restaurants. She is always entertained, sitting up in the high chair checking everyone out, smiling and waving at everybody as they walk by. She was particularly fond of the green table cloth at our table and kept trying to pull it off, almost taking everyone's beers and food with it.

We had a play date at the pub (yes, I just used the words "play date" and "pub" in the same sentence) with some of Peyton's Kappa Sigma baby friends. All of their daddies were fraternity brothers in college, and we are so glad that we got some amazing mommy and baby friends out of that deal too! Basically, this "play date" was more for the mamas than the babies, but hey mamas deserve a little lunch date every now and then too.

Here's something I never thought I would be doing on St. Patrick's Day...sitting on the floor of a restaurant playing with three infants. Luckily, we were sort of in the corner of a back room away from the main dining area, so we didn't look too insane. I'm sure they put us back there on purpose. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Is this the cutest thing you have ever seen or what? 

Adelyn {1 year}, Harrison {6.5 weeks}, Peyton {9 months}

Peyton and I had a wonderful holiday and we hope that you did too! Happy St. Patrick's Day from this lucky little girl and her very blessed mama! 

Gate River Run

Growing up in Jacksonville, the Gate River Run has always been a prominent tradition in our community. It's one of the most significant weekends of the year in our fair city, for both runners and non-runners. If you've never thought of running as a spectator sport, then you've never been to the Gate. A large portion of the race is throughout neighborhoods and people go all out, throwing huge parties in their yards. The entire 9.3 mile race route is basically lined with spectators. Some just cheering you on with signs and music, others handing out water and snacks, some even bold enough to offer you beer or mimosas, and food straight off the grill. I have no idea who could possibly manage to drink a beer and eat a bratwurst while in the midst of running 9 miles (definitely not me), but the option is there if you want it. Whether you're running the race or just partaking in the festivities, this is definitely a big day for all Jacksonville residents.

I've never been a runner. In fact, up until about two years ago the farthest I could ever manage to run was about half a mile. After that, I felt like I was going to die. In the summer of 2013, I decided that I wanted to try and run a 5k. I trained for about a month and accomplished my goal of running an entire 5k race without stopping or walking. I thought that was the end of my running career. I always dreamed of possibly running the Gate once day, but I never thought it would be possible. I struggled enough with running a 5k start to finish, so having to run three times that far seemed completely out of the realm of possibility. Then last year Jared ran the Gate while I was pregnant and I was super jealous. Seeing him accomplish what I had always dreamed of doing made me think that maybe I could actually be crazy enough to try it for myself.

After Peyton was born last summer, I had a new sense of self-confidence. Delivering a 10 pound baby with no drugs makes you feel like a superwoman. I was convinced that my body could do absolutely anything. I decided that if I could power through natural childbirth like a champ, then surely I could run 9.3 miles. So I signed up for the Gate in October. I hoped that signing up 5 months in advance would give me plenty of time and motivation to train for the race. I was wrong. Apparently, I'm still a procrastinator at heart...you'd think I would have grown out of that after college. Not the case. The new year rolled around and I still had yet to begin my training. Finally in late January, I began a very inconsistent running routine. I managed to run a 10k (6.2 miles) the Sunday before the Gate and up to that point, that was the farthest I had ever run in my entire life.

Going into race day, I knew that there was no way I would be able to run the entire race. I decided that my goal would be 7 miles (a personal record for myself) and then if I had to walk the last 2 miles so what. The 8th mile (out of 9.3) of the race is up and over the Hart Bridge (nicknamed "The Green Monster") and I knew that I wouldn't dare to try and run that mile of the race because I've heard the horror stories the thought of having to run up a bridge after already running for 7 miles terrified me. I was perfectly content with the idea of having a nice walk up the bridge enjoying the beautiful view.

Race day finally arrived and I was pretty nervous. I do not run with other people. It is not a social activity for me. In fact, I don't want anyone I know running anywhere near me. I hate feeling pressured and watched by other people when I am trying to run. I'm not a competitive person at all so I do not derive motivation from other people, I just get angry and uncomfortable and self-conscious. Therefore, Jared was instructed to part ways with me at the starting line. Plus, I knew he wanted to run at a faster pace than me so I didn't want to hold him back.

Getting ready to line up at the starting line...here goes nothing!

I was pretty proud of myself for keeping the same pace for the entire race. I knew it would be hard to maintain my pace at the beginning of the race because I would be all amped up for the race and everyone else would be taking off fast right off the starting line. I quickly realized that majority of the runners in my wave (12-13 minute mile pace) only run across the starting line for the picture and then about 100 yards out, they all just stop running and start walking. Slackers. This totally threw me off because I was just running along nice and slow and everyone was blowing past me and then all of a sudden I hit this wall of people who just came to a halt out of nowhere. I literally almost ran into a bunch of people. It was so frustrating. I basically spent the rest of the race weaving in and out people who would just randomly stop in the middle of the road. I'm pretty sure that I actually ran an extra half mile or so simply from crossing back and forth across the road constantly.

The first 5k of the race was super easy even with having to go over the Main Street Bridge during mile two. By the time I hit the 10k mark, I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome and energetic I still felt (thanks to my GU Chomps). I also felt a little extra kick of adrenaline because I was determined to make it to my 7 mile goal since I was so close at that point. Once I hit 7 miles, I just had to see how far I could really push myself.

Once I hit the Hart Bridge (aka: The Green Monster), I couldn't possibly quit now. I had made it so far and there were less than two miles left, that I just had to try and finish out running. As I headed up the bridge, I felt like I was going in slow motion and that even though I was running, I felt like I wasn't moving forward. However, the fact that everyone else around me was giving up and walking, kept me running. As I made it to the top of the bridge, I could see the finish line and knew that the final mile was downhill. The exhaustion and muscle pain in my legs was lifted away and I was ready to conquer that last mile. There was no way I was going to give up now, after running over 8 miles, I just had to finish.

Running that final mile was such a surreal experience. I was shocked and amazed. I could not believe what I had just accomplished and it was an amazing moment for me. For a minute, I seriously thought that I was going to cry out of sheer joy as I crossed the finished line, but I was just so excited that I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. 

I finally earned my first piece of race bling and it truly felt well deserved. I still can't believe that I actually ran 9.3 miles start to finish, without stopping or walking. Going from being a total non-runner to a Gate River Run finisher is huge accomplishment for me and I will cherish this proud moment forever. I am so happy that I finally challenged myself to take on this goal that I've always dreamed about and successfully check it off of my bucket list!

Jared beat me (but only by 10 minutes!) and successfully completed his 2nd Gate River Run. 

I'm so glad that Jared and I were able to share in this awesome experience together and I'm thrilled that he was there to support me in my special moment! Congratulations to all of the runners!

Peyton's 1st Christmas

We celebrated our first Christmas as a family of three in our new house this year. I was so excited that we got to be in our new home for this occasion. We moved in earlier this month and I haven't even unpacked majority of the house. I just wanted the rooms we were going to be using for Christmas morning (so the kitchen and living room) to be unpacked and decorated for Christmas and I figured that the rest of the house can wait until after Christmas. We had a wonderful 1st Christmas morning in our home for Peyton and I'm so glad that we got to share it with both of our families.

I've always wanted a house with stairs that I could decorate for Christmas so that I could take a Christmas morning family photo on them every year. Mission accomplished.

 Excited to see what Santa brought us!

Waking up in our Christmas jammies and going downstairs to open presents!

All those packages under the tree are great, but I've got all I wanted for Christmas this year right here. And she's even got a bow on top too :)

 The princess on her new throne. Thanks Grandma DeeDee! 

 Mommy's side of the family

 Daddy's side of the family

Moo Moo (Jared's grandma, Peyton's great-grandma) came all the way from Colorado to spend Peyton's first Christmas with her.

The princess is ready to open her gifts. I don't think this child got enough presents this year. My goodness! For the record, Jared and I did not buy her a single gift for Christmas this year. All of these gifts are from our other family members. Y'all set the bar pretty high for years to come :) 

 Peyton wanted to help me open her gifts.

Handmade wooden growth chart from Auntie Erika, made by a friend of ours. I'm so in love with this thing and I can't wait to add it to Peyton's bedroom decor. 

 Peyton's first Lilly Pulitzer dress! 

She got so many wonderful toys and she loves them all! I couldn't possibly post all of the photos of Peyton with her presents or else this would be the longest blog post ever. So I'll just spare you a few highlights. 

Her first baby doll, a gift from Grammy. She loves to hold on to her hands or her dress and not let go. Adorable. 

Peyton recently started to love looking at books on her own. She likes to touch the characters and try to turn the pages. She is just so mesmerized by books. I'm sure she will love reading just like me. This one was a gift from Auntie Erika...Frozen, of course :)

 Peyton decided that Auntie Erika had the best wrapping paper...holiday kitties :)

I guess it's getting to that time where we are going to learn to pull up and stand (ah, growing so fast!) so we have a little walker now. She kept trying to touch the lion on the box. Anytime we read a book with a lion she always wants to touch it. She clearly loves lions, just like mommy. 

 Her handmade stocking that took my mom a year to make. Thanks Grandma DeeDee!

 Who cares if we are 27/28 years old? We still wear festive hats on Christmas morning.

 Christmas Day dinner at Grammy and Jim's house

 Another adorable smocked outfit from Southern Tots. 

Elf on a shelf!

 Peyton and her grandmas. 

Peyton got to meet her Great Auntie Mo for the first time!

We hope that your family had as wonderful of a Christmas as ours!

Peyton's 1st Christmas Eve

Everything at Christmas is more magical when you have a child. If you thought Christmas was fun when you were a kid, just wait until you have your own kids. Christmas as a parent is the greatest joy ever. Nothing can bring you happiness like watching the magic of Christmas unfold through the eyes of your own child.

I've been dreaming of this for years and I finally have the greatest blessing of all. Christmas as a family of three.

Peyton's Christmas outfit is from Southern Tots. If you love smocked baby clothes, then you know how expensive those adorable smocked outfits from specialty boutiques can be. They are my absolute favorite though, especially for special occasions. Southern Tots is amazing, with adorable stuff for unbelievable prices when it comes to smocking.

Peyton loved the Christmas tree. She could have sat there and stared at it, touching the branches and lights forever.

We started off our Christmas Eve with worship service at our church. The kids from our children's ministry performed the nativity story and sang; it was basically the cutest thing I have ever witnessed. I can't wait for Peyton to be old enough to be in the Christmas program at church. Next, we went to the English's home for their annual Christmas Eve party.  

 Peyton and Grandma DeeDee

 Auntie Erika with her favorite little elf on a shelf!

 Opening a present from Aunt Linda

Disney Princess Cinderella of course!

Of course it wouldn't be a family occasion without my brother acting silly. I guess he was jealous that everyone wanted to hold Peyton in front of the Christmas tree, so he wanted to play her part for a minute :)

Aunt Lauren was home for Christmas from New York and we were excited to get to see her! Peyton loves her Aunt LaLa. I can't wait to have all of the English girls home next year. Aunt Lindsay wasn't home for Christmas this year because she is too pregnant to travel, but next year she will be home with Baby Speer!

Is it obvious that my brother has more experience with bass fishing than holding babies? 

 But he can be sweet sometimes too. Peyton is clearly not phased by his antics.

All ready for bed in her Christmas jammies. Jared, Peyton and I all snuggled up in the glider while he read us "The Night Before Christmas". I was so excited to start this family tradition.

 We will see you in the morning Santa!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.