Tennessee Trip

Peyton went on her very first overnight, out of state road trip the weekend of August 8-10 to Tennessee! Back before Peyton was even born, I decided that going on this trip would be one of my first big mommy goals. A dear childhood family friend of ours was getting married and I desperately wanted to be there. I knew that Peyton would only be about two months old and that putting her in the car for 8+ hours was probably a terrible idea, but I wanted to try. The bride's father (a dear friend of my parents) passed away back in late April and I was very sad that I was not able to make it to the funeral. My doctor wouldn't let me travel so far away from home that late in my pregnancy. I knew this wedding weekend would be difficult for their family and for my family, so I wanted to make sure that we could be there to support everyone. Plus, I knew all of our family friends would want to meet Peyton!

I knew that I wanted to bring Peyton on the trip to see everyone, but I did not want to have to bring her to the actual wedding. Mommy and daddy needed a night off :) So I enlisted Jared's sister to come along as our babysitter. 

We decided to make the initial drive to Chattanooga in the middle of the night. We didn't want to have to keep stopping along the way for feedings and diaper changes, as this drive was going to be long enough even without having to stop constantly. Therefore, we opted to schedule our travel plans around Peyton's sleep schedule. Peyton does the majority of her uninterrupted sleeping between 10:30pm and 6am (I know, shocking for an almost 2 month old) so we wanted to do most of the driving at a time when she would be in a good long stretch of sleep. Jared and Erika are super insomniacs and really good at staying awake all night so they were totally game for attempting this midnight road trip. Staying awake late is not something I am good at. I am a morning person, not a night owl. 

On Thursday evening, we packed up the car (Sidenote: 3 nights out of town with a two month old basically requires a full sized U-haul) and got ourselves ready for the all night drive. We fed Peyton, bathed her, and did her whole night time routine. However, instead of putting her down for bed in her crib, we put her down in her car seat. By 10:00pm, we were all in the car and ready to hit the road. Peyton had just fallen asleep. Along the way, we stopped twice for bathroom/snack breaks for ourselves, but Peyton never woke up once. Jared drove the entire way and Erika helped him stay awake. I sat in the back with Peyton and slept on and off throughout the night. A couple of times, I woke up to Jared and Erika having a full blown 90's dance party in the front seats. It was hysterical, but hey, whatever it takes to stay awake. 

We arrived at our hotel in Downtown Chattanooga at precisely 5:00am, exactly 7 hours from door to door. When I brought Peyton into the hotel room and sat her down, she instantly woke up and greeted me with this adorable face :) She was ready for her morning feeding, right on schedule. I couldn't believe how smoothly that drive went. I was so nervous and terrified that we would be trapped in the car with a screaming baby, but she was amazing! 

Jared and Erika went right to bed while I unpacked Peyton's stuff, fed her and then put her back to bed so I could get a few more hours of sleep. She went right back to sleep for 4 more hours! 

Once we all got a decent amount of sleep, we decided to head out for a late lunch and a visit with some friends. 

Peyton had a lot of visitors all throughout the weekend. And a lot of outfits! Thank goodness I overpacked for her because everytime I put a cute outfit on her, she pooped on it. Here she is with Aunt Melissa, who came to the rescue many times with her Shout wipes which saved Peyton's outfits. 

Friday night, we took Peyton out to dinner with us while everyone else was at the Rehearsal Dinner and she was so well behaved. The restaurant we went to was super loud, but she just slept the entire time. After dinner, my mom stayed with her in our hotel suite so we could go out to the bar with our friends from the wedding. 

On Saturday morning, we headed "up the mountain" to where our family friends live on Signal Mountain. We spent the day visiting with everyone and Peyton got to meet a new friend! 

Peyton (almost 2 months) and Claire (almost 1 year) 

Saturday night was wedding time! Peyton stayed in our hotel suite with Auntie Erika for 8 hours. That's the longest that I have ever left her before! I didn't mind though because I knew she was in good hands and Erika sent us lots of cute photos throughout the night. I did miss her of course, but it was so nice to have a night out. 

I was super excited to get to spend a little time with my childhood best friend, Lindsay, even if it was only for one day. The last time I saw her, I was pregnant in her wedding!

Jared just loves when I make him pose for photos at weddings, especially when he hasn't had a chance to make it to the bar yet :) 

Our parents have been friends since middle/high school and we have been friends since birth! So great to be reunited with these beautiful ladies, who might as well be my sisters! 

Ah, a better Jared smile now...thanks to a few cocktails :) The view from the Chattanooga Country Club was gorgeous. Overlooking the Tennessee River, I loved this fabulous deck where we got to enjoy that refreshing mountain air.

All of the moms, who became friends in high school, and their daughters! Thankfully, the official wedding photographer captured this shot as well which will be so much better than my iPhone version here. 

We are so blessed to have had such an amazing group of friends to grow up with. These ladies have been more like aunts and sisters to me, rather than just friends.

We went back up the mountain to say goodbye to our family friends before heading back to Jacksonville on Sunday. Jennifer (Claire's mommy) and I have known each other since birth. Our dads and our moms have been best friends since high school. We are so excited for Claire and Peyton to start the 3rd generation of our family friend group!

I couldn't possibly leave Tennessee without introducing Peyton to the beautiful mountains. I insisted that we take the scenic route back down the mountain so that we could stop at an overlook to enjoy the view.

I can't wait to bring Peyton back to Chattanooga when she gets a little older to visit her friend again and really enjoy the mountains!

My Best Friend's Wedding

Jared, Peyton and I traveled to Tallahassee this weekend to see my best friend, Casey, get married! This was Peyton's very first road trip out of town and we didn't want to go through all the hoopla of spending the night away from home with her, so we decided to just go over for the day and come back that same night. I was super nervous about traveling that far in the car with her, but it actually went pretty well. We didn't need to stop nearly as much as I thought we were going to have to and we made pretty good time. She was very well behaved during the wedding too and basically slept the entire time, so mommy had time to catch up and visit with her friends.

We had a great time celebrating Casey and Tom and the wedding was a perfect representation of them. Plus, I got to meet baby James for the first time which was super exciting. I wish them the very best as they embark on this new life journey together.

 It was great to be reunited with these amazing ladies that I'm so blessed to call my sisters. 

Peyton's first road trip to Tallahassee!

 All dolled up in our monogrammed dress for Auntie Casey's wedding!

The ceremony and reception took place at the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy which is basically out in the woods almost to the Florida-Georgia state line. I loved it, especially with all the little rustic details that Casey used to highlight the Southern charm of the venue. I had no idea this place even existed, but it was beautiful. The perfect location for a good 'ole country wedding!

 Peyton's very first wedding and she basically slept through the entire thing. Mommy win. 

 Phi Mu love :) 

 Phi Mu sisters and now mommies together!

Peyton (1 month old), James (12 weeks old), Preston (6 months old)

Congratulations to my Phi Mu sister and very best friend. I love you. LIOB

Five Year Anniversary

Last Friday, Jared and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe that it has already been 5 whole years since we got married. However, I will say that I does feel like it has been quite a while since our wedding, but not in a bad way though. I think this is mostly due to the fact that so much has happened in our lives in these past 5 years that our wedding feels like something so distant in my mind. Plus, we look so much younger in our wedding photos that I feel like I can even just see a huge difference in how much we have grown up.

When I walked down that aisle back in 2009, I never could have imagined that this is where I would be a mere 5 years later. I wouldn't have believed you then, if you told me that my dad wouldn't still be here with us now. I cherish that walk down the aisle with him more than anything else and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience that moment with him before he was gone. I have way too many friends who will never be able to have their fathers walk them down the aisle, so even though I am sad not to have my dad here with me now, I am so grateful that he was there for me then. I never would have expected us to have to do IVF or to not already have at least one child born before our five year anniversary. Thankfully, that ended up working out better than I ever could have planned and I am so glad that Jared and I got to experience 5 years of traveling and being "just us" before starting a family. It was truly a blessing in disguise. I never would have dreamed that I'd be resilient enough to be a middle school teacher at an urban Title I school (now turned stay-at-home-mommy) or be awarded Teacher of the Year at my school at such a young age. So much has happened in such a short time. We can plan our lives out all we want, but only God knows the true plans that He has for us.

I am very proud of Jared and I for building such a strong marriage together in the midst of a lot of happy times as well as many terrifying obstacles. In a time where marriage seems to just be kind of a joke to many people (check out that divorce rate), I am proud to say that Jared and I both take our marriage very seriously and work hard at it. Just like everything else in life, you get out of something what you put into it. I want nothing more than to set a good example for Peyton of growing up in a home with a loving marriage. I am beyond blessed to have such a wonderful husband and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him, watching him become the awesome daddy that I know he will be.

Jared and I are not big "gift" people. We don't really ever exchange gifts for any holidays. Instead, we prefer to have some sort of "experience" together. We go do an activity or go on a trip...basically, make a memory together instead of buying some more stuff that we don't need. While enjoying this activity or vacation, I'm all about the free souvenirs...aka: pictures. Yes, I own my fair share of crap that I've brought back from various European countries, but over the years I've noticed that my all time favorite souvenirs from any experience are the pictures. Which brings me to my anniversary gift for this year. Being the crazy photo-loving girl that I am, I came up with this idea (actually I sort of stole it from Pinterest). This was the only thing I wanted for our anniversary (and it cost absolutely nothing, so that's win win for all of us) so Jared was a good sport and cooperated with my wishes. In my eyes, no material gift could have compared to this. It was the perfect way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary for me.

   
We returned to the exact spot where we took our first photos as Mr. & Mrs. on our wedding day. I wanted to recapture the photos, now 5 years later, to show how much our lives have changed. I absolutely love how the photos turned out! Big shout out to my sister-in-law, Erika, for being our photographer. Location: The Casa Monica Hotel in Historic Downtown Saint Augustine, Florida.

5 Year Wedding Anniversary at 37 weeks pregnant

Cheers to many more wonderful years of wedded bliss!

Speer Wedding

One of my childhood best friends, Lindsay, got married this past weekend! I had been anxiously awaiting this weekend for months now, praying that my seamstress would find a way to make that bridesmaid dress fit my 36 week pregnant body and hoping that I wouldn't go into labor early and miss the whole thing. Thankfully, the whole weekend went perfectly and I was so excited to be able to celebrate with my sweet friend.

The wedding festivities began on Friday with a Bridesmaids Luncheon at The University Club of Jacksonville. Lindsay's mom actually had her rehearsal dinner at this venue back when she got married which made it extra special. I had never been to The University Club before this occasion, but it is absolutely beautiful. It is on the 27th floor of a building in downtown Jacksonville, so it has spectacular views of the river and all of downtown. The luncheon was hosted by my mom, Lindsay's aunt and Lindsay's mom's best friend. These ladies did a great job and it turned out to be a lovely event to honor Lindsay and her 12 bridesmaids!

 Lindsay and I at the Bridesmaids Luncheon

Later that day, it was time for the rehearsal at the church and then the Rehearsal Dinner!

The Rehearsal Dinner was under a big tent at Gracie (Lindsay and I's friend since middle school and one the bridesmaids) and her husband's home in their backyard. They have a beautiful backyard, especially fabulous for entertaining. 

We were all up bright and early on Saturday to get ready at Lindsay's parents' house. 

My wedding hair (on the right) from the back. LG and I were hair twins :) This is one of those times when having really long, thick hair comes in handy. All of the bridesmaids also had matching monogrammed rompers (a gift from Lindsay) to get ready in that day! I won't dare show you mine from the front because the belly makes it look hilarious. However, it was so comfy and I am totally bringing it to the hospital with me to wear after my delivery. 

The moment of truth! Three trips to the seamstress and still having alterations done up until less than 48 hours before the wedding...but it fits! I never dreamed that I would be 36 weeks pregnant in a bridesmaids dress, but Lindsay and I have been dear friends for our entire lives and I wouldn't have missed this for anything. 

The wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful and I was pretty proud of myself for standing through the entire thing. Also for not tripping and rolling down the slanted aisle...or going into labor during it. As you can tell, I had a little bit of anxiety about not messing up this day for Lindsay, but we all survived hooray! My absolute favorite part was my walk down the aisle. I was the first bridesmaid down the aisle in the processional so I had to stand at the head of the aisle for a few minutes waiting for the groomsmen to get into position and for the music to change. Everyone was staring at me for what felt like forever. Super awkward. Majority of the people in attendance (especially on the left side of the church) know me and already knew that I was pregnant. However, getting to watch the reactions of the people on the right side was priceless. As I was standing at the head of the aisle getting ready to go, I guess it wasn't super obvious that I was pregnant. You could only see me from the front, my dress was kind of flowy and my bouquet was basically blocking most of my belly. As I made my way down the aisle, I could see some people's faces go from smiling to rather surprised when they got a view of me from the side. I could even hear a couple people whisper, "oh my goodness, she's pregnant!" as I passed them. I couldn't help but laugh. Yes, I am in fact pregnant and not just a fat bridesmaid. Good thing this comic relief made me a little less stressed about tripping down the aisle. 

   Our very last event as Roche, party of 2!

 My family at the reception - Deerwood Country Club 

The reception was gorgeous, very Cinderella-esque. Everyone had a wonderful time, dancing and celebrating the newlyweds. But no dancing for me at the reception...I was too afraid that me dancing would result in us delivering a baby on the dance floor. Wouldn't that be a fun wedding story? However, I did want to stay until the end to see off the happy couple on their grand exit. I'm not going to lie though, I was so exhausted and super swollen by this point though...just look at how full my face looks in this photo. I guess Peyton and I were just having too much fun celebrating this magical occasion :)

Despite being gigantic and super prego, I had a wonderful weekend celebrating my beautiful friend. I am so overjoyed to have been a part of her big day and blessed that even after 27 years, we still have such a special friendship. I wish Lindsay and David the very best on this new journey in their lives and the most magical happily ever after.  

 Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Speer!

Throwback Thursday

Today's Throwback Thursday is dedicated to my dear childhood friend, Lindsay. Her and I have been friends for the past 27 years (aka: since the days we were born). Technically, we have really been friends for almost 50 years since our dads became friends back in middle school. Our families have always been close and I am so lucky to have her in my life. She's getting married this weekend, so of course that gives me the perfect opportunity to post embarrassing photos of her on my blog. This is what happens when you have been friends with someone for your entire life, they have a lot of incriminating photos of you. Don't worry, Linds, I left the horrifying photos of us from the awkward middle school years in the vault. Cheers to the beautiful bride and many more years of friendship together!

Throwback Thursday: Lindsay and Me

Perhaps we missed our calling as artists :) 

Many dance recitals shared together

Annual Christmas Eve Party

Ponte Vedra Beach Club...love this photo because of our daddies in the background :) 

Rome, Italy - High School graduation trip to Europe with the mamas

One of our many, many trips to Disney

Dancing around Lincoln Center in New York City...yeah we're pretty cool :)

Lindsay was one of my bridesmaids in my wedding 5 years ago and I could not be more honored to be returning the favor and standing by her side on Saturday! 

Congratulations sweet friend on your special day! Love you!