Rock N' Roll.

"There will come a day when my body can no longer do this.
Today is not that day."

This quote from the shirt of a fellow runner was our adopted motto for Saturday's half-marathon run.

Was it easy? Not at all.

Did it hurt at times? Most definitely.

But am I glad we did it? Absolutely.

When the seven of us girlfriends decided to sign up for this last summer, I wasn't fully convinced I would follow through with it. It sounded like a great goal, but if it didn't work out...eh.

There were certainly times during the training process that I thought I would just stop this nonsense, especially given the oh-so-lovely spring we'd been having (running in the rain isn't so much fun).

But I am so happy that I stuck it out. Accomplishing this goal with these ladies was a very incredible feeling. To know that our bodies could be pushed and would allow us run 13.1 miles, to know that we are healthy enough to make the decision to do a run like this...it makes me very thankful.


And to see my little squish at the finish line was the best reward ever!

We did it gals....yay us!

Happy...

...for coffee this week. It's been a necessity.

...that Nicholas and Dave were the ones doing the Mud Run last weekend and that Charlotte and I were just spectators.

...that Charlotte is finally feeling better (yes, hard to believe but during the first week of summer she had the stomach flu...seriously?! I thought we were done with cold/flu season?!)

...that this challenging week is coming to a close. I'm not going to lie, it's been a bit of a rough one. Scheduling who will stay home with C...guilt about not being with her the whole time...guilt about having to leave work...maybe it's the Catholic in me or something, but I've just had a lot of mama guilt this week.

...that we get to hang with these buddies again this weekend!

...for 3-5 year goals and plans that Nick and I have been discussing. It's fun and exciting to think about (and my father-in-law Rick would be so proud...he's all about the 5 year plan)

...that training for this Rock-and-Roll 1/2 Marathon is coming to a close and that the race is this weekend (okay...so maybe I'm more nervous for the race part of it...)

...for Parisian themed showers for this cute little bride-to-be!

...that I married my very best friend who just happens to be a pretty incredible daddy. Happy belated fathers day! Thank you for everything this week.

Friday Night.

Gorgeous peonies from my co-workers yard that now make their home on my dining room table.

Time for a run. And time for play.

First Copper River Salmon of the season.

Gardening and planting veggies, accompanied by rose wine. A natural combo.

Cozy comfort.

Here's hoping you are all enjoying a relaxing start to your weekend.

It's 9:53 p.m. and I'm heading to bed...oh happy Friday!

525,600 minutes

(Oh come on...you had to have known I would start the post about her year with that title, right? )

525,600 minutes.
How do you measure a year?
Wow.

It's hard to find the words that accurately depict everything that one year means for us. How much joy we feel, how fast the year has gone, how many amazing things we've watched Miss C accomplish this first year of her life...how very much we love this little girl.

We spent the week leading up to her birthday planning, getting ready, looking through pictures of the year...remembering. I found myself listening to the "Baby Tunes" play list I had made for the birthing room, and welled up with tears numerous times on the way to work. I remember listening to those songs with such anticipation. What would it be like being a parent? What would she be like? Was it going to be hard? Are we ready?

The answer: it's the best thing in the world. She is our special treasure. And yes, there were challenging times over this year, but we were ready. And we did it. A successful first year with one pretty sweet girl to show for it.

Mother Nature decided to celebrate Charlotte's birthday with us as well and showed up for the dance in her finest attire.

First trip to the zoo with Grammie and Aunt Shelly.

And on Sunday for her party? It was a perfect afternoon.

If I closed my eyes and had imagined what I hoped her first birthday party would be, I could have opened them and it was our reality. It was everything I wanted for her.

It was a celebration. Surrounded by family and friends, we sat on blankets, chatted, ate, drank and celebrated our girl.

This picture cracks me up...it looks like Gracie girl is just having a convo with the big kids, ha!

As we gathered with everyone, I was once again reminded about how blessed and fortunate we are...to have all these amazing people show up, support and love on our girl is a pretty humbling and incredible feeling.

And let me tell you- yes, she was a fan of the cake.

Timid at first, after she tasted that sugar...she was all over it. Literally.

A tired little tootsie at the end of her day.

Her first year, and all years moving forward...how will they be measured?

In love of course.

Happy birthday my sweet girl. You are loved.

This time last year...

we were waiting....

and waiting...

and waiting some more.

This time last year she was already 10 days late.

Little did we know we'd continue waiting for 2 more days...

This time last year I was walking, eating spicy food, eating blueberry milkshakes, eating eggplant (there was a lot of eating going on)...anything anyone told us to try to get labor started, we tried it.

Because we were excited.

We were ready to meet our little girl.

This is such a special week for us. Remembering the days leading up to her arrival and reminiscing on our past year. And being a sentimental person to begin with, this week has been beautifully emotional, in all the right ways.

Because this time last year...we had no idea how perfectly our life would change.
All because of her.

Photo taken by my talented girl Erin Ewing.