Run, Baby, Run!

At the beginning of the year, one of my resolutions was to run more. A local running company here in Charlotte, Run For Your Life,  helped me stick to my goal by offering a series of races where linking medals were given at each finish line. Although I had no idea I would be pregnant for 5/6 races, I was up for the challenge and ready to train.

Race #1: Stonecrest Shamrock 4 miler - 39:45
Ah, the one race I actually trained for. Even with training, this race was a tough one. Ballantyne has some long rolling hills that don't make it easy.

0 weeks pregnant

Race #2: American 4 miler - 46:13
This one snuck up on me. Well, I should say that the length of 4 miles snuck up on me. I originally thought this race was a 5k (3.12 miles) and found out only a few days before that it was 4 miles. The morning of the race I didn't know I was pregnant, but that night I found out I was :) Turns out I was 5 weeks pregnant. Lucky for me, I didn't push myself during the race and had no problem walking throughout.

5 weeks pregant

Race #3: Yaisou Greek Festival 5K - 41:55
It's known as the flattest 5k in Charlotte and it was my first race running knowing I was pregnant. After getting the okay from my doctor to run the race at an easy pace, I felt good to go with my tiny bump.

13 weeks pregnant

Race #4: Hit the Brixx 5k
I wish I could have run EVERY race in the series but the App State football game against Miami trumped my love for running. Lucky for me, I've got a great friend who stepped up to the plate for me. Kaitlin did all the work and even gave me the medal after! She's the best.

Race #5: Novant Health 5k -42:12
This was my favorite race out of the 6 only because I got to run it with my boo. That's right, I got Jeremy to put on his running shoes and run the race with me. We had a great time running in the cooler fall weather and taking in the views of Lake Norman along the way.

18 weeks pregnant

awww, poor baby needed a nap

Race #6: Rocktoberfest 5 miler - 1:08:05
Finally! The last of the races! A 5 mile race at 5 months pregnant?! It was a long shot but I was determined to run it. I took it easy throughout and was actually pretty happy with my time. I was even more happy to connect all my medals and wear them like an Olympian.

20 weeks pregnant

Was I excited to wake up early and run these races throughout the spring, summer and fall? Not particularly. But I'm glad I did it. It has kept me healthy and active throughout the pregnancy making me push through beast mode to get it done. I'm even thinking about signing up next year. I gotta lose the baby weight somehow!

A September To Remember

Yes, I'm well aware we are halfway through October, but this past September wasn't a month to glaze over. Here is a quick recap of what went down.

Front Porch Sundays
Everyone should know by now that I love supporting small shops. Front Porch Sundays let's me do just that by bringing a handful of Charlotte's own small businesses at my finger tips. Jeremy and I enjoyed browsing the shops, getting noticed for our blog (!!!!) and eating a chocolate sea salt pop from one of my faves, King of Pops.

14 weeks calls for pops!

Attention, please
With Jeremy's Big Poppa video officially done, it was finally time to make it Facebook official by sharing our news of the baby arriving in March. (yay!)

Today I Give My All for Appalachian State
It has been years since we have traveled to Boone for a home football game. With a big team like Miami coming to town, we couldn't miss it. Although the game ended in a loss, it was fun to walk the hilly streets of Boone and be among the Mountaineer atmosphere.

16 weeks calls for a trip to Boone!

Keeping App in the fam!

We Remember Their Love When They Can No Longer Remember
Alzheimer's is a horrible, horrible disease that we are coping with first hand as a family. I don't think a lot of people understand that it is more than memory loss. It's the loss of speech, being unable to respond to your surrounding environment, altered visual perception and so much more. We walked that morning with a smile on our face but deep down, we are hoping for a cure.

James Bay with My Babe
It was a date night for the babe and I (and Chelsea) as we ventured out for a night with James Bay. His album, Chaos And The Calm, has become one of my favorites and lucky for me, he played every song off the album with ease. That's when you know an album is good, folks.

17 weeks calls for a date with James Bay

Boy Oh Boy
The time had finally come! During week 18, we finally got to see if our little nugget was a boy or girl. I was thinking girl and Jeremy was thinking boy. Sure enough, boy it was and we couldn't have been happier! We celebrated by eating an entire box of half dozen donuts afterwards. Talk about a sugar rush.

18 weeks calls for donuts

That's a wrap, September. I promise not to be as late updating October. (Please do not take me seriously when I say that)