10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DOMINIK

Dominik has been at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the past couple days and as usual I miss him. Since he's been gone I have thought about all the little things he does that makes him the love of my life. Although I could go on forever about Dominik, here are 10 things about him that make my heart melt.

1. His smiles
2. When he pats my back during a hug.
3. When he goes to give me a kiss and sticks his tongue out at the last second so I get a bunch of slobber on my lips. He thinks it's funny.
4. When he falls asleep in my lap after drinking his evening milk.
5. When he holds my hand in his, just because.
6. When he offers Juan a bite of his snack, then quickly takes it away and eats it himself.
7. When he turns on his boombox and dances to the music.
8. When he points at all the animals he sees and says "dog".
9. When he drives his toy cars up and down my legs while making loud car sounds with his voice.
10. When he laughs because he's having fun!

I could keep on going forever, but these are some of my favorites. Dominik Quinton Mendoza, I LOVE YOU SWEET PEA.

CHIEF LITTLE FOOT

Here's Dominik in his Halloween costume. I forgot to take the pic after his warpaint was applies so I will have to get more on Halloween day. I took him to the park yesterday and got some pics of him showing off his mad playground skills. He does all of the slides by himself and loves to cross the bridge. He's really getting independant and I know he would live at the park if we let him.
It sounds like Tony (Juan's bro) is also going to have a baby boy. There's a 70% chance it's a boy so there's another one to add to the family. I think boys are trying to take over the world since Kelsey is the only one who has girls. 2 girls compared to 4 boys..mmmm what's going on around here?? Maybe this means 2 boys to every girl? One to clean and one to cook. hahaha, nevermind that idea, I can barely handle 1 man, 2 would drive me insane.
Oh, I finally signed up for another college course. I took about a 5 month break because of all the military schools I have been doing, but I am taking Exercise Physiology next month. I have to go to AR for 2 weeks for my training NCO school, but it's a sham course so I will have plenty of free time in the evenings to get ahead on my homework (that's the plan anyway). I am only taking one class at a time since that's all I can handle right now anyhow, but that's better than no classes.
Guess that's all from me so enjoy the pics!!

I PASSED!!

Here's our group photo from the marathon I did. The golden leaves really make the pic look bright.
Today is a good day because I passed my semi-annual physical fitness test that is required for work. I was a little worried as I haven't been practicing my push-ups or my speed while running. I must admit that I almost gave up on my run as I felt like throwing up the entire 2nd mile. What kept me going?? I didn't want our Batallion Commander personally calling me up to yell at me. It wasn't my best score ever, but I passed which was my goal this time around.
Also new, I'm looking into one of those debt consolidation places. With the cost of daycare and us being upside down in previously owned vehicles, it's kind of hard to make it each month without using the wonderful world of credit. Juan and I cut up all the cards and I have an appointment with a debt place on Tues for a free consultation. Hopefully they can work something out that will put me well on my way to being debt free.
Dom is doing great and I know it's time to post more pics of him so I will do that as soon as I get a chance. He's busy making adorable crafty things at daycare that are beginning to cover my fridge. He's finally warming up to the idea and doesn't throw a huge fit when he's dropped off anymore so that's good. He also seems to enjoy patting all the little girls on the head like their puppies or something.
Juan scored an amazing 4 pts at his hockey game last night, so I figured I better say something about him so you know he still exists. =0) He's also liking his new job which is a plus and he doesn't have to work as often so we get more evening time together as a family.
Guess that's all my news and blabbing for now. Back to work I go.

Race Photos

Here's a couple of pics I pulled off a website. There were camera guys everywhere and he got quite a few not so flattering pics of me running. Can we say holy huge thighs?? I never realized I looked so huge before. I think I will buy one of these photos and use it as motivation to lose more weight. Yuck!! The one on the big bridge is right before the finish line though, so you can see I made it without croaking on the side of the road.

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

The half marathon has come and gone, but I'm still feeling the effects of running 13 miles in my legs. I've decided that if I'm dumb enough to do one of these events again, I will actually train for it instead of just going out there and doing it. Prior to my half marathon, I had only run 4 miles at one time. Once I hit the 5 mile marker on Sunday, my legs began to object to their rough treatment. My hands swelled up so much that my fingers looked like little sausages and my left foot wanted to go numb. Well, after many moments of asking myself why I was doing this, but still pushing onto the end, I made it across the finish line with a time of 2 hr 34 minutes. I guess that's not too terrible for my first 13 miler, but next time I want to do a lot better. Yesterday my legs were sore, but most affected were my hip flexors. I could barely raise my legs high enough to put on pants and today I'm still a bit sore but quickly recovering. I'm hoping to get back to my routine and do a 4 mile run tomorrow. I gained 3 pounds since my run and I'm pretty sure most of that is a result of my body holding onto fluids because of the trauma I put it through. HOpefully it's not a permanant weight gain.
Other than that, Dominik is doing great and continues to be a sweet guy. Juan is liking his new job and works really close to home so we are saving on gas. I guess that's all my news for now so I will get back to work.

FIRST DAY

Dominik had his first day at daycare yesterday and he did well overall. They said he cried for about 20 minutes and then he started to play. He made a ghost out of construction paper and painted with his feet. He also learned how to sign octupus. His daily report card said his favorite activities were sliding outside and dancing to music. He also took an hour and a half nap which suprised me. Even though he will get sick a lot more, I think being around all these kids and doing all these art projects will be good for him.
Other than that, 4 days until I die on the half marathon. We got a notice in the email that the weather will be a lot cooler and wet over the weekend. Yippeee, funny how this stuff hits at such inopportune times. Oh well, I still plan on finishing it anyhow even if I have to crawl across the finish line.