And the Winners Are......

Ciara Schmidt and Randy Sloup!

This 80's birthday party turned out to be so much more than I ever expected. I think everyone had a blast swimming and eating and listening to some awesome music. The pictures came out so good, and I have all of those posted in my Shutterfly share site. Check them out! Ciara and Randy made an exceptional effort to dress the part, so of course they had to receive top honors!I have to admit I was sad to see the night come to an end! Thanks to everyone for an amazing and unforgetable birthday! Maybe I will start a pool party tradition??????

Birthday Goals

How cool is this cake? I should have thought of something like this (on a much smaller scale) for the 80's party! I have full faith that CJ will deliver something equally impressive though. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

Anyway, the point of this blog is to list some very specific goals I would like to accomplish both before I turn 30, and during the year in which I am 30. I have been slowly reassessing my life and some of the things I would like to change with it. Now is the perfect time to address some of these things and to set a goal towards accomplishing them in the near future.

Before 30 (10 days)
1. Run 3 times around the graveyard. Those of you familiar with the graveyard can understand. One lap is 1.2 miles, 3 laps is just pure hell. But I have made it 2 1/4 times around already. That last hill is my Everest!
2. Weigh 177. This should not be too hard.
3. Have my final projects submitted and graded. Only one left waiting to be graded.
4. Clean the whole house before company comes next weekend.
5. Run the full 5k distance (3.2 miles) from the house. This involves running to the country club, back to Summerhaven Dr., and then back to my driveway. Almost there.....

While 30
1. Finish my masters degree. This will be close....
2. Run 5k in October in 30-33 minutes
3. Have my surgery!
4. Cut back on diet coke
5. Hopefully find a new job
6. Lose my last 15 pounds
7. Pay off hospital bills

Well, that's a start anyway. I think I can handle these goals, and maybe even accomplish extra goals as they come along. I am excited for this birthday, and I am equally excited to see what this next year may hold. I feel like this is my year to make some big changes before I head down the road to expanding our family. Instead of feeling dread for the big 3-0, I am feeling anxious to tackle the next year and the challenges ahead. (easy to say now, talk to me on 8/8/09!)

Gabe's Car (before and after)

I have been wanting to share these pictures for a while now, but I kept forgetting to bring in my camera. Gabe's cousin, Natalie, gave him her Barbie car for his birthday this year. It needed some minor work, (and a paint job according to Gary), so after its repairs, check out the top picture. The final product. I didn't mean for them to post out of order. He loves this car, and if it would ever warm up again maybe we could take it for a drive!

2nd Birthday

Gabe celebrated his second birthday Jan. 1st 2009, and had a great time at his birthday party. It was a chilly Jan. day so our menu of soups and sandwiches was perfect. I can't believe how different he is this year compared to last year. He is such a big boy now! It was a great day with great friends and family.

Also, we had his 2 year appt. yesterday, and I am happy to report everything looks great! He weighed 28 lbs (got to weigh on the big scale which was a huge deal!) and measured at 33 inches tall. This is 3 inches taller than his last appt. at 15 months, but still puts him in the 25% for both height and weight. This seems small to me, but then I thought of a very good point. I am so used to hearing about kids in the 80-90th % that I forget about the norm. Gabe has always worn clothing appropriate for his size. I mean, he was never ahead or behind sizing. Like now he is 24 months and is wearing 24 monhs size clothes. So, HE is the one that is normal, right? Not that it matters, I could care less as long as he is healthy, but unfortunately his father's side of the family is obsessed with height and size. Anyway, like the Dr. said, what's important is that he has maintained that same 25% status since birth. So he is growing at his same pace which is wonderful. I am just so glad that he is doing so well and has stayed healthy (knock on wood) for so long. That was actually our first time back since he was 15 months old! Not too bad.