35 before 35

So yeah.  I kinda missed the boat on the 30 before 30 craze.  I caught wind of it right before I turned 30.  And I had an infant at home.  Getting through year one was the only thing I had on my mind.

Now that things have calmed down (just a little!), I'm making my 35 before 35.  I've got a little less than 4 years to achieve this stuff.  So in the spirit of bucket lists, here goes....

1.  Buy (and look good in) a pair of skinny jeans
2.  Own these gorgeous boots
3.  Run a 5k
4.  Donate my hair
5.  Be a surrogate for an infertile couple
6.  Take Dane to Disney World
7.  Camp with my family
8.  Put hardwood floors in master bedroom
9.  Start nursing school
10. Visit Jamaica (second honeymoon)
11.  Learn how to make my sister-in-law's eggplant pasta dish (Pasta alla Norma)
12.  Decide what to do with our 13 embryos on storage
13.  Get back into yoga
14.  Turn my random collection of recipes into a photobook
15.  Create a will
16.  Go to a food truck festival
17.  Make homemade butter
18.  See a Cirque du Soleil show
19.  Try Dim Sum
20.  Take Dane to a rodeo
21.  Order room service
22.  Learn to parallel park
23.  Learn to drive a manual transmission
24.  "Pay it forward"  (pay for someone's food behind me in a drive thru)
25.  Take a self-defense class
26.  Take Dane to Cleveland to meet Jonathan's extended family
27.  Eat at Salt on Amelia Island Plantation
28.  Renew my passport
29.  Do a giveaway on the blog
30.  Get rid of my migraines
31.  Have boudoir photos taken
32.  Learn to make my mom's peanut butter rice crispy treats
33.  Find a church and attend weekly
34.  Have my grandmother's ring reset
35.  Make all the Christmas presents I give one year

Perspective

I was washing a load of laundry this evening while Dane and Jonathan played on the bed.  Dane was playing with Jonathan's wedding ring, taking it on and off of Jonathan's hand, and I overheard Jonathan say "the ring goes on this finger because I love Mama very much."  Melt.my.heart.  What a fantastic lesson for our son to learn.  And I'm not talking about marriage.  Two people that love one another and are committed to one another sharing the joys and sorrows of raising a child together -- that's what I am talking about.  I am so very blessed to have someone to share this parenthood journey with.  Heck, it's tough with two parents; I don't envy those who have to go it alone.

It got me thinking about all those who I don't think are doing a very good job of parenting.  Do I judge you when you breast feed your 4 year old?  Yes.  Do I think you're being irresponsible for turning your 1 year old around in his car seat?  Yes.  Do I think you're being a lazy parent when your four year old is sucking on a pacifier and still in diapers.  Absolutely.

But really, none of it matters.  I know that I make decisions that others don't agree with.  Despite our best efforts, Dane began watching TV before 2 years old.  It was the only thing we found that could get him to sit still for his breathing treatments at 8 months old.  At that point, breathing treatments were more important than his not watching TV.  Am I proud of it?  Nope.  Dane also had to be formula fed.  I hated that and still feel a lot of guilt (22 months after the fact) that I was unable to fulfill this need for him.  I'm sure I got some glares from well-meaning breast feeders everywhere.  What they didn't know is that I have a physical reason that I could not produce enough milk for my son, due to reconstructive surgery I had at 16 years old.

I'm sure the mother of the four year old still in diapers has a good reason as well.  I'm still going to think she's nuts for changing the diaper of a kid who can probably read and write.  I'm still going to give my husband the "wtf?!" eye when I see a parent giving their kid Mountain Dew or sweet tea in a sippy cup.  I will always believe that there is a right and a wrong way to do things and that there isn't a whole lot of gray area, especially when it comes to parenting.  But if you've got two loving parents who treat their child(ren) with kindness and respect, you're 95% of the way there anyway.

Family Photos (finally!)

Sorry it's been a while!  We just got back from a much needed short vacation.  (I'll be posting about that later.)

Yesterday we had our long-awaited photo shoot with Jessica of {two chics} photography.  If you aren't familiar with their work, you really should check them out.  Jessica brought along her sweet husband to make crazy noises and faces for Dane so that she could capture his precious smile.  Dane took a bit to warm up, but once we broke out the animal cookies, he was all in!

I was pretty nervous about the shoot.  To say I am not photogenic would be an understatement.  I tend to look like I smelled a fart in every photo, especially when it's hot.  And it was, even at 8am.  Fortunately, Jonathan is one of the most photogenic people I know.  I knew Jessica would make us look fantastic, and I was certain that Dane would be adorable no matter what.  I did make a minor boo-boo a week ago with Dane's haircut.  I decided to to use the taper guard on the clippers instead of just blending with different size guards like I normally do.  Oops.  It looked like an animal had gnawed off a couple chunks of hair above his ears for a few days.  I don't think it's noticeable in any of the photos I've seen so far.

Speaking of.... here are our "sneak peeks" from the shoot!  I love them.  I think they capture the way we feel about one another and how love finally did come to us in so many ways.  (Also, notice the new header photo is also from {two chics}!