Attract What You Want to Attract

Some friends and I recently had a conversation about New Year's resolutions. One friend was resolving to be happy with who she is right now. Not trying to change a thing. I really like that idea, but it goes against my grain. You see, I'm a maximizer. I want to take something good and make it perfect. I mentioned this in my first post.

I don't always enjoy being a maximizer. It can be crippling at times. If the post/email/decision is not just right, I won't publish/send/love it. Sometimes, good enough is just that - good enough. I'm learning this, relaxing my standards and becoming more comfortable with "something is better than nothing". [And PS - I'm only a maximizer with my own stuff, I never care if something you did for me is perfect]

So, one of my resolutions is to continue to relax. Not every picture has to be good enough to be featured in a magazine. Not every post has to be ground breaking. I just have to keep doing something, rather than let myself create nothing.

A magnet only attracts what it wants to attract. Ever tried sticking a magnet to wood? plastic? aluminum? It doesn't work. In 2012, I am only attracting what I want to attract. Artsy stuff - yes! Creative stuff - yes, please. Kane's kisses - you bet your ass. Not posting a picture because I can't get that skin tone to be perfect - no thanks.

So tonight I did a quick look thru all my pictures from 2011 and picked some of my favorites. Not all of them are perfect, but I love them all for different reasons.

January. Kane got a jumper for Christmas and spent the entire month bouncing in that thing. He was in heaven.

Family trip to the Farmers Market. I love how he's tucked into Matthew's jacket.

Matthew's brother came for a visit and I'm so glad I snagged this picture of the McLeod boys.

February. Kane could finally sit up in a chair for a reasonable amount of time so I could pose him for pictures. Haha. It was cold so we stayed inside, a lot.

March. Our first park outing and a St. Patty's shirt.

Matthew and I gardened a lot in March and Kane sat in his tent, being shielded from the sun, and making faces at us.

A visit to the lake and a picture with my grandfather.

April. A road trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas to visit my alma mater. Kane is sitting on the sidewalk where my name is stamped.

I don't need to explain why I love this one, right? It's a baby taking a bath in a kitchen sink.

May. I remember taking this picture and thinking "Oh my goodness, he's SO big".

Kane and his two dads...Matthew and Tio Loco (the guy who introduced me to my husband).

It wasn't warm enough to swim outside, but he loved baths so much that we found an indoor pool. He loves water.

June. Our little guy was a late teether and got his first tooth at 9 months. And it was the only tooth for a long time. I loved his toothless grin and when he got this little chiclet, I loved his *almost* toothless grin.

July. Pictures for Kane's 1st Birthday invitation.

August. Playdates and learning.

September. He had mastered walking and was becoming much more adventurous. We spent many morning outside exploring and playing with that blue watering can.

I love this picture because you can see how much fun they are having. So much emotion displayed in just 1/200th of a second. I want to attract more of these moments in 2012.

October. In Texas, that means the State Fair. I'm so lucky to have a baby who will let me put hats and sunglasses on him.

November. On our way home from Thanksgiving, we stop at the Christmas Tree farm and pick out a tree.

December. My guy, that's all I can say.

So that's 2011. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I'm reminded of what my baby looked like a year ago (this is a cell phone picture, fyi). 

I hope you all have a fun (and safe!) night. I will catch you on the flip side.

The Week Between

The week between Christmas and New Years seems to be the fastest week of the entire year. We had non-stop activities from the 22 thru the 25th and were ready for a break. But the celebrating wasn't over quite yet.

On the 26th, we went to my grandparents house (my step-dad's parents) to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversay. They made it farther than 96% of other marriages and he can still make her laugh.

They love. Each other and everyone in their lives. It's endless. And amazing.

Later that night, Hoot & Annie watched Kane so Matthew could take me out for my birthday.

Somehow, I didn't take a single picture on my birthday. But it was a good day and included a surprise visit from one of my best friends that I rarely get to see because she lives in Georgia. We went to college together 10 years ago. I wasn't feeling old on my birthday. I'm really fine with getting older and my gray hairs getting more prominent. What made me feel o.l.d. was realizing I had known Didi for over 10 years. Sheesh. But Kane could tell she is good people and he offered up the kisses.

Which reminded me of the first time they met, back in April. I pulled out this picture and was reminded of what he used to look like way back when [just 7 months ago but they sure change fast]. Back when he looked bald because his hair was so thin and so blonde that you couldn't see it. It's still blonde, but there is a lot more of it. He still makes the same faces.

Back when he was small enough to ride everywhere. One of us had that baby stapped to our chest at all times and we loved it. Slings, Moby Wraps, Baby Bjorn - we had one of every kind and used them all. We rarely used the stoller, he stayed close & content and we stayed fit. I highly recommend it.

This photo was taken on that trip and is probably Matthew's favorite Kane picture to date.

So this week is already half way over and New Years is right around the corner. With all of our recent outing and events, we've decided to stay home and do nothing this weekend. Spending New Years with the baby asleep in his own bed and far away from the noise and activity sounds pretty great to me. What are your weekend plans?