Our Own Rules

Aaron and I's relationship has always been off the beated path a bit. It's been different than most of our friends' and any other past relationship I have ever been in - maybe that's why we are still together! :)

We have always been honest with each other, we have no secrets, and as I have stated many times before, we thoroughly enjoy being around each other - we don't need breaks from each other and although we can get frustrated with one another as 2 people can do, we always want to fix whatever needs to be fixed and we can talk to each other - about anything and everything!

When we decided to start discussing starting a family, we were both on the same page about how we wanted to raise our children. We have both seen the what not to do's in other parent's parenting and even from our own upbringings and vice versa with the what we want to do's. We both agree on how to discipline, how to function as a family, what we want our kids to experience and how they will experience things. Whenever we discuss the issue - which is a lot now that miss Brinnley has arrived into our lives.. we seem to be different than those we know. When we say we did something a certain way or that we want to, we always get a comment about how this person did it this way, or how it should be done this way instead and honestly - I want to scream out loud: 

we are raising our child how we want to, not how anyone else thinks we should! 

We both agree with this statement. We make our own rules with how and what we do with Brinnley - just as we do in our own relationship. We don't go all out for Valentine's Day or follow the traditional anniversary ways, we don't wrap birthday presents because we are too excited to give them to each other so they end up being given in the bag they came in from the store, we don't do cards for special occasions, we don't the whole turn off the tv to eat together and discuss your day because we enjoy watching our shows/movies together and don't own a table because it would just collect clutter and dust, and we don't do the whole "date night" thing because we aren't the fancy dress-up go to a fancy-too-expensive-restaurant type people. We enjoy doing the little things together and treasure those moments instead of being uncomfortable in heels and a tie all night. 

Our child(ren) will be raised by us and only us. Opinions will be made, but we will make the rules on our own! People will be involved in our little girl's life and any future children we have in many ways - visits, vacations, activities, fun, etc. But our child will be a Bauer through and through and will look back on her parents knowing that they raised her the way they believed would be the most influential and our hope will be that she grows up making decisions on her own instead of going by what other people decide for her!