My Ten-Year Plan

I went shopping with my mom and sister today for my cousin's daughter, Meadow. Meadow turned two in October and is the smartest two-year-old I have ever met. I am convinced she has the vocabulary of an average 4-year-old. In addition, Meadow has the biggest blue eyes. She is the epitome of adorable.

We ventured to Toys R Us to find games for Meadow and clothes for the new baby (my cousin is due any day now with her second one.) Unfortunately, she doesn't want to know the sex, so we have to find gender-neutral clothes. I have decided I want to know my baby's sex, mostly to help those who are shopping for my children.

While shopping, I realized most people have their first child before 30. That means in the next ten years, I will most-likely be married, have children, be established as a therapist, and paying off my student loans. That seems like such a stretch from where I am now. I mean, I am a single college student working an internship and acquiring student loans. My mom said the next ten years will be the best years of my life, so treasure them. What a great outlook to start off my twenties with!

A couple of weeks ago, Eryn and I threw around baby name ideas. Here are a couple of girl names we both like:

• Autumn Marie
• Summer Lily
• Lexi Marie
• Trinity ?

We also decided boy's names are harder to come up with. Some we thought about are:

• Tucker Levi
• Titus ?
• Brendan ?
• Brandon ?

Okay, so middle names are tough. The hardest part is coming up with a middle name that isn't Michael or Sean, which are used with almost every boy's name. We both want our children to be different.

I know last names also make or break a name, so that is something I will consider when I get married. It's just so much fun trying to decide small details about my future while I can still dream. I know it will be even more fun living those dreams one day.