0 and 2, Boo Hoo

So you see, I'm not really into numbers, or records...but upon further examination, maybe I am.

Last year my team went 20-0; the year before 18-1. I know they were a talented group of girls, but I really was starting to think that maybe I was doing something right in the coaching area.

This year, to date, my team is 0-2. Don't get me wrong; these girls are improving. They've gone from never touching a volleyball, to actually comprehending the game and putting their knowledge into practice. It's just going to take a little time to get over the hump of losing.

Our first game was not good; we really should have won. The other team did not beat us; we beat ourselves. Tonight's game was better. I am anxious to see the film because at this point, I can't find anything in my mind that we did majorly wrong. I think it was a lot of little mistakes that bundled into one loss. We played a JV team, and almost won, so I'd definately say we've improved.

The good part is that I have parent support. It's not just me who sees that the girls are improving. There aren't many coaches who can say they had parents jumping up and down in the stands, even as their daughters lost a match....I'm glad they are behind their daughters because the girls' attitudes reflect the parents' attitudes a lot of the time.

So, as I sit here and babble, I can honestly say things are looking up. Of course no one likes to lose, but I can honestly say that even though we didn't win, we won a small part of our pride tonight. (But I would also like to think that maybe there will only be the number two in our loss column by the end of the season~The girls are working too hard not to reap some benefits.)

"Nuh-Nana"

It's always fun when you hear a word come from your child that you've been trying to teach, but it's even more fun (in a bitter-sweet way) when you hear a word that you know you didn't teach!

Since I get to be with Avery for 90% of her days, I know what goes on in her life most of the time. Each day I learn that she is a sponge soaking up the outside world as well...Bible class, all of Kenny's students, my volleyball girls, etc.

This morning in Wal-Mart, I stood in the checkout line looking at Avery as she contorted her body to reach in the basket and take out the bunch of bananas. She loves to eat bananas, and I assumed she was going to 'ask' me for a bite right then. I was wrong. Instead I heard, "nuh nana" as her little finger pointed to the banana! Wow! I didn't teach her banana, but she learned it somewhere. I love that she's so smart, and that Kenny and I are not the only ones teaching her....

...Unless it's someone teaching her something she shouldn't be learning yet!

New Friends, Old Friends, Kisses...Kisses...Kisses

This past weekend we visited Huntsville to help welcome our friends' newest addition to their family! I've talked about Avery's best bud, Lawson. Well, the new addition is Lawson's new baby sister, Jordan. There were lots of hugs, smiles and kisses. Avery wanted to kiss the baby, and did okay sometimes, but did tend to get rough once. Lawson had to show her the right way to do it. Lots of kissing...

A bonus to the weekend was getting to stay with the Bybee family. As you may know, Joshua and Avery love each other. Avery tries to play hard to get, but deep down she can't wait to pounce him. The first few times Joshua was told to give Avery a kiss, she offered her cheek to him, but by the end of the weekend, she was giving smakeroos on the lips! It's so much fun to see the interaction with different personalities, and a good time was had by all....

....until Saturday night when the kids were asleep and the spades game started...but that's another story.

Another great thing that happened that weekend was Steak and Shake. I think it's the best place ever, and it is rare that we get to eat there. On our way home, Kenny exited in Prattville where our new-found Steak and Shake resides. Avery decided to celebrate the occasion and get all decked out in Steak and Shake gear. A girl after my own heart!

Numbness Upon Contact

If anyone has ever used Orajel, maybe you will know what I'm about to describe and can empathize. For the past few weeks, I have had severe allergy and sinus issues. They have finally led to even causing a toothache, which I sort of knew could happen, but never really experienced.

Today while Avery and I ran errands, I picked up some Orajel to try to make the pain subside a bit. I have never used this or any similar product before, so I had to read the directions: "Cut off tip and apply to sore area" was the advice I received from the back of the box. Sounded easy, so I cut the tip and stuck it in my mouth to apply to the sore area.

They didn't tell me it was going to ooze over my entire top gum, drip onto my bottom teeth, then cause me to cringe and get my tongue involved in the action, leading to the roof of my mouth getting in on it too. At first I thought I was just going to have to deal with the aweful taste, but soon realized that I felt as if my mouth and tongue were ten sizes larger than they were originally. Then, I couldn't feel anything! (I thought about trying to drink some water to see if it would dribble out everywhere like on the movies, but didn't want to clean it up if that did happen.) So after I realized that was the completely wrong way to apply to sore area, I wondered how long it was going to feel like that. If anyone else is wondering too, apparently the pain from the tooth only subsides for about 30 minutes because that's how long my mouth felt numb. I know that maybe I should have known better, but maybe they should have said, "squeeze onto finger and apply to sore area." At least now I'll know for the future, and maybe I've given fair warning to others.

Reasoning at One

I think we've mentioned before that Avery can say her name now. It's really cute, and she is really proud of herself as always when she answers our question, "what is your name?" with "Avee, Avee, Avee!"

While I was in Texas this summer, my dad made letters for Avery's name to put on her wall. Of course I hung them up the second we got home. Everytime we walk in her room, we ask Avery where her name is, and she points to the letters. It's great.

Another trick she's learned is to crawl onto the couch, futon, chairs, whatever is there to crawl on. So, today we were playing in her room, and she crawled onto the futon. After a while, she turned around and looked up at her name...without any prompting, she pointed to it and said, "Avee!" then turned to look at me and clapped.

My little girl put two and two together..she is starting to connect things in her mind! I'm sure there are other examples that have happened before, but this one stands out to me as a first, and I'm a proud momma.

Avery's First Battle Wound

Of course since Avery's been toddling around, she's had her fair share of bumps and bruises. Well, Kenny is gone this weekend for football camp, which means of course something is bound to go wrong since it's just me here. Seems like everytime I'm alone, that's when Avery gets a bad fever or some other illness. Yesterday she started coughing, so I thought that was going to be it...but no, not so.

We have a tall table we have behind our couch. There is a wooden piece that stretches from one side to the other on which she normally bumps her head on when she's trying to crawl underneath. Well, tonight she was crawling and climbing around that table when I heard a cry.

She normally is pretty tough, but I could tell that whatever she just did hurt. I assumed it was just a bump on her head. I picked her up and she stopped crying, so I thought everything was okay. When I tried to put her down, she was clingy so I sat on the floor and snuggled. It was when she pulled away that time that I saw the blood...on the carpet, on my shirt and running down the side of her mouth! I pulled up her lip and saw her entire top gum engulfed in blood. I quickly counted to make sure she still had her four precious teeth, and she did, so I proceeded to get some ice. During all of this, she's not even sad anymore, just a little perturbed that I'm messing with her lips.

So, she sucked on the ice until it was almost gone, then I found a cold teething toy that she chewed on for a bit before deciding it made a better bracelet than soother. Maybe she's going to be the type who goes shopping to aid her ailments! Whatever she turns out to be, I know she's a tough girl. It still makes my teeth hurt thinking about it.

My Little Helper

Avery's always been my little 'helper' by being right beside me where ever I am. Now that she's getting bigger, it's fun watching her try to actually do the things that I'm doing.

Now that she has her own little vacuum cleaner, she's no longer afraid of the real one. When she hears the roar of the big one, she runs to grab hers and vacuums along beside me.

When I'm emptying the dishwasher, she's right there getting plates out and putting them in the cabinets. Of course they may not be the right cabinet, but I enjoy watching her be proud of herself after she's accomplished her chore.

Avery is also a great cook. She sits on the counter beside me while I fix dinner. Most of the time she sticks her spoon in too and helps me stir. If she is not on the counter beside me, she's digging out pots and pans and handing them to me. "Dere," she says. (There)

It is such a joy watching her grow up. I can wait of course, but in some ways, it's hard not to say that I can't wait to see her when she's 7 or 12 and really is trying to help me vacuum and cook dinner.

Being a mother brings such joy!