Avery had his final soccer game of the season today. We’ve had a lot of fun the past couple of months attending his practices and games, and watching him develop his skills and confidence on the field. The season started off rough. Practices were fine, but the first two or three games were a challenge just to keep him on the field and get him to go after the ball. He’s got a gentle nature, and isn’t that competitive. With a bunch of other kids chasing after the ball along with him, he preferred to just stay out of it. We started to consider whether he should even finish out the season. Maybe he should only attend practices this year – he really seemed to dread the games. There were a lot of tears. How much encouragement was too much?

But then one day halfway through a game, something clicked in him, and the next thing we knew, he was playing along with the other kids, going after the ball, and he looked like he was having fun doing it! This was a big lesson for us as parents to give our son time and trust that he will come around at his own pace. Avery has always been an observer. It’s not his style to jump into something before he knows exactly what he’s doing. Understanding this about him and watching his transformation throughout the season helped us learn a lot about our son.

Here are some pictures from throughout the season:

Practicing before a game

Not sure he wants to play

The snacks afterward are good though

And he’s off!


Little bro Kieron cheers him on with Mommy


Home Depot buckets repurposed


Team photo

Avery covers his year when the team yells “Go Orange Crush!”



Playing in the leaves after a game


With Grammy

At the park

Grammy & Mommy

I can hardly believe it’s already September. It seems like summer came and went in the blink of an eye, and now it’s time put up harvest decorations and choose Halloween costumes!Avery had his first day back at preschool this week. He’s at the same place where he attended todschool last year, but with new teachers. He was a little disappointed when he learned he would be riding there in Mommy’s van again instead of a big yellow school bus. But he was excited to go back to school and see what toys his new teachers had, and when I dropped him off he settled right in with a group of boys playing trucks.

Avery also had his first day of soccer this week. I think he was a little nervous about practice, but he liked the shinguards, and his buddy Jackson is on the team with him, so that helped. His coach is great, and once things got underway, Avery warmed up and went right along. I was surprised at how well all of the kids did at listening to the coach and following his instructions. Their first game is on Saturday, and Jonathan and I are looking forward to cheering the team on!

The obligitory “Front Porch” picture












Avery and Jackson share a hug during a game