We're Having a Baby! And It's a Girl!

Photo by: Caitlin Binda

Pinterest sometimes fills my head with too many ideas and aspirations.  I’m not sure Paul approves of my “Fantasy Land.”  But once in a while, a great pin comes along and you just have to go with it.  Like the balloon gender reveal that caught my eye a couple of years ago.  We had so much fun doing this for Baby #2!  I’ll have to admit, when the pink balloons flew out of the box, both Paul & I were a little surprised…ok maybe a lot surprised.  Isn’t it just natural to expect a boy when you already have a girl?  Anyway, we are thrilled that Ava will have a little sister soon!  Hopefully she won’t mind that the new baby’s due date is the same day as her birthday…  Yep, April 11^th it is :)

 So once again, our lives are about to change drastically.  For the better, of course.  And I couldn’t be more excited!  Thank you so much to our family and friends who have shared in this excitement with us already.  On the days when I wonder how we can live our rodeo of a life with another baby in the house, I just think about families like the Parsons, and the Webers, and the Campbells—all awesome families who are great models for us.  And I’m reminded of my cousin Cristy’s advice.  It’s not that you gain some kind of superpowers to do everything perfectly even when you have a zillion responsibilities as a working Mom.  “You just have to lower your standards.”  Wise words from a mother of two.  So what if the toys don’t get picked up EVERY night?  (I wish my house looked like Emily’s, but it just doesn’t and probably never will)  And does it really matter if my neighbors hate my lawn?  When you don’t have time to slave over the stove and bring an excellent dish to a family meal, just bring the sodas and the dinner rolls.

 Congratulatory flowers from my sweet friend & college roommate, Sarah.

For Ava’s gender reveal, we ordered a cake from Publix.  We invited all of our in-town family members to our house for a dinner gathering.  When it came time to cut the cake and reveal whether it was pink or blue on the inside, our out-of-town family members were “with us” on speaker phone.  It was an exciting moment— until the cake turned out to be white.  Anti-climactic to say the least.  Publix has been on my bad list since then!  This time around, I decided to redo the cupcake reveal with my basketball team at CSU, and delivered them to some family as well.  I made the cupcakes myself just to ensure that each one was carefully filled with pink icing.  Well, all but one, right Mand?  Ha.  That’s what I get for icing cupcakes at 11:30pm.

 Gender reveal cupcakes

We are grateful for God’s abundant blessings.  Ava is just about 20-months old and she is the light of our lives.  A healthy pregnancy tops the list of things not to take for granted.  We are very much enjoying this holiday season so far.  And as I was writing out our Dec/Jan family calendar the other day, I got to write “Paul starts school” for the last time!!  He will complete his final semester of dental school in the Spring and graduate in May!  For quite some time, I had been day dreaming about a celebratory graduation vacation for the two of us.  You know me and planning—I just can’t help myself.  So I had some plans in the works and had hoped it would all be a great surprise for Paul in the end.  But with Baby #2 on the way, Curacao will have to wait!  Of all the reasons to put travel plans on hold and stay home, I cannot think of a better one.     

 Curacao

Imagine Life Without Post-It Notes

I have always been a list maker.  Work to-do, personal to-do, potential baby names, home decorating hopes, gift ideas, professional goals…all ongoing lists that can be found printed neatly on legal pads, scribbled on sticky notes, and written crudely on my hand.  I think I make my boss nervous when he asks me to do something important and I make note of it on my palm, but that’s actually where the highest priority stuff goes, so I can’t possibly forget it.  Since Ava was born, my list making habit has become a necessity.  As it turns out, what they say about mommy-mush brain is true, and my memory has been no match for it.

Greensboro, NC

Richmond, VA

New Orleans, LA

San Antonio, TX

Dallas, TX

Syracuse, NY

Boston, MA

Naples, FL

Rochester, NY 

^^The places we will travel to this summer for a basketball recruiting trip, dental residency externship, or family visit.  None of these trips involve Paul and I traveling together, so the next couple of months will be a balancing act for sure. 

Rock n’ Roll singer

Country singer

Teacher

Oncologist

Sports Broadcaster

Architect

Interior Designer

Urban Planner

^^The things I wanted to be as a grown up, before I became a College Basketball Coach. 

“Did you just come from practice?” (because I’m dressed in athletic clothes)

“Oh you’re a coach…what classes do you teach?”

“Are you the head coach?”

“Wait… so you’re telling me coaching is a full-time position?  Why do you need 5 people to coach one team?”

“But it’s not basketball season.  I thought you didn’t work in the summer.”

“I can’t believe your husband gets to go to Hawaii and you’re not even going to take time off to go with him!”  (in February)

“My friend’s little sister plays ball.  She’s a senior this year and I think her team voted her MVP.  She wants to play at your school so I gave her your phone number.”

“Just because you’re head coach is leaving doesn’t mean anything changes for you, right?”

^^The questions/comments I have received most often during the past 4 years.  It’s a little frustrating, but I can see why my job is misunderstood.  People watch big-time college coaches on ESPN and assume that what they see is all there is to it.  But the truth is, game time is just a small fraction of the job.  I could go on and on about all the other things that go into running a college basketball team, but that would take forever.  So let me just clear up some of the most common misunderstandings:

-Basketball shorts, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes are acceptable attire for a regular day at the office.  It does not always mean I just worked out, or that I am going straight to practice.

-Division I coaches are full-time employees.  That is my sole responsibility at the university.  I do not teach any classes. 

-Most Division I coaching staffs look like this:

                Head Coach

                1^st Assistant Coach

                2^nd Assistant Coach

                3^rd Assistant Coach

                Director of Basketball Operations

                (and if you’re at a major DI school, there are several other staff members as well…one or more

                grad assistants, video coordinator, academic advisor, strength & conditioning coach, director

                of player development, student managers, etc.)

-I am NOT the head coach.  While there are some fantastically talented Div. I head coaches in their 20s, they are the exception.  It can be a long, challenging road to the top.  I spent 3 years as a Dir. of Ops at College of Charleston right after I graduated, and I’m now in my second year as 3^rd Assistant at Charleston Southern University.  I do desire to be a head coach one day, and when the time is right I know the Lord will open that door.  My mother-in-law is convinced that I will be an Event Planner in my next job, but that’s besides the point…  

-Coaches work year-round, even if it is not basketball season.  Believe it or not, there’s enough work to do to keep 5 or more people busy all year long.

-During basketball season, days off are few and far between.  Our players have one day off per week (mandated by the NCAA), but that does not necessarily mean the coaches aren’t working.  Coaches CANNOT take vacation during basketball season.  It is not acceptable to miss a game.  Even if our favorite cousin is getting married, we generally don’t do personal travel while in-season.  If you want me to come to your wedding, do not plan it for November-April. 

-When we recruit high school players, we most often “sign” them (make it official that they’ll be on our team) in November of their senior year.  That means we’ve probably been watching them play for 1-3 years prior to that.  If you are contacting us for the first time in March of your senior year, YOU’RE WAY TOO LATE.

Another thing most people don’t know about college coaching: the head coach forms their own staff.  In other words, the assistants are attached to the head coach.  So, when that person leaves, i.e. gets fired, retires, or takes a more desirable position elsewhere, the entire staff is in jeopardy.  It is a very volatile career, and it might move you all around the country.  I’ve had to explain this a lot in the last 2 years, because I’ve been involved in the aforementioned predicaments multiple times.  But each time, God has been MORE than faithful!  Both times I was on the coaching chopping block, He not only protected my job, but he blessed me with more than I asked for or imagined!  During the limbo months, when I was still in the office every day but not sure if my contract would continue, it was brought to my attention that all the hard work I was doing could be for “nothing” if I didn’t get to keep my job.  But that thought had never crossed my mind because the Word says otherwise—whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord not for men (Col. 3:23); whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Eccl. 9:10).  If you find yourself in a situation similar to mine, put your hand to the plow!  Even if you don’t know what the outcome will be.

Enough lists for today…  I’m off to bed where it takes forever to fall asleep because all of tomorrow’s to-do’s run through my head ;)

-Erika

She's one...

Exactly one year ago, I was studying for a Pharmacology exam with my friend Brandon….and as usual, wishing for more time! Well, I got an unexpected answer to my prayer. Erika called and said I should probably come home because she “thought” her water might have broke. We were about a week and a half away from the due date, but I knew her voice was different and we had a serious situation on our hands.

As we checked into the hospital, a few quick tests confirmed that it was indeed “go time” for the Lambert family! And so I slept on and off throughout the night on one of the most uncomfortable pull-out couches you can imagine. As the hours passed…and so did the time for the Pharmacology test…I was struck with the reality that my life was about to change. Jackson and Brandon came by to check in on us, and around lunch-time we started kicking everyone out of the room because Ava was about to make her entrance!

Ava was sooooo beautiful! Her skin was so smooth and her lips made you want to smother her with kisses. Erika reenergized with a timely Starbucks Frappuccino from my sister, Lara, and I proudly paraded around the hospital room holding my daughter. Now honestly, I would have told you straight up that I was hoping for a son so I could rough-house and play sports, but the moment I held this little girl, my heart melted and I was hooked! As we left the hospital Anna, Golden, and Kristin came by to cheer us on…and watch us struggle with installing the car seat. I don’t think I’ve ever driven so carefully over the James Island connector, nor yelled so much at other drivers for their “crazy” driving patterns.

The first night at home she slept beside my side of the bed. Every little noise woke me up and I compulsively checked on her. Over time, I became used to her noises and the nightly rituals of feeding and changing her…every hour or so.

Each month we took a picture of her sitting, then standing, in her green chair to document the changes we could see. But what the pictures can’t exactly show is the change in my life. I went from wanting to stay downtown and play basketball each night, to rushing home after clinics were over so I could pick up Ava and give Erika a few restful moments.

Every event this year this year has been a “first” for either us, or for Ava. There were so many moments when we were amazed at the new thing Ava was able do that week, and we were thankful for the family & friends who made the many transitions of this year seamless.

Now, as Ava develops her own personality and even laughs at my corny jokes, we see what the process of becoming a family means. There’s plenty of sacrifice and compromise, blended with moments of pure joy and total frustration. We’ve balanced the busy schedules of a Division 1 basketball coach and a full time student with a baby who couldn’t care less about our careers, so long as “mamma and daddy” continue to love each other and her more & more each day.

As Ava turns 1, I fully acknowledge that I’m not 100% sure what foods she should and should not be eating. I still don’t enjoy changing diapers and I’d rather roughhouse on the floor than indoctrinate her with the princess mentality just yet. BUT….this little girl has stolen my heart and I’d have it no other way.

Daddy’s little girl shoots me the biggest smile every time I walk into a room. When she points at me and says, “Dadda” and I can’t help but scoop her into my arms and smother with love. The way she nestles into Erika’s arms makes me thankful that my “team” has turned into a little family.

We have truly been blessed with a wonderful little girl, and an amazing support system of family and friends. We’re excited for the new adventures of this next year, and hope that you can share in some of those moments too.

Photos by: Caitlin Binda