We began this year in Suffolk, Va after Aaron finished a short design school in Schenectady, NY. He then began his new job of Engineer of a PCU (pre commissioned unit). This was his shore tour so although there have been some long days, he still has been home every night. We began the discussion about whether to continue in the Navy, or to get out and pursue another career path. Aaron decided to look into a lateral transfer from submarines to an Engineering Duty Officer position. (More on that later.)
In February we were blessed with a new addition named Elijah David. He was 8 lbs 3 ounces. You can read more about his birthday here. We settled in at home and spent the next few months sorting out breastfeeding, naps, and how to make grocery store trips as quick as possible. Since I could fill an entire post of recaps of just him:
We were lucky enough to get both sets of grandparents (and one Uncle) to come visit a couple of weeks after Eli was born. Sharing in the joy of his addition to both of our families has been such a blessing.
In August, Eli and I flew out to Washington for my family's annual gathering. This was Eli's first plane ride and trip away from home. He was such a trooper on the looong travel day which involved a plane, a boat and a car. During that visit we also drove down to Portland for Uncle Matt's wedding to Mia Hall. We had such a great time seeing family and just being back "home". This was the first year without Grandpa Roger and it was so nice to have so many people out there to celebrate his life and contribution to the homestead.
In November, Aaron turned his role of ENG over to his replacement. He will be acting XO for a short while. This fall he applied and was selected to be an Engineering Duty Officer (EDO). I'm still not entirely sure what that means other than he will no longer be only on submarines and there will be no deploying (woo hoo!). His next step is more grad school which we are mostly sure is going to be at the Naval Post Grad school in Monterey, California. At this time we are looking at a move date this summer.
I have been riding intermittently and looking forward to getting back to doing more when my schedule allows. Mostly, I miss teaching. I became a USHJA certified trainer last year before moving and hope to continue on a part time basis. Recently I decided to become an independent consultant with Arbonne. I'm very excited about this all natural skincare company and the long term possibilities which will allow me to stay home with Eli. I am thoroughly enjoying being a stay at home mom and am blessed with the opportunity to do so.
We are getting ready to fly to Minnesota for Eli's first Christmas. We are so excited to be able to celebrate it with both sides of the family together. There will definitely be a post coming on that. Overall this has been an amazing year and we have nothing but excitement about the years to come.
Love to all our friends and family.
The Coudrays
Aaron, Whitney, and Eli
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