Soccer time!

Aiden is playing soccer again this year. We've been so pleased with how he's been doing at practice each week. He definitely has more confidence than he did last year and is kicking much harder, too!

 

Soccer star

 

Look at that high powered kick!

 

Trapping the ball

 

Aiden's Grandma and Aunt Jess were in town a few weeks ago and we asked Aunt Jess to practice with him. He had such a fun time with her! I think she had a good time, too. Pretty sure the stretches were her favorite part followed by the practice game they played. I do however think she needs to continue practicing with the First Step's team because she kept kicking the ball toward the wrong goal.

Stretching

 

Another high powered kick

 



Aiden and his BFF

Sweet sweet boy

When I find a moment to sit down on the couch and relax, it is becoming much more difficult for me to get back up. Recently my sweet boy saw me taking a moment on the couch and offered to let me cuddle with his most precious stuffed animals: Rocket, Char and Ty, as well as his favorite blanket in the whole world, lankey.

Summer reading

As you all know, Aiden and I do a lot of reading. To help encourage him, we signed up for the summer reading program at the library downtown. We will do the same at the library on base later this month. Anything to encourage this little guy to continue to be a book worm makes me one happy Momma.

Glasses!

Another change in this family that is important to note: Our Aiden now wears glasses! He looks absolutely adorable and loves wearing them!

Our new home

After finding out that I am pregnant, we were able to qualify for base housing. So after exactly six years, we said goodbye to our little two bedroom townhouse and moved into the home pictured below. It looks different now that the grass is green and the trees have leaves on them. One of these days, I'll get around to posting pictures of the both the inside and outside.

We love it here. We have windows! Natural light! Plenty of extra space! Aiden plays with the next door neighbor kids! Back when I was struggling with where we were living and the lack of space and windows in our two bedroom home, I kept telling myself, "Good things come to those who wait." We waited, and we definitely now have a good thing.

It's been a while!

It's been a while since I've posted. Life in the Loudenburg household has been very busy these past several months. Back in March I found out that I'm pregnant! I'm due on the 11th of November. I'm already halfway through my pregnancy, and cannot believe how quickly the time is flying by. My first trimester was a little rough, very different from what I've experienced in the past. I had a lot of nausea, numerous migraines and even more just plain old headaches, I'd feel horrible if I didn't drink enough water during the day, and I was really exhausted.

Now that I'm in my second trimester, I'm happy to report that the migraines have subsided. The nausea now presents itself as heartburn late at night. I'm still pretty exhausted, but not as bad as I was a few months ago. I have sciatica and had my first physical therapy appointment yesterday.

I would suffer through those everyday just to know that I was having a healthy baby. I wanted to list my experiences just so I can look back on this post a few years from now and remember what I went through because this will be my last pregnancy.  And despite the headaches, nausea, etc. I fully intend to enjoy this pregnancy as much as possible. I'm reminded everyday how miraculous it is to be a woman and carry a baby. I can now feel the baby move and it is honestly one of the most amazing experiences. I can't wait for Aaron and Aiden to be able to feel the baby move as well.

From day one, Aiden has been so excited about becoming a big brother. He has insisted that the baby is a girl, and a few weeks ago, we found out that his intuition was correct. It's a girl! A already has a name picked out for his little sister, he wants us to name her Star. Aaron and I aren't too sure about that name, but love that Aiden is already wanting to be involved in his little sister's life. He also now demands that Aaron take out the trash because, "Baby sister doesn't like the smell of trash." This little gal is lucky to have such a loving brother. And while we enjoy this pregnancy and prepare for the arrival of this baby, I intend to have an awesome summer with Aiden.. before our family of three becomes a family of four.

Baby's first picture

 

 

Side profile captured a few weeks ago 



Reading, reading, reading!

Aiden and I recently finished reading the third book in the Mouse & the Motorcycle series. He's been so excited to read the books, loves looking at all the pictures and trying to guess what might happen next. Upon completing each book, we watched the corresponding movie on Netflix and I think he really enjoyed that. I love that we are raising a little man who is excited about reading. We are currently reading another Beverley Cleary book, Socks. I am lucky to have a Scholastic lady in my life and I recently ordered several more chapter books that I hope we can read over the summer.