On a Soap Box

This is an update on our lives post.
And a little ranting. :]
Troy finally was able to finish his Private Pilot test! 60+ hours, 2 long semesters, a couple frustrating miscommunications, and a whole lot of money later...he is officially a Private Pilot! This means he can fly around (out of the clouds) without his instructor.  So, anyone who comes to Logan can get a ride. :] It has been a lot of hard work and Troy has been so patient and endured to the end! I'm so proud of him. This was the first big step in the program, and it feels good to have one of the licenses under his belt. Woo Pilot Troy!

We have had an interesting couple of weeks.
Little Dude gave us quite the scare. He managed to flip himself into the breech position. For those that don't know, breech is when the baby has his feet down and his head up by my ribs.  This is not how babies are born.  Because we have chosen not to use a hospital/doctor, this was really bad news. Launa (our midwife) won't deliver breech on a first time mom.  I was very worried, because I have been working so hard to make sure that I can have this baby according to our plan, because everything seemed to be working against us, so when this happened I was devastated.  I cried a whole lot and wanted to just give up all of the things I was doing and face the fact that I was going to have to have a C-Section. Now, I realize that this would have been the safest option for me and the baby and in no way was I going to put either one of us in harms way just to have it my way.  But this was still very upsetting. We had been learning SO MUCH about our birth experience that any other way was just not right.  I was sad that Troy wouldn't get to catch the baby, and that he wouldn't be the first person the baby felt. This was so important to me. I was sad that I wouldn't get to accomplish the hardest thing in the whole world with my best friend by my side.  It was heartbreaking news to us. But it made me think a lot about why we were doing what we were doing, and why people are so afraid for us.  We have made a decision that isn't popular, and isn't easy.  Yes it may be more painful and maybe slower, but it is the right thing for us.  It may seem weird that I'm going on about this, but I'm tired of defending what we are doing. I want to be as educated as possible about what happens when a baby is born, why certain things are done in the hospital, and what things happen to both me and the baby.  I want Troy to know as much as he can. We didn't feel like we were getting all the information we wanted from a hospital.  We just wanted more. Yes it is weird. Even I can admit to that.  Parts of it totally freak me out, but we get to choose how our baby comes into the world (to an extent, I mean he already has quite the mind of his own. :] ) Before you tell me that I'm crazy for not using drugs research Pitocin and what it does during labor. I won't be getting any of that. Before you tell me I'm nuts for choosing to not have my baby in a hospital where medical intervention is seconds away, look up the safety of home births (it's not as deadly as you may think). Before you ask about eye drops and Vitamin K, read about them. I'm not having my baby like you had yours. That doesn't mean that either of our births are any less special. Anytime a baby is born it is special, whether in a hospital, or car, or airplane, or shack, or at home. I simply choose a different path. Before you judge us and our decision, maybe try to learn something. You may still think I'm crazy, but at least now you know the facts.
I don't want to sound like a hippie freak. I'm not one. We are still the same old people with the same beliefs.  We're just doing something out of the ordinary. This is not to any one of you out there. It's mostly for me, so I feel like people know where we are coming from, and to maybe give us a little bit of a break. :] I'm just tired of defending our choice every day.

However, the baby has flipped. He is the correct position on the correct side, so hopefully (and everyone really better hope) that he stays this way! :]

On the Road.

We just got back from a really fun trip to Denver, CO to visit Troy's sister Staci and her family. And we actually have pictures! It was a really fun trip and we both needed to have a little vacation. The drive was long, and everyone thought I was crazy, but it worked out well and we enjoyed every minute of it. :]

The whole reason behind the trip was to go to the Braves game that was that weekend. Troy wanted to see one before his dear Chipper Jones retired. Although it rained out in the 8th inning, the Braves one and we had a really fun time. I even loved it! 

Corbin had fun for most of the game. :] When we got to the car (after walking in the rain and all of us were totally soaked) he looked at me and said "I don't think that was a good idea. Next time, I think I'll choose to stay with the babysitter." It was cute, but he definitely didn't like getting wet. :] 

Monday we went to an Airplane museum. (Imgaine that, Troy choose an airplane museum! :] ) But it was really cool and we saw a ton of cool airplanes. It was a hands-on museum, so unlike Hill Air Force Base you could actually touch almost everything on the plane, and get as close as you wanted. It was cool. 

They had 2 old cockpits that you could sit in and play with. It was really cool and there were so many different switches!! It was nuts. 

Avery had a hard time warming up to Troy while we were there. She seemed to like me just fine, but she wasn't so sure about Troy. He did get her to play with him once, and he pushed her around and around in the toy car for a while. It was cute, and he was pretty happy he didn't make her cry. :] 

This has nothing to do with Denver, but is proof I work with the coolest kids ever. This was done by one of my favorite little boys (the one who loves the baby.) He does the same thing on his cheeseburgers. He is totally awesome, and I love working with them. :] 

30, Flirty, and Thriving

This is the run-down Easter post from a boring couple who happened to take no pictures.
Granted, I'm a gigantic pregnant bubble and avoid pictures, so that probably was a major factor.
But we did have a great Easter weekend, even if there is no proof for you to see.
We went home for a couple of days, a quick trip to visit the family. We spent Friday with Becky and Craig, hanging out eating delicious hamburgers (which were very spur of the moment, and we tackled some serious bumps in the road to get them. :] ) and watched an intense movie with a very young Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon battling the river. It was a great evening.
Saturday we hung out, got a haircut (WOO!) and then headed to my aunt Carol's for the Yager Easter shindig. This was very awesome. We ate ham and funeral potatoes, and got to hunt for candy. Actually, Troy was upgraded to a hider this year, and I hunted for our share of the loot. Which was kind of hilarious, because apparently pregnancy gives you some sort of brain problem, and serious physical limitation that requires everyone in the room to point out candy for you, and little cousins stick it in your basket. Awesome. I did feel a little bad, but hey, I was technically hunting for three people, so I took all the help I could get. :]

Here is an updated bump.

This is 30 weeks. 

30 WEEKS! Pretty crazy how fast time is going. We are not ready for this little guy, so hopefully he stays on schedule. Otherwise we are going to be some pretty frantic parents! 

Baby facts as of late: 

-the dilation is still present in his left kidney. This means there is fluid in his kidney that isn't draining properly. We were hoping that it would fix itself and go away by now, but it is still there. Not any worse, but not any better. We will do an ultrasound after he is born to see what we need to do next.  

-He has flipped himself so he is not in breech position. Hopefully he decides to stay this way, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere. We just need him to slide on over to the left and we will be in perfect shape.  He has had a leg (an entire leg) jammed up my right rib cage for about a week now, and it doesn't really seem to be going anywhere. Awesome. He is very flexible. During the ultrasound he had both hands, a face and a foot all on the picture at once. The tech was very impressed.  

-He has hair. A little bit of light sparkles we saw on the ultrasound that she said was hair. So that is neat. :] 

-He will be heavy. We have recently started practicing lifting the car seat with 2-5 pound weights in it, and boy it is not light. It's a totally awesome arm workout for the two of us though.  

We are just as crazy busy, frantic, and excited as ever.  I can't believe how fast time has gone, and we are glad the weather is getting better, and things are working out well for us. We just want this little guy to get here. (In time for the Fourth. He WILL get to wear a flag tee this year. :] ) 

One Hundred and Eighty Two

We had such a great Conference weekend! It was so nice for the two of us to just to hang out and do nothing together. Except listen to Conference of course. On Saturday we got to go to the park and attempt to fly kites since the weather was so nice. Unfortunately, our kites were cheaply made and they did not do so well. Or, we just are REALLY bad at flying kites, and couldn't get them to stay up. Troy's had an airplane and mine was a fairy. The fairy kite flew better than the airplane. :] (We had pictures, but there was a malfunction.)
We both really enjoyed listening to all of the talks, and were happily surprised when Troy's aunt, Linda Burton, was called as the General Relief Society president! We were so surprised, but so happy for her. It will be awesome to be able to hear her talk, and have her serve all of the women of the Church! :]
Last weekend we were able to celebrate Troy's birthday and had such a great time! We went to Tucanno's with his parents and brother and ate delicious food. We saw the Hunger Games with my family, and ate rib tips for his actual birthday dinner. It's crazy how old he is. :] We also got to go to Quinn's grave. (Quinn is Troy's cousin who died last April. We are naming the baby after him. :] ) Neither of us had seen it yet, and it was gorgeous. Quinn's birthday is the day before Troy's so we went and let balloons go for him. I have fond memories of doing this at my Great Grandpa's grave with all of my cousins and family, and I wanted to do something special for Troy and Quinn together. I'm so glad we did. :]
Troy is preparing to take his Check Ride this week, which will finally give him his Private Pilot License.  This is a BIG DEAL TEST. It requires 31/2 hours of ground work (which is just oral test questions about every tiny detail of an airplane/flight plans/anything else) and then another long actual flight test, where he has to prove that he knows what he is doing with all these different kinds of maneuvers.  He has been working so hard to get ready for this, and I'm so glad that after this week it will be over! Good luck Troy! :]
I am in love with what I'm doing right now. I absolutely love going to work every day and seeing the kids that I work with. Sometimes we have our hard days, but I would take most of them home with me every day if I could. :] One of the little boys especially loves the baby, and as I get bigger his love grows stronger. Every day the first thing he does when he gets off the bus is give my belly a hug and pat it hello. It's the cutest thing ever, and every day I'm grateful for him and his sweet personality.
Speaking of belly, it is getting rather large. (Again, picture malfunction. Sorry.) I'm at 28 weeks now.
Little Man loves to move around. Lately he especially loves to kick super hard at the most random times. Standing in the grocery store or at school and suddenly I get whacked from the inside. People look at me weird. He does the coolest thing ever. Troy can pat his hand on my stomach, and little man will kick back. It's so funny and makes me and Troy laugh and laugh.  He's such a smart baby already.  In about a week we will be going in for another ultrasound to get his kidney's checked out again. Hopefully, all is well.
Our Natural Childbirth classes start this month, and that means we are getting closer! Ah. It's scary but we are so excited. Troy tells me every day that he just wants him to come already. I tell him he has no idea. :]
Just a small update on what we are up to, and hopefully our next post will have interesting pictures to keep you entertained. :]

Bump

So this is the baby belly at 24 weeks. (Well the baby belly plus a delicious dinner...)
Pregnancy is a treat now that I'm beyond the first trimester.
It's a boy. (In case you haven't been around lately.) He is measuring right at the 50th percentile, super average and we couldn't be more proud.
He is active as ever, unless you want him to be. He hates to be listened to by anyone, looked at, or felt. Every time we take a sonogram, he runs away and can't hold still long enough to get a good reading. We have gotten a few after some good tries-he is actually starting to warm up to Launa (our midwife) and will let her listen after putting up a good fight. :]
He will be kicking along like crazy, driving me crazy, and as soon as Troy puts his hand anywhere near my belly, he freezes and won't move a muscle. It's kind of hilarious. Troy did get to feel one tiny little flutter because we were sneaky and out maneuvered the little dude.
He does have what is called dilation in his kidney. It isn't a big deal, and we are hoping it will fix itself.  We will know more in April when we go for another ultrasound to check things out. But, don't be worried.
Here are some other pregnancy related tidbits that have been going on around our house:
(After discovering the baby was indeed still a boy Troy says.....) "At least there was no in utero sex change we weren't aware of."
Troy will only call the baby "Little Dude."
 "When is the baaaa-aaby due." (Use a Brian Reagan voice for that one.) Is a daily used phrase.
I really only crave burgers, poptarts and deli sandwiches (which are forbidden, so that has been awesome.)
The kids at school are obsessed with the baby belly. They like to:
-rub it
-hug it
-talk to it
-talk about it
-name the baby (things like platypus, and dragon) 
-and when they forget that it is a baby, point out how fat I am.
But I love every minute of it. :]
That's about it on the baby front.
We both are working, and are enjoying our jobs. I really love working with the kids at school. Troy is still going to school and working hard at his classes, and he flies when the weather allows him. We are enjoying life, and are excited to have baby boy around.

No Girls Allowed

Ta Da! 
We are having a baby boy. :]
Here are pictures from our ultrasound:

These are each of his feet:

This is the boy indicator:

This is his profile and another shot of the indicator:

We are so happy and excited!
Glad to say "he, him, his" instead of "it." :]

Battle of the Sexes

Vote on which sex you think our baby will be!
It's just right over there
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We will be finding out next week, and will announce next Saturday! :]