And The Gender Of The Baby Is...

A GIRL!!! We are having a little girl and we could not be more happy. Truth be known, we would have been happy either way, but we are thrilled to announce that our family will increase with the addition of (TBA...Did you think we would drop the name now?).

(This is written by Eric)
The month of July has been an interesting mixture of busyness, loneliness, and transitioning. As many of you know, Rachel and I have been in the process of moving back to Kansas City. Completing work and life in California has added the busyness. The loneliness stems from Rachel having to move to KC before me. Kramer, the lively miniature dachshund that he is, has done an admirable job keeping me company.

I flew out to be with Rachel this past week and to attend our appointment at St. Joseph Medical Center at I-435 and State Line Road. The quality and professionalism that we experienced at this office was incredible. We feel very blessed to have found this office and this extraordinary group of doctors.

The ultrasound was the highlight of this visit (which I guess goes without saying). The doctor looked at many aspects of the baby narrating as she went along. We saw all ten fingers and ten toes. We were able to see the four ventricles of the heart (simply amazing). The spine, stomach, and different features on the baby's face were also visible. She concluded by saying, "So, did I hear that you wanted to know the sex of the baby?"
"Absolutely," we responded!
She continued, "Well, you are going to stop referring to her as a 'he'. This is a girl." Habit mixed with (false) intuition did have us calling our baby "he" up to this point. We quickly called our parents and texted our brothers and sisters to share the wonderful new. Without a doubt, this little princess will be loved.