Baby Announcement: It's a...

For those who have been patiently awaiting the news on whether or not we are expecting a little boy or a little girl, the wait is over. Before we do the big reveal, however, we'd like to express a few feelings pink vs. blue (not to be confused with Red vs. Blue) onslaught we're anticipating. 

Where are the cars? The soccer balls? The dinosaurs?!

Ever since Josh and I confirmed our third pregnancy, it's been hard to not drift into the baby section of the local shops. The racks and shelves are filled with so many cute onsies, booties, and baby bric-a-brac that is clearly FOR BOYS ONLY or FOR GIRLS ONLY.

Today was a milestone doctor's visit where we were to learn things such as the baby's due date and gender. First off, it's indescribable to explain how it feels making it this far into a pregnancy after our first two losses. We've fully let our minds embrace our future as parents and it is exciting.

That said, the excitement to learn the gender has been partnered with a sense of mild dread: "What if we are gifted with exclusively pink or blue for baby Garber #1?"

Living in Lithuania has exposed us to a strict gender divide you can find in many post-soviet countries. Boys are boys and girls are girls and that's that. Boys have trucks and girls have dolls. Boys wear blue and girls wear pink. 

It seems that there is no in-between and requesting "gender neutral" colors is out of the question. 

Don't get us wrong -- we are extremely appreciative of any gifts and support we have received so far and may continue to receive. But at this point, all we want is a healthy "Roni" with ten fingers, ten toes and a cute little nose -- it doesn't matter which gender box they check on their future FASFA forms.

This is not just liberal ideology, either -- this is who we are. Despite his glorious beard, Josh is not the stereotypical male. He likes creating art, cooking, rejects violence, and doesn't eat meat. And I'm certainly not the picture of femininity! I love watching sports and getting rowdy, a good action movie, and know my away around under the hood of a car.

This short comic about the most recent trend in LEGOs sums things up pretty well.

To be clear, we do not intend to raise our future little one to be gender neutral. However, we want to emphasize the importance of developing character and an independent voice and teach that your value does not come from if you are the best football player or if your doll has the best accessories. 

We're taking some advice from a wise friend and make the following request: If you choose to help out, we would like gifts with gender-neutral colors so that we can use them on future Garbers, regardless of gender.

We're thrifty Mennonite missionaries and this is what we need the most -- not a barrage of princess castles or Tonka Trucks. Kids don't care, regardless of their biological gender and neither do we.

On to Business

Let us proclaim that today's visit was a great one. The baby is coming in at 556 grams (about 1.22 pounds) at 22 weeks and 5 days, placing our estimated due date on May 17, 2016!

The heartbeat is strong and, unlike it's Mama, this wee one is sneaky. This is the second ultrasound where baby "Roni" is using the placenta for a blanket -- making it difficult to see certain...areas. :) 

If you've enjoyed the 2005 animated film "Robots," you may recall this memorable scene (see

image on the right). After the "assembly process" was complete, the robot parents found one extra part in the box...after a swift swing of the hammer, their baby was complete.

In the same spirit, we're excited to announce that baby Garber is a BOY (no hammer required).

Thank you to everyone that has held Josh and me in your prayers as we have struggled with starting a family. We are by no means at the finish line yet, but everything is healthy to this point -- with a little extra anatomy.

To quote our OBGYN, "If it's not a boy, I'll be surprised." 

Our next check-up in February will include blood tests to check for the potential of gestational diabetes and other routine things. 

To continue the spirit of thriftiness, don't be surprised if you get a call like this one sometime mid-May...