I have been photographing this little beauty since she was born. She will be 2 soon. Her personality is just as cute as she is! Her high energy level kept me on my toes during this session!

Here is your Sneak Peek, Liz! I hope you enjoy it! I have your gallery edited. I just need to resize and upload the images to an online gallery. They will all be up by Sunday night!

It can be tough to photograph toddlers who are constantly on-the-run, as you can probably imagine, but we did manage to capture a few close-ups…and even a little smile!

Miss H. and her dog:

So serious:

It has been a long road.

But I am a very determined person. When I had a doctor tell me 10 years ago that I had, at best, 2 years left to conceive and have a child, it motivated me to prove her wrong. Her exact words to me were “You don’t have 10 years left or anything.”

I wonder to myself how many dreams this fellow woman has shattered in her career.  I question whether this doctor even thought about the true import of her words, how they sliced right through a woman’s soul. This was a turning point in my life.

I was going to do whatever it took to become a mother. I’m a fighter. And that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 10 years: fighting to overcome all of the obstacles.

I hardly know what to do with myself now that the journey has ended. I am used to the battle. I need to learn how to simply enjoy life’s many blessings.

Our most recent blessing arrived on September 18 in the form of another beautiful, perfect baby girl. This was 10 years after a doctor told me it was not possible. I do not think doctors should say these things to women, at least not to this woman. When I set my sights on the top of some mountain, I don’t stop until I get there. One step at a time was how I arrived. There were many challenges along the way.

The past 10 years have included the following:

5 surgeries

12 rounds of fertility drugs and treatments

1 failed pregnancy

Hyperemesis gravidarum all 3 times (severe, debilitating morning sickness that lasts 24 hours a day for several weeks, if not months)

3 healthy babies – Yay!

***We also completed the entire adoption process in 2003 for domestic adoption. Right before we put our profiles out there, we became pregnant with Reilly.

We were very lucky in our infertility journey. This past time, while we were trying to conceive Baby #3 through the fertility clinic, we were told that we had a 15% chance of it working each cycle. Dave and I agreed to try for 3 months, and then that would be that. If it worked, then we would have child #3, and if it did not work, then we would move forward with our lives.

The third time worked like a charm, as they say! I never realized how badly I wanted a third child until the first two attempts did not work. I was devastated. Undergoing fertility treatments is a very difficult process–physically, mentally, and emotionally. It can be a heartbreaking experience for many couples. There are so many ups and downs. My heart goes out to all of those who have struggled to have children.

We spent hundreds of dollars each time we underwent the treatments, but we never had to undergo the IVF process, which costs thousands of dollars. Luckily, our issues were pretty minor in the whole scheme of things and easily treatable with fertility drugs and IUIs.

Everybody is different, though. I have several friends who have had to also undergo fertility treatments–or are undergoing fertility treatments right now–for totally different issues than mine. I never knew how common infertility was until I experienced it myself.

Michigan Reproductive, the fertility clinic we used in Grand Rapids, MI, has one of the highest success rates. Our doctor, Dr. Young, is ranked in the Top 10 Fertility Specialists in the country. He is also an endometriosis specialist, and I have gone to him in the past 6 years for both fertility and endometriosis issues. We are so lucky to have doctors like him!

Everybody I know who has gone to this clinic has achieved pregnancy. We were pregnant with all 3 pregnancies within 3-4 months.

I also had a scare with cervical dysplasia/cancer. I was extremely lucky with this issue. It was borderline invasive. I had CIN III, which is the most aggressive form of dysplasia. If not removed, there is a high chance that it will turn into invasive cancer. CIN III includes carcinoma in situ (CIS)–which was my official diagnosis. CIS is an early stage of non-invasive cancer–the cells are confined within the tissue where they grew and have not yet invaded surrounding tissue. It is a very treatable type of cancer if it is caught early. It took about a year and a half to clear my body of the cancerous cells. I feel embarrassed to tell people about it because it really was very minor compared to what many others have experienced with cancer.

There are many misconceptions surrounding cervical cancer. As a high school teacher, I hear high school girls talking about the cervical cancer vaccine available now to protect women against cervical cancer. There are health professionals who will claim that the HPV virus causes cervical cancer 100% of the time , but this is simply not true. I tested negative for the HPV virus, which confused those medical personnel involved in my diagnosis but also proved that not all cases are caused by the HPV virus–most are, but not all.

My pregnancies were the hardest times of my life. I was violently ill for many weeks. Hyperemesis gravidarum occurs in just 1 out of 300 pregnancies. I had it all 3 times, and it was very difficult. It is a rare and serious illness with excessive pregnancy-related nausea and/or vomiting that prevents adequate intake of food and fluids. I could not intake fluids during my pregnancies; they hit my stomach and came right back up. This past time, I was still getting IVs at the hospital through the ninth month of the pregnancy to stay hydrated. For several weeks during the first trimester, I had IVs at home for 10 hours a day. I have always wanted at least 3 children, though, and I never gave up on that dream.

Now, after 10 years, our family is complete.

Here is our newest addition: What a blessing! It has all been so worth it! We are so grateful for our three daughters…and our awesome doctors!

Front of the birth announcement that I designed:

Back of the birth announcement:

Here are a few more photos of Jolie from the first 1-2 weeks of life. I have many more, but I still need time to go through them all!

Jolie being held by her Daddy:

I will always treasure the summer of 2009 and the miracle of life that grew inside of me during this time. This was the most difficult of my three pregnancies, yet I also enjoyed this pregnancy the most. I knew it was the last time I would ever bring a new life into the world. At times, I would sit and ponder the miracle growing and readying herself to join our family. A baby is such a blessing!

Part of me wished for the summer to fly by so the pregnancy would end and we could at last meet our new baby girl. Another part of me wanted summer to linger… It seems like there could never be enough evenings to spend on the beach with Reilly and Addie, watching them play in the sand and splash in the water, listening to them laugh and talk together as the sun set.

Such beautiful memories!

There were so many things I wanted to do with my girls this summer! Instead of focusing on the items that were still left undone by summer’s end, I want to remember all that we did do together.

Call me a nerd, but I am such a “make a list” kind of person! I make a list of everything I want/need to accomplish each week. Each summer, I type a list of all the fun places I want to take my girls, along with all the simple pleasures I want to enjoy with them along the way.

With the pregnancy and the anticipation of adding a new little one to our family, we kept it pretty simple and stuck close to home this year.

Here are some of the highlights of our summer:

*We visited Deer Forest Park in Coloma. I take the girls there every year. This was our third year (Addie’s second year). It is a tradition. And so fun!

*Reilly participated in an art class through the Holland Area Arts Council once a week for 5 weeks. Addie also joined her. Reilly loved it!

*Addie was enrolled in gymnastics at Champion Gymnastics in Holland for 12 weeks. We discovered that she had a real talent for gymnastics. She is also enrolled in gymnastics for this school year. She is currently in the 3 year-old class, but we have been told that she will be moved up to the 4 year-old class halfway through the school year. She will be 3 and a half years-old.

*The girls enjoyed the carefree world of playgrounds and parks, especially in the early summer days while we waited for warmer beach weather.

*Beach time! And lots of it! Probably at least 20 times! Mostly in the evenings, but I took the girls during the day a few times, too. I even left the camera behind a couple of times and just enjoyed watching them play. We mostly went to Pier Cove, but this summer, we also made it to the County Park down the road from Pier Cove, the Holland State Park, the big beach in Grand Haven, and the beaches in South Haven.

*I took many, many beach photos! These are my favorite photos to take of my kids each year! The beach (Lake Michigan) is my favorite place to be! We are so lucky to live here! I am currently putting together a photo album of just beach photos from this summer.

*A visit to a splash park in Wyoming, MI

*Shopping trips to the mall: My girls just love to ride the carousal, play in the Tree House, and drink smoothies and/or eat ice cream cones…while I sneak in a little shopping!

*Trips to the library and book stores: Reading is a huge part of our lives. One of my favorite things to do is read books to my kids!

*Ice cream cones at McDonald’s. This is the only item on the menu I will let the girls have from McDonald’s. I used the ice cream cones there as bribery sometimes if the girls would let me take photos of them! And it only cost me $1! This is such a treat for them!

*Fireworks

*We took the girls to the Aquatic Center in Holland on Reilly’s birthday for something fun to do. They loved this change from always being at the beach!

*Reilly’s 5th birthday party on the beach

*Dave and I took the girls to the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. We have visited this zoo every other year the past couple of years. We love it!

*Trips to Crazy Bounce and Play World: Dave took the girls to Play World a few times. Reilly and Addie spent a lot of time with their Daddy this summer, especially during the mornings and early afternoons while I still had morning sickness each day until this time.

*Deck time with the girls: Reilly and Addie played in their wading pool–and even found a baby turtle one day–while I worked on my tan a little bit!

*I took the girls to eat at Qdoba a million and one times! This was my #1 pregnancy craving this time around: veggie burritos! Naked with black beans, mild salsa, and guacamole! Mmmm… This was the one food that made me feel better during my pregnancy!

*Some time spent with friends: get togethers, parties, and dinners

*Lots of time with Grandma McEntyre since she lives near us…and a couple of visits up north to visit Grandma and Grandpa James.

To end, Dave and I both worked part time this summer. I worked 11.5 extra days at the school, and I had a few photography sessions here and there. Dave worked twice a week as a technology instructor at the school. It was nice to make some extra $ for my maternity leave.

My girls really grew up this summer. Sometimes when I look back on photos from just a few months ago, I am saddened to see how quickly my girls are growing up. In the early summer photos of Addie, she looks like a baby! All of a sudden, she is a grown-up little girl trying to claim her independence! She looks so much *older* now. How did that happen in just a few short months? I told her all summer that she was still my baby until the new baby arrived. I tried to keep her my baby for as long as I could…

She is no longer my baby but a big sister. I am realizing more and more how quickly the days, months, and years are passing by…and how much I want to preserve my children’s lives. They are the most amazing beings to me. I feel that I do not take nearly enough photographs of them. It is my goal to take more in the days ahead and to invest more time into blogging and recording the little and big moments.

Below are some of the moments I captured along the way. We did spend a majority of our time at the beach, appreciating the beauty of where we live. I have many more photos. Some are snapshots, and some I have yet to edit. These ones, however, are some of my favorites.

Prepare for photo overload!

Below is Reilly at the Holland State Park:

Addie and her buckets at Pier Cove:

Addie “swimming” at Pier Cove–same evening as the one above:

Yes, she jumped in the water while still wearing her dress! I just love the golden lighting at the beach right before the sun sets!

Addie and I have this little game that we play. I tell her to give me a big smile, then a little smile, then a “no smile!” This was right before she cracked up!

Below: Addie and Reilly at the fireworks on the beach in South Haven:

Reilly blowing bubbles:

Below are some I took of Reilly and Addie at a location in Hudsonville, MI. They actually cooperated for a few “posing” photos! With bribery…

The next few are just some random shots:

More beach photos:

My favorite one of Addie from the summer is the one below!

My first baby turned 5 on July 30. Hard to believe. It really does not feel so much like the days have flown by, but the years sure have! How in the world did we get to 5 so soon?

Reilly Kaylyn is my first miracle. When doctors told me I may never be able to have my own children, I was bound and determined to beat the odds. No matter what I had to do…

I still remember Reilly’s birth day like it was yesterday. I focused so much on preserving as many details from that experience as possible. I remember not sleeping for over 48 hours in the hospital for the simple fact that I was so ecstatic to have a baby! I was *in love*! I felt like time had stopped the moment I had her, and I was so, so grateful to have my baby.

I never wanted to let go of her.

When we brought her home from the hospital, 5 years seemed like so far away. I felt like I had forever to spend with her before that first day of kindergarten arrived. Who knew that that day would come so soon? Too soon. Now I feel both sadness and joy about my first baby turning 5.

I never knew there was a love possible like the one I feel for my daughter. On some days, I am still in shock that she is mine. It is such a miracle to have a child. I can still hardly believe my dream has come true.

I am in total awe of her. At 5 years old, Reilly is still as sweet and cuddly as she was as a baby and toddler. She still sits on the couch with me and cuddles with her mom. Such a loving little girl.

Reilly is our studious one. Intelligent, creative, and inquisitive, our oldest daughter has made us proud with her academic achievements and artistic creations. Her preschool teacher from last year told us that Reilly was one of the smartest kids in her class. I felt very proud of my daughter during that parent/teacher end-of-the-year meeting. The teacher also praised Reilly for her artistic ability; she even called it “advanced” as she showed us examples of Reilly’s drawings from the school year. My heart just overflowed…

We are blessed that Reilly had such a wonderful and loving teacher–one who recognized and appreciated Reilly’s talents and abilities. This teacher also cared so much. My heart is forever grateful for the year my daughter spent in this teacher’s classroom.

Now our Reilly is 5 and off to kindergarten–all day, every day kindergarten! Thus, her formal education has begun. I hardly had time to feel sad over her newly-gained independence and excitement to start school. It all happened so quickly these past few months, and here we are. How could I be sad over something so thrilling to her in her life? I was extremely fortunate to be the one who took my daughter to her first day of kindergarten. I was proud that I was not sad on that day–on that very big day for my big girl.

We celebrated Reilly’s 5th birthday at Pier Cove with a few of her cousins on Dave’s side of the family. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their evening on the beach together! More great memories were created for our family…and for Reilly.

It was a beautiful evening…one to be savored and remembered for a lifetime. I love this little girl so much! I want to continue to savor all of the time I spend with her in the days to come. All of it has been such a gift. Reilly has brightened our lives with her sweet disposition and cute little girl voice. Just like the day she was born, I want to hold her…and never let go.

Happy 5th birthday, sweet girl!

Kensey, Reilly, and Tara:

Jumping:

Daddy and Addie:

Holy Moly! Who’s that in the photo with Reilly (below)? Look who came out from behind the camera! We do not take nearly enough photos of the girls with Mommy and/or Daddy!

She’s just the sweetest, happiest girl!

Dave took some photos of Addie and my pregnant belly. I am so glad he did! Both girls were so excited about becoming a big sister! Reilly and Addie kissed my belly everyday!

Tara, Reilly, and Kensey: Love this one!

The end!