It’s absolutely insane to think that three years ago, we were on an epic road trip across the country and Lily didn’t exist yet. It wasn’t until 5 months later that I discovered I was pregnant with Lily!
Overalls have special meaning to me. When I had given up all hope of ever getting pregnant, we found out I was 7 weeks pregnant with what I call our miracle baby. We tried and hoped and prayed for so long to no avail. So, when I saw the little heartbeat in that blob on the ultrasound at Boston IVF, I lost it. After a few minutes (with the sweetest ultrasound tech) I collected myself, wiped my tears off my face, and I went home. I hardly talked about it again until our 12 week appointment where we got to HEAR the heartbeat and see our little baby bouncing around on the screen.
After our appointment we went to Goodwill for something, and I meandered over to the baby section and I allowed myself to dream and to feel joy and excitement. I found the cutest little pair of baby overalls (that were brand new with the tag on it!! such a find!) and I found Steven and showed them to him. We both loved it and we bought it. That was the very first thing I ever bought for our baby, and it was a symbol of “crossing over” so to speak. So, at the end of this post, you’ll see photos of Lily in her newest pair of overalls, and I just can’t get enough of them!
Our journey was hard and long, and everyone has their own story in their journeys to becoming parents. I’m so grateful that on this day, two years ago, we met our daughter for the very first time.
I’ll never forget those days of trying and crying and feeling all the stages of grief with every failed cycle and negative pregnancy test. Sometimes I feel guilty to share my life with her on social media, because I remember how hard it was to see other families when that’s all I desperately wanted.
But I know that it’s important to share so that I can help provide hope to others.
So, today, on Lily’s 2nd birthday, I’m sharing photos from the past two years (a bunch never before seen on social media!) and what she’s up to these days 🙂
- She is SO freaking smart and saying new words and sentences every day! It’s amazing! Some of her favorite sayings right now are:
- Strong mommy!
- I’m Lily!
- I did it!
- Where go?!
- She loves to take care of her stuffed animals by feeding them, changing their diapers and clothing them.
- Lily knows so many signs now and uses them regularly to help communicate her needs!
- I swear the only speed she has is “running.” She loves to run and will happily run everywhere!
- It’s amazing how quickly she can go from being incredibly joyful and excited to completely distraught.
- She spends most of her day reading books all over the place.
- One of her favorite things to do is to push her step stool around the kitchen and help mom or dad cook/clean!
- She also has a step stool in the living room under one of the windows and she really loves to stand at the window and watch what’s going on outside!
- Speaking of outside, she LOVES to be outside and we have a really hard time getting her to come inside most days.
- She loves to give hugs and kisses (wherever her lips land – I can’t tell you how many kisses I get on random spots on my body, hahah)
- Lily thinks she can count to 5, but really it’s “1,2,1,2,1!” and she’s so proud of herself!
- She’s been refusing to sit down in the tub while taking a bath, since Memorial Day. So that’s been an interesting adventure, haha.
- Most of all, she’s healthy and thriving. Though I definitely got emotional packing away her 18m clothing and opening up her 2T clothing! haha.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite photos from each month of her life thus far!
July 2016-
August 2016-
September 2016- 
October 2016- 
November 2016- 
December 2016-
January 2017-
February 2017- 
March 2017- 
April 2017- 
May 2017- 
June 2017- 
July 2017 – 
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September 2017-
October 2017-
November 2017-
December 2017- 
January 2018- 
February 2018-
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May 2018- 
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July 2018- 
Lily – happy 2nd birthday, my sweet sweet girl. Your dad and I love you more than we will ever be able to express, but we’ll never stop trying. I look forward to continue watching you grow! It’s an absolute honor to be your mommy.
Linda is a Boston-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com. To sign up for the monthly newsletter full of encouragement and real life, click here!
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