Four years ago today, at 6:21pm precisely, I became a mother for the very first time. My baby girl Ryenne, all 9lbs 10oz of her, came into this world and fulfilled a dream of mine. Peter and I had wanted to be parents so badly. We had turned to In Vitro Fertilization after 5 years of infertility. She was our miracle baby. She was my only baby born on Maui. She is my only Girl. She is my princess.

Here we are, right after we met for the very first time.

She is headstrong, strong willed, opinionated, knows how to push my buttons. But above everything else, she is beautiful inside and outside and comes to my rescue all the time. She and I have started special cooking projects together. Being her mom has opened up my world to learn new things everyday and to see things from a child’s perspective. It is her that made me fall in love with children’s photography and the emotions that are involved with capturing someone as they grow, literally, every single day.

Ryenne,

You are my sunshine

My beautiful sunshine,

You make me happy

When skies are grey

You’ll never know Dear

How much Mommy loves you,

Please don’t ever take my sunshine away…

Happy Fourth Birthday – to my amazing baby girl!