So Many People to Thank

Last weekend, we did something that I thought we'd never get to do. We placed a birth announcement in the local newspaper, and the newspaper at home. The content is as follows with some paraphrasing to conceal identities of family members, and the picture above is the one that accompanied it.

A Daughter!
Gil and hubby are thrilled to announce the long-awaited arrival of their daughter Petite born on August 27, 2009 at the Ottawa General Hospital at 7:43 p.m., weighing 6 lbs. 15 oz. Proud first-time grandparents are D and B of St. John's, Newfoundland. Seventh-time grandparents are N and G of Ottawa, Ontario and hubby's two older children are thrilled to have a baby sister! This has been a long journey and we would like to thank Dr. Barwin, Linda, and the staff of Broadview Medical Clinic; Dr. Tan, Dr. Chan, Lise and the staff at McGill Reproductive Centre; Dr. Black, Nicole and the staff at SoundCare Medical; Dr. Batra and Elaine at the Ottawa General and Anees at CML, for having faith and helping us reach our destination. There are no words to describe our joy, but so many of our friends and family have traveled this road at our side; we couldn't be more grateful for your love and support.

It took me weeks to craft something I was happy with, but I really hope we covered it. Today, I mailed a thank-you card to Dr. Barwin and his staff, along with a copy of the announcement, a personal note, and a photo of our baby girl. If I can get a pic of Dr. Barwin holding her in the coming weeks, it would complete this circle for me; for without him and his staff and their encouragement over the past five and a half years, I doubt we would have kept going. They are directly responsible for our success and I don't know how to thank them. I don't think I ever really can.

And for your viewing pleasure, the following photo is our first professional portrait as a family. I love it and I thought I'd show it to you. I hope you like it too.