I'm So Thankful For Baby Sophia!

On the evening of October 13th, our phone rang. It was about 10pm, and my fella and I were cozied up on the couch, making our way through the night's episodes of "Parks and Recreation" and "The Office" that we had on the dvr. When my phone rings that late, I assume one of two things- it's either (a)my charming yet unpredictable cousin Frank calling to chat about his wanderlust or random adventures in his travels, or (b)it's bad news. Sadly, it was the latter.

We received a call from my mother explaining that my cousin Donnie's baby was born earlier that evening. This is impossible, I thought, she isn't due until after Christmas! I panicked and gave the phone to my fella, who quickly reassured me that the baby was alright. I barely slept that night, and struggled to wrap my head around what was happening. I didn't know what to expect, and feared the worst. But by the weekend, my fears slowly gave way to joy and excitement. The baby was stable and breathing on her own. She was very small- just under 2 lbs at birth- but she was long for a preemie, about 14 inches long, with very long fingers and legs (just like my cousin).

The pictures and videos began to pour in from Donnie and helped banish my fears as I got to look into my new cousin's eyes for the first time. I finally got to meet the baby the night before my own birthday. She was beautiful! And quite active- waving her hands, pulling on her blankets, smiling, and gripping my cousin's finger. She also has a full head of light brown hair and voiced her "dislike" for her preemie hat by trying to pull that off as well!

Sophia is almost 4 lbs now and growing stronger each day! She is off her oxygen and able to be held outside her incubator by my cousin & his wife. We are hoping our little miracle may be able to come home by Christmas, but even if she has to stay a while longer, we know we are truly blessed.

I am sitting at home sick, battling a stubborn cold made worse by asthma. I was thinking of Sophia, how far she's come in such short a time, and how much I look forward to seeing her new pictures each day. Our Etsy treasury challenge this week was "Give Thanks". We were asked to create a collection based on what we are grateful for this Thanksgiving. For me, it was instantly Sophia.

Enjoy my collection inspired by my family's newest (& toughest) little addition... plus here's a picture of the little lady who inspires me. We are thankful for Sophia!

xox Kelly

Meet Baby Sophia -

She's a little camera shy :)

My Collection - I'm Thankful For Baby Sophia