A penguin for Eloise

I originally posted this on Eloise’s facebook page soon after she was born.

Years ago, right before we moved to Estonia, I became an aunt for the first time. When Brian was growing up, his favorite toy was a little stuffed penguin he called “Pengie.” I decided my new little niece, Mia, needed a stuffed penguin of her own from her Uncle Brian and Aunt Marsh-mallow. So I hand-sewed one from a pattern I found, blessing her every stitch I took. Now, 8.5 years later and I made 3 more penguins for each of Mia’s brothers when they came, each one different.

In November I realized that it was likely we would finally bring home a baby of our own, so it was time to make one for her. It was scary as I sewed it, fearing that we’d somehow lose her before I even got to give it to her.

But here we are.

My sister Whitney has always taken growth photos of her kiddos along with the penguin I sewed for each so I figured I should keep with the tradition she started.

Granted, Eloise was almost 2 weeks old by the time I took these photos, but I just feel extremely grateful there’s a little baby in our home. I’m just a crying, blubbing mess. Maybe it’s these postpartum hormones but still multiple times a day I bust out in tears of gratitude.

Y’all, she’s here. She’s really here.