Lily Joan Celeste Sansbury is a little ball of fire who can still put up her dukes, even if its just to scratch her tiny nose.

“She’s definitely a fighter,” said her grandmother, Marlene Sanford of Coupeville. “She fought through everything.”

Lily is six months old today, having already endured enough battles for most lifetimes.

She’s about 18 inches long, and weighs about 11 pounds, 9 ounces.

Think that’s small? When she was born on July 17, she was about 8 inches long and weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces.

“It’s a relief that she’s finally here,” said her mother, Stephanie Sanford, 21, of Freeland. “We feel more like a family now that she’s home.”

Lily was finally released from Swedish Medical Center on Dec. 29, five and a half months after she was born 14 weeks prematurely. During that time she had a shunt planted in her head to relieve brain fluid, a valve clamped shut in her heart and a feeding tube implanted in her stomach.

When she was three and a half months old, she had pneumonia.

When Sanford went into early labor, she was taken to Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville, airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and transported to Swedish Medical Center, where she and her twin sister joined the world.

Aubrey Joy Marie was born three minutes after Sanford arrived at Swedish, weighing 1 pound, 5 ounces. Lily was born minutes later by Caesarean section.

Aubrey lived for only 11 days. She was taken off life support and lived another 28 hours until she died the evening of July 28 in her parents’ arms, surrounded by her extended family.

“I still have trouble with the loss of Aubrey,” Sanford said. “It’s been a struggle. But I’m happy Lily’s home.”

Sanford stayed in the hospital with Lily for the first two and a half months, then came regularly to spend the night with her.

“It was really hard for them to bond,” Marlene Sanford said. “There were always so many nurses and other people around.”

Lily’s father, Christopher Sansbury, 26, is a pipe insulator at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland. He and Sanford also have a son, 2-year-old Logan.

The couple hope to marry this summer, Marlene Sanford said.

Family members took turns caring for Logan while Sanford was at Swedish.

“The hardest part was not being able to have our son down there at the hospital,” Sanford said.

Marlene Sanford said Logan seems to have mixed feelings about the presence of his sister.

“He’s like, now she’s here all the time — what’s that all about?” she said.

Stephanie Sanford, who despite her youth is a veteran volunteer in the South Whidbey community, is grateful for all the help the community has given her and her family in return.

Before Lily came along, Sanford worked with her mother in her mother’s business, Partners in Grime Housekeeping.

Lily’s early start in life was an expensive proposition, and donations to a fund set up at Whidbey Island Bank were a huge help, Sanford said.

In response to an earlier story in The Record, a 3-bedroom house was found for the young family in Freeland.

Meanwhile, Lily continues to grow on a diet of premie formula dispensed by bottle and by feeding tube. She still has plenty of medical appointments, and has regular sessions with a speech and feeding therapist.

But the daily disruptions and the arduous trips to Seattle are mostly in the past.

And a big family gathering is planned for today, to make up for the chaotic holidays.

“We’re happy to have the family together,” Marlene Sanford said. “She’s a miracle baby.”