All Smiles

Daddy is so funny! He cracks me up!

Tenley also loves her Mrs. Knottie doll. Mrs. Knottie always elicits big smiles and laughs from little T-Bird. Thank you Michele for saving a Mrs. Knottie back for us. She was well worth the wait!

?!?! Relaxing ?!?!

Tenley is starting to gain a lot more control of her head and neck. We thought she might be ready to try the Bumbo that our neighbors let us borrow (thanks Jason and Melissa!) for a few minutes. What do you think? A picture is worth a thousand words...some of them may not be very nice! Look everyone is practicing "Sit." Some seem to be enjoying it more than others:)
"Really? Really you thought this was a good idea?"

Lainey knows exactly what toys belong to her. I hate to tell her that Abby is way too l-a-z-y to try and get her Nylabone let alone chew on it and Tenley's not really into bones.

Now this is a proper way to sit! Who needs a Bumbo when you have a daddy like this one?

Yes, most newborns spend time IN their swings, but Nick has discovered that Tenley really enjoys checking out the swing from below. They pretend their working on it like you'd work on a car.

Whale of a Tub

Check out my new tub! It really is called a "Whale of a Tub" and Tenley loves it! She outgrew the foam bath sponge that just sat in the sink. She let us know in two ways...1) She screamed and screamed and screamed a little more and 2) While she was...you guessed it--screaming...she stretched her entire body diagonally across the sink. That's when the Whale of a Tub came into our lives and oh, what a scream free blessing:)

"Seriously, do you do this to the dogs? I don't think so. The last time I checked, they only had to get a bath every six weeks and they go to a fancy salon!"

Ho Ho Ho

Good (Bribed) Girls!

Merry Christmas!



Okay, so Abby is now fully cooperating for family photos. Once she realized that Tenley was not going to cut into her treat rations and that she wouldn't have to share the guest bed with T-Bird, her personality only continued to improve. I'm pretty sure that "Christmas card picture day" is Abby's favorite day of the year! It only took a half a bag of Pupperoni's to get the girls to sit nicely AND look at the camera.

We're losing a little hair, but our eyes are open more often!

More November Birthdays

Okay, so the only person with a November birthday in this shot is Tenley, but notice the big, black four legged girl who decided to stop boycotting family photos. Glad to see you again Abby!
Tenley loves for Grandma Ginny to hold her! Grandma Ginny and T-Bird almost shared a birthday...they're just two days short of being 90 years apart!

At first we took this photo because four generation of first born ladies on my mom's side are represented. Papaw LeRoy said before we even had the ultrasound that this baby would be a girl because that's just the way it always is on our side of the family. Not only are we all first born ladies, we all have November birthdays as well--Tenley on the 9th, Grandma Ginny on the 11th, Mom on the 16th, and Grandma Patty on the 21st. This was actually taken on Grandma Patty's birthday. It was our first trip to Frankfort. Happy 62nd Birthday Grandma Patty!

I don't know who's more mesmerized!

Eat, sleep, and...

Our first week home was life changing and pretty uneventful all at the same time. It's true, new babies just eat, sleep, and... well you know!

Tenley's not the only Collins with a birthday in November. I turned 32 exactly one week after Tenley was born. There's no better way to spend a birthday that napping with my favorite girls on the couch. Lainey loves to be part of the action. Actually, we got Lainey in November too. With Lainey showing up one November and Tenley coming home the next November, Abby has decided 1) to boycott all pictures and 2) that November is the worst month of the year because that's when we bring all of the strays home!

Grandma Patty and Grandpa Steve came to keep an eye on T-Bird while Nick and I went out to celebrate my birthday at a local Italian restaurant. Oh, "T-Bird" got her nickname from the T in Tenley and the bird because she opened her mouth like a baby bird when she was hungry those first few weeks home.

Our first family photo...well, Abby was still boycotting photos at this point.

Meet Tenley Nicole

Our fan club was patiently waiting for us to arrive home. Thanks to Ben and our neighbors Jason and Melissa for keeping Abby and Lainey safe and sound while we were at the hospital!

All ready to head home. We weren't too sure about strapping our precious pea into that car seat for the first time, but Nurse Barb once again came to the rescue and helped us out!

While the hospital claims all newborns get those hats for warmth, Nick and I think the real reason is to cover up those cone heads! They do get better!

Tenley meeting Grandma Patty for the first time. Since Nick and I hadn't eaten since the night before Tenley was born, Grandma Patty and Grandpa Steve picked up some McDonalds (my favorite) for us while T-Bird was getting her first bath. A cheeseburger, fries and a diet coke, of course!, had never tasted so good!

Somethings you can count on in life...death, taxes, and me being ten minutes late in general. So it was no surprise at my doctor's appointment on November 5th (just 4 days before Tenley was born) that I was not effaced or dilated at all. I wasn't given much hope of actually having Tenley on her due date of November 11th (also my grandma's 90th birthday!) when the good doc went ahead and scheduled my next appointment for the day after my due date.

Imagine our surprise on the morning of November 9th...As Nick and I were watching the morning weather and traffic reports around 6:50 am and my water broke. My first thought was, "Oh, no...I might have just wet the bed." Second thought, "I just went to the bathroom, so I don't think I wet the bed." Third thought, "Who would know if I wet the bed or my water broke--Beth!" After a quick phone chat, Beth was pretty sure that I had not wet the bed (good news there) and that I should probably call the doctor's office. Thank you for the insight Bethie!

Nick and I checked in via phone with the doctor on call who assured us that we had a little time before we needed to be at the hospital. She suggested we head toward St. Vincent Carmel around 9 o'clock. That was great because bills needed to be paid, sheets needed to be changed, and I needed a shower before this great adventure!

Once we arrived at the hospital, Dr. Neff greeted us and I was presented with one of those high fashion hospital gowns and hooked up to a machine that monitors contractions. Lo and behold, I wasn't having many. That's when I met my friend "Pitocin." I like to say that pitocin and I danced all day because that's exactly what we did. Thank goodness for Nurse Barb! She was the best. Every half hour Nurse Barb would come in and crank the pitocin machine up one more level and offer me a Popsicle. The day passed pretty uneventfully. We watched a few Las Vegas re-runs and Indiana Jones and the Legend of the Crystal Skull. At 5:30, Dr. Neff was getting ready to call it a day. With a smile on her face she reminded us that pitocin induced labor could take anywhere from 12-24 hours and unfortunately it looked like I might be on the 24 hour end of things. Okay, aside from that fact that I was starving, I was okay with that. I masterminded a grand plan of watching "Dancing with the Stars" and then thought I'd ask for a little something to help me sleep. Tenley had other plans. Like clockwork, Nurse Barb checked in at 6:00 to crank up the pitocin (Level 17 by this point:)) and offer me a Popsicle. I passed on the Popsicle but thought I might make a run for the potty and Nick started watching Kung Fu Panda. When I returned to what had been my happy hospital bed, something was different....ah yes, pain! At 6:10, my quiet, uneventful day changed. I quickly asked Nurse Barb for some pain relief and was offered Nubain...not exactly what I had been hoping for, but I was up for anything. Nurse Barb might of thought I was a bit on the weak side because she offered to check me--whoa, I was a whopping 2 cm. I thought it was going to be a very long night. After about three more serious contractions with no relief from the Nubain, I asked Nurse Barb if maybe that pesky anesthesiologist could be tracked down. At 7:10 I was blessed with an epidural--ahhh, sweet relief! I highly recommend it. Along with the epidural came a new nurse--Nurse Dacina who was equally great. Nurse Dacina suggested that I rest for an hour and then she'd come and see how things were going. So, right on schedule, she returned and informed me that I was 10 cm. We were ready to have this baby. She called Dr. D (short for DelRosario--she's awesome, too!) and by 8:30 we had the show on the road. Just 40 short minutes later, Tenley Nicole arrived at 9:10 pm weighing 7lbs 6 oz and measuring 20 3/4 inches long. The picture above is the very first one that her proud daddy snapped of her. Yes, that head was a little coney!