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.