Introducing Our Daughter

Our beautiful daughter, Tenley ReNae Gunnell was born on Monday, August 12, 2013 at 8:01pm weighing 8lbs, 3oz. and 20" long. 

*Her Name*
We chose not to reveal Tenley's name (unless asked in private) before she was born because, like it or not, it was going to be her name and we didn't want people trying to convince us otherwise. In all honesty, I guess we got her name from a girl on The Bachelor. We weren't planning on telling people that that was the case originally but we had to face the facts--that was where I heard it the first time and how it made it onto my extensive list of baby girl names. While at the ice skating rink in Sun Valley this past March, we saw a picture from the 1950s of an apparently famous Olympic skater named Tenley Albright and we were half pretending that's where we got the name but now you know the truth. 

*Her Personality* 
Tenley is an extremely calm baby. She is just like her dad in that aspect for which I am truly grateful. She does not cry very often--especially compared with most babies. She lets us know when she is hungry or cold or when her tummy hurts, but she is easy to assuage. Tenley is also quite alert for a baby her age. She makes eye contact well and will stare at you for several minutes, seemingly studying your face. She appears to listen when Dalin or I read to her. She is also surprisingly strong for a newborn. Almost since she was born, she has been able to hold her head up and does so on her own especially when placed over your shoulder. She also has come very close to rolling over by herself. Though she is only four weeks old today, she has already given us quite a few smiles--mainly in her sleep. It is evident that she has a sweet spirit. She is a patient baby, too. She puts up with her mom constantly grooming her hands, feet, face, and hair without flinching, even if she's asleep. She is a good sleeper! She has woken me up once or twice during the night since she was born, which is both surprising and amazing. She also takes long naps during the day which allow me to get things done around the house. She prefers to sleep on her side over her back (just as she did in the womb--she favored the right side of my uterus the entire pregnancy) so we stick a rolled up blanket behind her to support her and make her feel secure. Tenley loves her hands and does not like when they are restricted. Since she was just days old, we had to swaddle her below her armpits because she would fight until her arms were free if we didn't. The bili-lights crib had a velcro cover that was supposed to go all the way to her neck, but we had to seal it below her armpits or she would find a way to get them free. She loves her hands and almost always has them by her face. Sometimes, she sucks on her fingers. The little cutie did the same thing (kept her hands close to her face) in the womb as we saw on the ultrasound as early as 18 weeks! Tenley is both a mama's girl and a daddy's girl. She is always very relaxed when her daddy holds her or rocks with her in his rocking chair. She could just chill with her dad all day and be happy. Maybe she is only a mommy's girl because she still needs me but it makes my heart feel light when she turns toward my voice when around strangers or when she stops crying when I say her name, even from the other room. My absolute favorite thing so far is when I am feeding her and she just looks up at me with her big blue eyes and stares into my eyes like she is learning who I am. Those moments are precious to me because no one else can share them. I am thankful for her already darling personality. My prayers that she would be a happy baby were answered!

*Her Little Quirks*
Tenley has been wonderful since day one on this earth, but she has since grown on us even more. She yawns a lot, and when she does, she puts her whole face into it. 

She has the sweetest smile when she's sleeping.

She uses her hands a lot.

She is an awesome eater! (Which is good for her mom since breastfeeding has helped immensely with losing the pregnancy weight!)

She will take a pacifier but doesn't need one.

She doesn't cry when she is being bathed, changed, or dressed! She just calmly looks around like she's waiting for us to finish. (I thought all babies hated those things)

She prefers to sleep with mom and dad. She's a snuggler. 

She absolutely loves her dad. As soon as he begins to talk to her, she calms down and listens to him. 

She looks quite a bit like both her mom and her dad as babies. Seriously, we compared baby pictures and she looks like us both even though we did not look alike. It's weird!

She is not a big fan of being swaddled (we think mainly because she is very active and she doesn't like her arms or legs being restricted). 
She sleeps really well! Not only does she sleep through most of the night and take several naps during the day, but she is not bothered by our noise. We can talk in normal tones, watch TV, play music, etc. while she is sleeping. 
Humming primary hymns puts her to sleep. I have tried this enough times that I know it works. You have to hum for a long time, but she does fall asleep!

She loves both of her parents and is a wonderfully easy infant.

She listens quietly when we read to her and looks right at the pages. 

She makes the funniest sounds. We always laugh at her little coughs and yells.

She is our favorite little girl and we both are smitten by her. When she's asleep we want to wake her up so we can enjoy her. I am obsessed with her soft fragrant hair, her gorgeous eyes, her adorable feathery eyebrows, the little fuzz on the edge of her ears, her round little nose, her perfect lips, her kissable belly, her tiny hands, and her soft toes and feet. 

We love her more than we knew was possible.