CHLOÉS 1st w/ PBK

Chloé and all of her Grandmothers

Chloé and “Papa”

Chloé and Uncles!

Our precious Chloé James turned 1 in June and we could not be more in love with her! When she was first born, I remember feeling the deepest and most pure love for her. Little did I know how much that love would grow in one years short time! Watching her begin to crawl, walk, talk, play, dance, explore.. it’s been incredible. My heart swells in the best possible way everyday, all because of this precious little girl. <3 

Her first birthday was amidst the middle of the current and ongoing pandemic. As a first time mom who wanted to shower my baby with all the love I possibly could, I had to be a bit strategic in planning her big celebration! We needed to keep her safe, keep family members safe, and make the day memorable and all about her! (May sound simple, but we were taking quarantine very very seriously at the time and it almost seemed like a hopeless cause.)

We kept family members to a minimum to keep everyone as safe as possible, had meals pre packaged from Zupas (one of Chloés favorite restaurants,) and made sure  dessert was individual! (Macarons, cookies, and cupcakes!) The food was AMAZING (as always, Zupas just knows how to do it!) And I felt like the family as whole was being smart/safe! 

Her smash cake was a BIG HIT! Chloé is just like her Moma when it comes to sweets! She smashed that sucker right down and gobbled it all up! We got a new high chair for the occasion from Micuna and it was fun to see her smash at it again! (Tbh I could relive her birthday everyday!)

For her first birthday presents I wanted to get her something beautiful, classic, and lasting! Something she could grow with throughout the years! One of her very favorite things, if not her absolute favorite thing, is books. It was clear to Chase and I that a bookshelf would make the most perfect gift! (And it absolutely did!) We got it from Pottery Barn Kids and we’ve all absolutely loved it! We decided on this one because of the cute design and the option for storage at the bottom! 

As first time parents we may have gone a bit overboard with the gifts, but Pottery Barn Kids is just too cute, and I couldn’t resist myself! They had an amazing selection for gifts and toys that were perfect for staying home! They have provided her with endless amounts of entertainment through this ongoing pandemic!

She loves her baby doll, “Baby Leila” and her stroller. She plays with “Baby Leila” daily and loves to take her on walks! She loves feeding Baby Leila the wooden fruits and felt veggies from her veggie garden! She often snuggles in her chair, (it’s so cozy) and you can tell she feels SO BIG when she’s sitting in it! 

We also got her a table and some chairs that she could grow up with! She loves to play on it! (Right now it’s the designated “coloring” table!) Another item we couldn’t pass up is this darling Teepee! This one sadly isn’t available at Pottery Barn Kids anymore, but I will link a similar one HERE! (If the teepee comes back in stock, I will link the original!) Pottery Barn Kids also has some of the most darling pajamas and we had to grab Chloé a pair! (Or two!)

We decorated our home with pictures of Chloe, birthday banners, pink peonies, and balloons galore! The pictures were fun to have as decorations, and we let the guests take any pictures they wanted home with them after the party. The balloons made everything POP if you will! (; They were the cutest/funnest decorations! We had Utah Balloon Creations install them and will be using them for every single party/event from here on out! (Chloé loved them too! The balloons lasted for weeks after and she often played with them!)

Overall, the day was incredible, and I wish we could relive her first birthday over and over again! A big thank you to our partners Pottery Barn Kids, Zupas, and Utah Balloon Creations for making Chloés first birthday in quarantine one to remember! Also, to our friends and family, we love you guys SO MUCH! And lastly, thank YOU! To our readers, followers, and viewers, we love you all and love having you in our Happily Ever Allen! xx|HEA

É A S T É R

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all having a great day and staying healthy + safe! <3

I’m so excited to share these Easter Basket ideas for littles with you all! I hope this post puts a smile on your face and gets you and your littles looking forward to something while we’re all stuck in our homes! <3

The magic is back in holidays with a little one at home! Chase and I have had so much fun preparing for each and every one knowing it’s Chloés first! Easter was one of my favorite holidays growing up and still is to this day! We will be celebrating Easter in the Allen household quarantined or not, and I hope you all will too!

For Chloés Easter basket we decided to go with an actual storage basket! She can’t walk/egg hunt on her own, and we are lacking toy + blanket storage so getting a storage basket was a no brainer + saved us some dough! (I’ve linked some baskets we love above from target!) We’ll be filling her basket up with these beautiful Ballerina dolls, a rattle, a crown, baby luggage, and pom blanket from Alimrose! Alimrose is one of the cutest & classiest shops for littles I’ve found since having Chloé! They have a darling selection of dolls + bunnies right now too! I highly recommend checking them out if a “Kate Middleton” Easter is what you’re going for! Your Prince/Princess will love their shop too!

The Bunny will also be leaving books, an Easter outfit, stuffies, little toys, eggs, and some baby friendly treats! These two books above are some of our favorites! The “Mommy Mommy” book is Chloés absolute favorite and I’m not mad about it! (; She squeals when she sees it! YOU NEED IT! <3 Some of the toys, stuffies, and outfit picks we’ve made for the basket I’ve linked below! Simply click on a picture to shop an item! One of our favorite items for an Easter basket that isn’t photographed is a bubble machine/bubble gun! We got ours for $4 and it’s a big hit in our house! (The biggest!) Another big hit in our house right now are these eggs! We got a pack of 47 for $3 and Chloé loves playing with them! 10/10 would recommend letting your littles play with the eggs early! Affordable entertainer right here! <3

Growing up the Easter bunny used to hide our Easter baskets and we’d have to search from them around the house with the help of a few clues! I loved this growing up and can’t wait to do this for Chloé! What are Easter traditions OR Easter basket must haves for you?! Leave a comment below, I would love to know! And thank you for stopping by! Love you all! xx Stay safe out there during this crazy time!

C H L O É J A M E S

The newest member to our “Happily Ever Allen” is finally making her debut! World, meet Chloé James Allen <3 born on 6/6/19, weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces. Chase, PG, & I are so in love with her. Our hearts have grown so much since our little angel decided to join us! <3

I have so much to say and don’t think any of it will come out right. The lack of sleep + mom brain I now have has done me in hahaa! So bare with me on this post and all future posts for the rest of my life! (;

Everyday since Chloé James has been born has been different! Some days are wonderful, others you just want to cry. Being a new baby in this world is so so hard. And being a new parent and figuring out daily life is hard too. It’s like putting together a puzzle that changes everyday and you don’t know what the picture is. Good news though, everyday you at least get one piece of the puzzle solved. <3 It might be different than the previous day, but whatever works today is what we go for!

Chloé was beyond fussy from week 2-6! She’d cry all day, and so would I. The last little while it’s gotten better! Much better! (Thank the dear heavens!) She’s starting to coo and smile, she recognized her daddy, her puppy, and I. She LOVES eating. She would nurse all day if I let her! (And somedays, that’s exactly what we do!) She loves watching Puppy Dog Pals on Disney Jr, loves trees and the outside world, loves getting out of the house, loves her swing, loves her nursery (she stares at everything!) and loves to stare at the TV which we call “the big black square!” She learned how to fake cry at 2 weeks old which is honestly the funniest thing in the world! She’s a great sleeper and only wakes up to eat! (Right now it’s about 3-6 times a night.) Her absolute favorite thing though is being held. She LOVES to be held! (You can’t put her down for anything!) I love that she loves to be held.. I get to stare and cuddle her all day long! <3 She’s been out a little bit, most recently to the swimming pool with her cousin Cruz who is just 3 weeks apart from her! She also has her very first trip coming up in 2 weeks and she’s very excited for that!

Chlo has her own look! She has her daddy’s eyes (spitting image) and my lips!.. Other than that she definitely looks like her own little person! (She kind of looks like my little brother, I need to get a good picture of them together so you guys can see!)

Having Chloé was incredible guys.. I was so worried I wouldn’t know what to do, or that I wouldn’t bond with her right away, and that I wouldn’t be a good mom.. but the second I held her, all my doubts, worries, and fears completely washed away. There’s nothing like holding your child for the first time and looking into their eyes. I don’t know what heaven is like, but to me, being able to hold and see Chloé was it. <3 Pure bliss.

3 weeks leading up to Chloé’s due date, our doctors advised me to be induced. And ASAP! You see, her head was extremely low.. hanging out in the birthing canal! I hadn’t had a single contraction (or even experienced Braxton Hicks,) and I was barely dialated, so I really didn’t want to be induced! I kept hoping my body would go into labor naturally, and didn’t schedule the induction. 1 week before Chloé’s due date it was the same story. Low head, no contractions or braxton hicks, and barely dilated to a 2. My doctor again advised me to schedule the induction, so I listened to the professional and got in on the calendar!

The night before my induction date, guess what happened? That’s right. CONTRACTIONS HAPPENED! And man they are a BEAST! (Women who give birth unmedicated, I salute you!) I won’t lie, I was a little upset I was having contractions! I felt like I finally had made a plan, and things were NOT going to plan! (It drove me crazy!)

I called the nurses about 100 times that night trying to come in. BUT, you don’t get to stay at the hospital unless you’re dilated to a 5. And I was only at a 2 24 hours ago…. there was no possible way I’d be staying.. I just knew I’d get sent home! So I waited it out.. as long as I possibly could.. I took a shower, I bugged Chase all night, a FaceTimed my sister in law, I googled how to stop contractions, I took PG on a walk, I finished packing, I jumped around to help with pain, I crawled around on the floor…. and then a nurse called from the hospital saying my doctor was there and that I could come in! YAAYY!

We got to the hospital, and I kid you not my contractions stopped. HOW EVEN?! A nurse checked to see how far I was dilated and I had gone 1 more centimeter since my last doctors appointment, which means PROGRESS! <3 They took us to our delivery room and I got my epidural (which was absolutely wonderful) and pitocin to help speed things along! For the first little while I was laying on my back which I never do because it’s soo uncomfortable to me! After a few hours of being on my back with hardly any progress, I asked chase to come help me onto my side! I immediately felt better and within an hour was dilated to a 10 + 5! (The nurse was a little wigged out to how I made so much progress in so little time!)

Our nurse told us it was time to push, and after pushing maybe 3 times, she told me to stop and ran to get the doctor! (The nurse thought she was going to slip right out! Don’t worry, she didn’t!) After about 10 more minutes of pushing, our little angel was here. Alive and well and overall perfect. <3 We honestly hadn’t decided on a name for her yet.. we had a handful of names we liked! (Lennon, Millie, Navy, etc.) Chloé was in the bunch as well! The second I looked at her, I thought she looked like a Chloé. Chases favorite name was Navy, so I didn’t tell him because I honestly didn’t want to sway him! She’s both of ours, and I wanted us both to be involved equally with naming her! An hour after she was born our doctor said we probably needed to pick a name, so I asked Chase what he thought. He said she looks like a Chloé and I was SO RELIEVED because I thought the exact same thing!

We stayed at the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights! (All 3 of us!) We wanted to leave the very next day but Chloé needed one more doctors check up, and her pediatrician is closed on the weekends so we stayed! Chloé was a CHAMP! She passed all of her tests, latched the second she touched my skin, and didn’t lose any weight which was amazing! She slept 24/7 in the hospital and had lots of family and friends around her 24/7! It was the best. I love having our loved ones close!

Coming home was the best thing ever. I hate hospitals.. and I’m such a home body! Those first few days at home with her and Chase were some of the happiest days I’ve ever experienced.

Life with Miss Chloé James has been a dream come true for Chase & I. Every day is a new adventure and we can’t wait to experience everything thats in store for us Happily Ever Allens! <3

Thanks for stopping by guys! <3 Y’all are the best!

P.s. below is some of our favorite baby items/must haves! Just click on a pic to shop an item! <3