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

B A B Y S F I R S T X-M A S w/ P B K

HAPPY (nearly) HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! <3 I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday filled with good food, family time, and of course, FOOTBALL!

Todays blog post goes out to all of you first time parents/mommas and papas with little ones! I’m breaking down THEE perfect gift giving guide for your baby’s first Christmas with Pottery Barn Kids! Before I get into it, know that everything from Pottery Barn Kids is 25% off and ships free today-Monday with code UNWRAP at checkout! (also note these presents work for Children older than Miss Chloé!)

Growing up at my house, Santa always left our presents unwrapped and I loved that! I could sneak downstairs in the middle of the night, get a good glimpse of the magic that was here, then sleep soundly the rest of the night! It also helped my brothers and I understand what was from Santa and what was from our parents. We will definitely be doing this with Chloé!

Santa’s guide to giving was always one BIG toy, some stocking stuffers, a new outfit or dress, and some treats! My parents always made sure we had a stocking ready to go, and new PJs to wear on Christmas Eve! (It was the one present we could open before Christmas!)

We were able to find everything on our wish list for Chloés first Christmas from Pottery Barn Kids! They had lots of big present options, cute stockings, stocking stuffers, even the PJs folks! We’re going to break down what each gift is and why we picked it out for our little one!

For Chloés BIG gift we decided to get her a rocker! This is something she’ll be using in the coming months and enjoy it the rest of her childhood! Pottery Barn Kids has 18 different animal rocker options and they’re all SO CUTE! I think it’s obvious at this point I have an obsession with fawn as of late, so I went with the fawn! Same with her stocking, had to have that cute little deer face on it! Chase and I opted for a Santa + a Snowman stocking for ourselves! We also adore the fur stockings. Pottery Barn can’t be beat when it comes to stockings! The stockings are generously sized too, so we can fit some good stocking stuffers inside! We opted for a cozy polar bear blanket, a precious modern teddy, some bath squirtles, Disney blocks, and a white noise machine stuffed lamb! These are all things she can enjoy now, and some even more later on down the road! (For instance, learning how to build up the blocks, or squirting water out of her bath toys!) Obviously we had Chloé “test out” all of these items, and I can truly say she loves them!

I feel like we really hit the jackpot when it came to our Christmas pajamas this year! Pottery Barn Kids carries multiple designs and every size of the cutest, softest, classiest Christmas pajamas! <3 It doesn’t get cuter than this!

If you want to shop Pottery Barn Kids selection for boys, or an older age, click HERE for toys, HERE for stockings, HERE for stocking stuffers, and HERE for PJs! REMEMBER, use code UNWRAP for 25% off your entire order at Pottery Barn Kids + free shipping from now until Monday!

Below you can shop the things we’re shopping for this Christmas for Chloé, our families, and ourselves! <3 Simply click on a picture to shop an item! Thanks for stopping by loves! And again, Happy (almost) Holidays everyone!

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