Introducing Kiara Nichole Allen

My newest niece, Kiara, was born on April 22nd and I was finally able to do a photo shoot with her. As most of you know, she came a month early and was born at home in Amber's bathroom in the middle of the night. Kiara had to spend a few weeks in the NICU due to some lung problems but was finally able to come home a few weeks ago (while still on oxygen) and now she is doing great and off of all her tubes and monitors. We feel so blessed that all is well with her and welcome her home!

Just Too Cute

There is just something precious about a baby laughing, however throw in the fact that it is her big sister that is making her laugh and it just melts your heart. I can't tell you how many times I have come in and found Chloe making Abby laugh. Abby just thinks Chloe is the funniest thing around. Sure, Aaron and I can get her to laugh, but Chloe can keep her laughing. I got this video today while I was putting the groceries away and thought it was just too cute. I sure love these little girls!

Mmmmm.... Feet

Isn't ii fun when they reach new milestones. Abby found her feet a few weeks ago and loves to play with them.

Abby Laughing

Abby has been laughing for quite a while now but whenever I get the camera out to video her, she stops laughing. However, tonight I got a few good chuckles on video. She wasn't super giggly but you get the picture. I also recorded a little bit of Chloe in because I haven't got a video of her for a while (so that part probably isn't too interesting for you so you can just stop watching after Abby laughs =).

Who Needs A Teddy?

Who needs a teddy bear when you have a little sister to snuggle with? I had both of the kids asleep in bed with me this morning while Aaron was getting ready for work and he woke me up to show me this. It was totally worth waking up for!

Four Months Old

We had Abby's four month Well-Child checkup with the doctor yesterday and to quote him on how she is doing, "She is a perfectly healthy baby, good job!" That is always good to hear. She is up to 12.5 lbs. which puts her in the 21st percentile and her length is in the 88th percentile. She is 25.5 inches long- holy cow- that means she has grown six inches in the past four months! She is getting so big and is such a fun baby (most of the time).

Happy Easter

For Easter this year we went to my parents' house on Saturday and then to Aaron's parents' house on Sunday. It was a fun filled Easter and we now have way too much candy in our house!

All of the cousins

Here Chloe out hunting for eggs at my mom's house on Saturday. She was taking her time finding the eggs and when the hunt was over she said, "My basket isn't very full!" Some of the bigger kids heard this and gave her some of their candy. What sweethearts!

Me and my beautiful girls!

Here is Chloe having a ton of fun finding all the eggs, candy and toys the Easter bunnny left. She came into our room Sunday at 6:30 a.m. to tell us that the Easter bunny had come. We had to convince her to go back to bed for a least another hour, which she did. Then we headed down stairs and started the hunt.

Here is Abby checking out her Easter basket. Chloe helped fill up Abby's basket with eggs and new toys.

Here are Chloe and Abby with their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny brought Chloe the Tangled Barbie and also the Tangled soundtrack. He also left a new toy for Abby.

Here is a picture of the girls in their Easter dresses before church on Sunday.

I'll end this post with a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley: "Of all the victories in human history, none is so great, none so universal in its effect, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord who came forth in the Resurrection that first Easter morning." Happy Easter to all!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

For Family Home Evening this week we dyed Easter eggs and had a lot of fun. Chloe liked coloring on the eggs and then plopping them into the dye. The whole activity didn't last long, but it was still fun. If you are wondering why Abby isn't in any of the pictures, it's because she slept through the whole thing. :)

Snuggly Sisters

As I was trying to quickly clean the house while Abby was sleeping this morning, Chloe comes up to me and tells me that Abby was awake. I told her that since she wasn't crying to just leave her alone and for her to continue playing. I figured that as long as she was content in her crib, I would try to get as much done as possible. Well, when I got to Abby's room this is what I found.

Chloe told me, "See, I told you she was awake. Abby likes it when I snuggle with her." What a sweetie. So what did I do? I did what any reasonable parent would do... I left Chloe in the crib with Abby until Abby started fussing. =) And yes, Chloe is in her witch Halloween costume.

Out Cold

I always find it amazing how fast kids can fall asleep and not only that, but the positions/places that they do it in. I was playing with Chloe the other day and left for about five minutes to put some laundry away, and when I came back she was out cold. My favorite thing was that she still had the toy she had been playing with in her hand.

Then, at the same time I had taken Abby out of the Baby Bjorne and she didn't wake up at all while I was doing it. So for a few peaceful moments, I had two sleeping kids.