A first

We discovered a few weeks ago that, when Daddy is holding Allison and tells her to "give hugs," she rests her head affectionately against his chest.  Then he hands her to me and we say, "give hugs," and she reaches for Daddy so she can rest her head against his chest in a "hug."  Haha.

As I may have mentioned before, Nicole and Allison love each other very much.  Allison thinks Nicole is the funniest person on the planet.  In the past, when we've walked in on Nicole sleeping in her bed, Allison has laughed out of uncontainable excitement.  Even when Nicole cries, Allison will sometimes innocently laugh at the sister she adores so.  Tonight, when she was getting off the couch, Allison accidentally hit Nicole square in the eye with her foot.  Sitting on the floor, Nicole started crying loudly.  Intrigued, as she typically is, Allison inspected Nicole with interest, examining her face closely.  I could see her curious smile hinting at the corners of her lips, and I expected her to laugh once again.  Instead, she stretched out her arms broadly and wrapped them around Nicole, squeezing her fingers in an unmistakable hug.  "Awwwwww," I cooed.  Touched by the gesture and the marvel of being hugged for the first time by Allison, Nicole stopped her crying.  And then Allison hugged Nicole again.  And then again.  The two started laughing and hugging over and over again, eventually falling over on the ground in giggles.

That Allison was able to recognize that Nicole was sad was a first, as far as I'm aware.  That she understood Nicole needed comfort was another thing.  And that she even knew how to properly hug?  I didn't know that!