Mark as a Father...

Mark as a father has been so amazing to watch over the last 14 months+.

I say + because he became a father the moment I told him that we were expecting a baby. He wanted to be at the appointments, know how big she was measuring, wanted to have his hand on my stomach to feel her kick at all times...
Not once did he say "I hope we have a son" like some men often do. He was just happy that he was even going to be a dad and more concerned with being a good one. 

He has embraced the fatherhood role unlike anything I have ever experienced or known personally. 

I uploaded a photo last night of Mark giving Ava her bottle before bed. He had just walked in at 8:30PM after a long day, put his things down on the table, walked straight into her room, gave me a kiss, and took over...

It made me start thinking about how involved he has been since day 1. Involved in the way that he just does things with Ava on his own- without me asking him to. I think that has been the most gratifying, rewarding, (and super sexy -might I add! )- thing to watch as his wife. 

There is nothing like watching a father be present in his child's life. 

Now don't get me wrong, a single mother can take care and love a child just right on her own. My mother did it for me for a long time and still does :) 

What I am pointing out in our situation is that I am so grateful to have chosen a man to share my life with that has a "family man" and "God-loving" way about him. 

I couldn't imagine being a parent with someone unlike Mark. The support he gives me and love he gives Ava is appreciated so much.

 He works so hard for his family and, Mark,  if you're reading this... it does not go unnoticed for one second! 

Ava's eyes light up whenever she sees her father and it makes me melt into a puddle of goo every time she does. She gets even more playful, goofier, and happier when he is there. 

Cried when she was born 

Wouldn't stop holding her 

^ (Confession: I was a hormonal mess right after I had Ava and was nervous about putting her into her "going home outfit" because she was so tiny and fragile. Mark actually was the one who dressed her in her new outfit and got her ready to go home. Just thought Ava would like to know that one day.) 

Feeds her, changes her, snuggles her equally as much as I do when he is home

Wants to be the one holding her in pictures 

Loves taking her outside 

Rocks her 

Rubs noses with her 

Buys her separate bouquets of flowers 

Even plays with her while furniture shopping to keep her entertained 

Was so proud to have her baptized Lutheran like him and on Father's Day. 

Gives the best morning cuddles on the weekend 

Takes crazy amounts of pictures of her like I do.

Goes shopping by himself the morning of a FSU game so that Ava is wearing an appropriate outfit to watch the game with him. 

Gets her out of her crib at night to play with her 

Makes her day even if he is busy 

Only lounges out with daddy 

She is in awe of him and he of her 

Puts her toys together bright and early so she can play with them 

Always has time for the "superwoman game" 

The kisses don't stop 

He wants to be the one that pushes the stroller... All. the. time. (Not fair!) 

The giggles don't stop. 

He reads to her 

And cuddles her when she was under the weather. 

So thank you, my love. I'm over here looking at these pictures today and thanking God for men like you and for parents who are raising their boys to be good fathers and husbands one day. 

I love you, Mark McGuire. 

XO,

Christina 

Healthy Habits: Daily Cleanse

I thought I'd share a little habit that I have picked up because of my favorite blogger ever: The Food Babe!

Drinking warm lemon water mixed with some cayenne pepper first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (or whenever you can. I think that anytime is better than none at all.) 

To be honest, I was bit nervous about drinking pepper. I have done the whole lemon in my ice water before... who has't? Or lemon in hot water with honey when I am sick. 

But I decided to go for it and see what the big deal was. 

I loved it!!!

I am not big on spicy foods or anything like that but the cayenne pepper just gives the lemon water a nice touch. You only taste the lemon but the "zing" from the cayenne feels great on your throat. So don't worry about a weird taste...if anything it is pretty soothing believe it or not. 

So now when I am craving something hot in the afternoon, I warm up some water in my tea kettle and do this rather than making coffee. 

-Drink this mixture with a straw so your teeth aren't exposed to the acid 

(I doubt the guys are going to want to use a straw in public so try swishing around some plain water/ or brushing your teeth after this. But if you're home, who cares. No one can see you and, I promise, I won't tell on you.)

-Use the juice from 1/2 a lemon and a couple shakes of the cayenne pepper. Less then 1/4 tsp I'd say. 

This daily habit has amazing health benefits:

 "Getting sick less, feeling lighter, having regular eliminations, clearer skin, more energy and having a boost in your metabolism leading to weight loss over time…"

"Doing this ritual every morning provides a super stimulant to the liver, your main detoxing organ in the body. Your liver will release uric acid and create bile to safely eliminate environmental and lifestyle toxins that would otherwise be trapped in your digestive system longer. Remember keeping your liver and digestive system clean and in optimal condition will help your body prevent diseases like cancer in the future. 

Combining cayenne with lemon increases the detoxing effect and raises the temperature of your body increasing your metabolism.

Drinking this combination will cleanse your body every single day safely and naturally."

(You will want to use organic lemons due to the fact that the point is to cleanse your body rather than putting pesticides into your body. Organic lemons= no pesticides.

If you don't have organic lemons, then just squeeze the lemon juice into the mug and just leave the dirty lemon peel out of your mug.

***Important***

"Remember not to squeeze your lemon directly into boiling 

water, You will destroy

 the live enzymes in the lemon. This is why I use half of water

 at room temperature and half hot water".)

Ava making funny faces during her snack time {bananas}

Thanks, Food Babe! For those of you who do not know who she is... Look her up and follow along! 

Info taken from: FoodBabe


Hope you'll try this healthy habit and enjoy it as much as I do.

XO
Christina

A Baby Boy!

Message at 1AM from my neighbor and friend, Jessica  

Congrats to the new mommy and daddy!!!!!!

Christian Alexander was born today at 8:39 am (7.3 lbs 19 3/4 in).

For those of you who recall my recent blog post about my two friends having their baby showers on the same day, this is Jessica, the first one that I attended that day. 

Jessica is my friend that I met when I moved to Pompano with my mom. After my mom and step father divorced entering my freshman year of high school, my mom and I moved from our house in Ft. Lauderdale to a condo in Pompano Beach. Jessica's mother's friend saw me moving in with my mother (Mark was there helping too.) 

Sarah (Jessica's mother's friend) quickly started freaking me out with a million questions to find out if I would be a good influence on Jessica or if I was some sort of a trouble-maker teen. I suppose since I was Jessica's new neighbor, she had her concerns. Well I like to think I turned out to be a decent influence... ;) haha 

 See?! 

13 years later, I turned that Jessica into green loving mama! Woohoo! Haha.

 (I stalked your Facebook pictures for some material, Jess.)

Daily green smoothies and a new organic lover. 

Jess even came with me to two events that taught us about natural parenting and how to eat/live healthier. 

The second event we attended was to listen to the author and well known pediatrician, Dr. Sears, speak.

(Sidenote to explain the photo below:  During the talk he explained that he doesn't take artificial vitamins and such but that he takes one supplement along with his organic diet to stay healthy- an all natural/organic veggie/fruit supplant called Juice Plus.) Jessica went ahead and purchased her 4 month supply. :)

You should see our texts... Full of excitement over all things healthy hahaha We are such nerds (and proud of it!) 

...Or when I make trips to Whole Foods and pick up her probiotics for her with a big smile on my face :) 

Jessica, aside from the healthy stuff, I want you to know that I am so incredibly proud of you already.

You told me from the beginning that you enjoyed watching my pregnancy with Ava and how happy I was throughout the entire pregnancy. I was so happy to see that you followed suit and embraced your pregnancy from the moment you found out that you and Mike were expecting.  You haven't complained once but focused on the positive things instead like I told you. You ate well and exercised to stay feeling great, read books that would support your decisions in raising a healthy baby, took safety classes, etc. 

You and I have spoken a lot about how important it is to focus on the positive and not the negative. Much too often we hear parents complaining about the bad pregnancy symptoms rather than speak about the fact that it is amazing that their body is growing a baby! Pregnancy goes by too quickly so it is important to cherish it rather than to groan your way thorough it...and you did just that! 

It was wonderful watching you embrace it and take care of your growing baby the right way.  

I love watching you interact with Ava and know that you will be such an amazing mother yourself.  I cannot wait to meet that beautiful baby boy. 

Congrats to you and Mike.  

Christian is very lucky to have you both as parents and you are as well to have him choose you to be his forever. 

(Remember, I am right around the corner and will be there at a moment's notice if you need me to cook, clean, or hold that precious baby while you nap or take a shower. These first few weeks can be a rough adjustment. Just know that we are here for you if you need ANYTHING. You will be great, mama!) 

XO

Christina

Goodnight Moon

Ava, 

You are now 14 months old and the days are really passing by quickly. 

I decided to take some pictures tonight so that you can look back one day and see how much your daddy and mommy love ending each day with you. 

Bed time is the best time of our day because that means daddy is home with us and it is time for us to play all together! 

Tonight was no different than our usual routine...

dinner time, bath time, play/reading a story time, brush your teeth, wind-up your musical "lammie" and off to sleep you go. 

You are really starting to show your personality now. I've noticed that you are the happiest when we are both with you. Yes, you are usually a happy baby but you are REALLY goofy and all smiles when your daddy AND mommy are with you. 

You really enjoy playing with your piano/xylophone. That Santa knows you well. Every time you play a song, you tell daddy to "clap, clap, clap" for you...  

These are the moments that your daddy and I talk about when you are asleep or when we are missing you. Watching you grow and change each day has been so much fun. Yes, you have your moments and have your fake crying acts, but for the most part, we see the world's happiest girl growing before our eyes. 

I wish I would have grabbed the camera during your dinner time tonight about 30 min before these pictures. You would play peek a boo with daddy and then look at me and let out this loud, forced old man sounding laugh. You are a goof nugget as daddy calls you. 

 You make me and daddy so proud to be your parents. 

Thank you for choosing us to be yours.

You will hear this a lot from us, but know that it is true...

We love you more and more with each passing day. 

We love you, Ava beans. 

Goodnight, sweet girl. 

Mark's Birthday Gift Comes Early !!!!

Since we will be in Pasadena, CA for the National Championship on Mark's 29th Birthday... he got to open his birthday present early! 

Mark and FSU Quarterback, Jameis Winston, share the same birthday, January 6th, which is also the date of the 2014 National Championship Game. Crazy, right?! I think so. 

I thought this was a perfect gift being that it was symbolic of the fact that they both share a birthday, it will be on the day of the National Championship, and that both young men have achieved so much and so early on. I am so proud of Mark and all that he has accomplished. 

Jameis leads his team well and proved that to many when he recently won the Heisman Trophy. Mark also leads his teams well and has proved that when he was recently promoted to the new VP/GM for the Miami/WPB branches. 

Mark is now the youngest VP in the company and Jameis is the youngest Heisman winner ever. I always like to find those little fun facts :) 

 Happy birthday, my love. You deserve it and more. I have the most selfless and giving husband in the world. It makes me happy to see him so excited to be planing our Pasadena trip and opening up this gift from me and Ava. 

We love you, Mark (and Daddy)

XO

Christina & Ava 

BIG THANK YOU TO BRANDON OWENS FROM PRIME ONE SPORTS! WE ALWAYS LOVE WORKING WITH YOU. 

Be sure to "like" them on Facebook to find awesome gifts and collector's items.