ELLE turns ONE

Words cannot even begin to describe how happy we are to have welcomed Elle into our family. This last year has been filled with a T O N of cute moments and very special memories. Elle Westcott came into this world commanding attention and boy does she get it!

Elle is a very happy baby and thinks the world of her big sister, Ava. 

Elle 

L O V E S

 cuddling 

following big sister around

Minnie Mouse

being sung to

playing peek-a-boo

waking mommy up several times a night to nurse 

being held

being outside in the sunshine 

saying mama and dada 

making funny sounds with her tongue 

when mommy sings the chorus to "Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd

red wagon rides around the neighborhood 

bath time

playing with solid food

Elle

D I S L I K E S

swallowing solid food 

bottles

when Cooper barks and wakes her up 

not being home to nap 

Welcoming Elle Westcott McGuire into our family has brought us so much joy. 

We thank God that she chose us to be her family. 

We love you, "Elle-Belle"

No big party for Elle's birthday...

 We have decided to take her and her sister to DISNEY WORLD to meet their favorite "person" in the entire world: 

MINNIE MOUSE!!!!!

Day at Bedner's Farm

We took the girls up to Bedner's Farm about a week ago to play in the pumpkin patch, see the farm animals, and sip some refreshing apple cider. It was a great day spent with the girls, my husband, my mom, and our good friends Ryan and Nicole. 

One of the best parts was watching Elle trying to eat the pumpkin stems (teething) and Ava wondering around and exploring the farm. 

Our friend, Nicole, is a talented photographer and took these photos. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Thank you, Nicole!

This girl loves to eat her feet. 

Picking out her favorite pumpkin 

My little beauty

I seriously kiss her all day long. I love her so much.

This made me laugh. I can just hear Ava now being cranky: "No way, baby Elle!" 

I mean... that face!
Another happy McGuire baby! 

Ava's favorite seat

About to check out the corn maze 

Loves his beard so much

Bounce house time!

Ava's serious face is still beautiful to me 

Elle's "ducky feather" hair is the best

My world

Riding "rainbow horse"

Trying to get away and chew on a pumpkin stem

Thank you, Nicole! I am beyond grateful for these pictures of my family at the farm. My husband loved these pictures as much as he did. I am almost positive I saw a tear when I told him that these will be photos streaming across a slideshow when he dances with his daughters at their weddings. We love our girls so much and appreciate these memories that were captured so much. 

Credit:

Nicole Kirkwood Photography

Ava's Home Preschooling

I thought I would share some fun things that we are doing around here with Ava. Let me start off by saying that I LOVE these free printable Preschool packs! 

We are currently using this one that I found on Pinterest.  There are a ton of these in addition to free printable toddler crafting packets that we are having fun with.

Mark and I decided against Ava starting VPK classes this Fall. (Mostly Mark though... haha)  He likes having her home with me while she is this young (and so do I!)

 I am grateful that we have the ability for me to be home with the girls right now. 

I do feel like there is pressure to enroll your toddler in a VPK program at a young age these days. (Or it is probably just in my head!) I will say that sometimes I feel guilty as if I am doing something wrong as a parent  because she isn't in a school setting being "socialized" with other kids. On the other hand, I talk to other moms that would love to be home with their young children but cannot. 

I think whether you do or don't do something as a parent, you will always question your decisions. I just have to continue to do what feels right for our family and worry about OUR family. 

She will probably start school when she is 5. She will start later since she is a November birthday and has to wait another full year until school begins. As a November birthday myself, I will say that I enjoyed being one of the oldest in my class when I was younger. So until then, we will be learning all things VPK at home. 

Who knows though...  Anything can change I suppose. So I will say "for now" instead.

Learning how to circle the amount of turkeys that she counted. 

Learning how to match the different colored turkeys. She loved this one. 

We follow the completed activities with a sticker for a job well done.

A healthy snack idea: 

I prefer giving her the Plain Greek yogurt mixed with some crushed pineapple for some sweet flavor but this is all I had today. (I added some chopped up banana because she asked for that today.) 

These yogurts have a lot of sugar so I try and do cottage cheese and plain greek yogurts more than these. This cereal is great for mixing in as granola with it too. I use to use the Cascadian Farms brand but that was a lot of sugar on top of the sugar from the yogurt... This one (pictured) has <1g sugar and has great ingredients like: spouted wheat, organic malted barley, organic almonds, organic sprouted millet, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted soybeans, organic spouted spelt, filtered water, and sea salt.

 I love the Food of Life Ezekiel 4:9 brand. We buy their frozen breads as well.

 Publix is now carrying their products now too! 

  Sometimes, I also add chia seeds and her probiotics in too for an extra health booster but I forgot today.

Hope you're all having a great day. 

We'll be over here doing some preschool activities and play-doh fun today :) 

-Christina 

My Pregnancy Tips

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I am not a doctor nor do I wish to be one...

What I am, is a mother who has had the privilege of having 2 amazing pregnancy experiences.  

When I say amazing, I mean that I absolutely loved being pregnant and felt healthy and very comfortable in my body during those 9 months. I know that not all moms experience this and this post isn't supposed to be me rubbing it in by any means... 

I am posting these tips because I have some expectant mom friends that have recently asked me for this list. 

Please consult your doctor or midwife if you have any questions about what I post here. Again, this is only based on both of my pregnancies and how I felt during them. I hope these can help you as well. 

1. Drink lots of water. 

I mean A LOT of water. No soda, no juices, no slurpees... you get the point. Besides water, I allowed myself my morning cup of organic coffee in the morning as well as coconut water. I love Harmless Harvest coconut water. (All the rest taste funny to me with poor quality in the bottling process.) I drank Kombucha when I wanted something different and fizzy. 

You're body only needs and wants water. Don't give it a bunch of unnecessary sugar, chemicals, artificial flavors, colors, etc. Gross. If you're going to drink milk, please choose organic and grass fed cow's milk or organic nut milks. If you're a tea lover, look into organic teas that are okay while pregnant. I love this brand. 

2. Choose organic food when possible. 

Reduce the amount of pesticides and herbicides that come in contact with you and your baby. Your baby is working on developing their brain, lungs, and all the beautiful parts of their body. Give them clean food when you can. I don't care what the movies tell you... now is not the time to shove your face with junk food. Indulge once in a while but don't make every single day filled with blaming your pregnancy on poor diet choices. Your baby wants real food for their little, growing bodies. 

3. Take a food based prenatal. 

I took Garden of Life organic prenatal vitamins. I prefer to get folate rather than the synthetic version of it called: folic acid. Folate is what you find in food. 

4. Take in extra nutrition throughout the day as a healthy habit. 

I made green smoothies and took Juice Plus+  (Juice Plus+ capsules are whole fruits and veggies that are put into powder form. They are NSF certified and tested for any contaminants like pesticides/herbicides/ etc.) daily. // Getting folate here too! 

5. I add extra goodies to my green smoothies like chia seeds, hemp hearts, probiotics (I just open the capsule), and/ or  Juice Plus+ powder (I just open the capsule up), etc. 

6. I applied organic: coconut oil, cocoa butter, or avocado oil to my entire body every night. I switched it up...

Keep that skin glowing with healthy ingredients. Your skin is your body's largest organ. It is soaking up what you apply to it. 

7. Take naps! 

It is good for you and good for the baby. Trust me on this one. Do it. Even if you're not all the tired. Enjoy this time to yourself. You'll thank me later. 

8. Walk walk walk 

I walked for about 1.5mi a day // 45 min or so. I basically just walked around my neighborhood with some music. I got my daily vitamin D and body got the exercise. (Careful on your sunscreens. Most are filled with toxic chemicals. I don't wear it unless I will be out for a very long time and even then I try and choose a safe brand. ) 

9. I took a daily probiotic (and still do). 

I like the brand Jarrow Formulas. You can find them in the refrigerated area of the Whole Foods'  "Whole Body" section. With the changes in our food supply, (antibiotics fed to animals and put into our food / some doctors handing out prescriptions for antibiotics like they're souvenirs) it is important to maintain a healthy gut with beneficial bacteria that is being killed by these harmful changes. Eating fermented foods helps with this as well.  The baby will get their first dose of these beneficial bacteria as they pass through the mother's birth canal. Unfortunately, c-section babies do not get this during their delivery. (I continue taking probiotics while breastfeeding and have given these probiotics to Ava since she was an infant since I did not breastfeed her.)

10. I ate healthy sources of DHA like wild caught salmon.

Many expectant moms take a fish oil for their DHA source as well. You can find options at Whole Foods in the Whole Body section of the store.

11. Stay away from all the fast and processed food.

 The high levels of sodium is not healthy and the swelling that comes with it is not a good look for anyone.

12. Stretch regularly.

Stay moving and stay limber. It will help stay comfortable as your beautiful belly grows as well as helping you during your delivery. Try prenatal yoga for a session of healthy breathing and gentle movement.

13. Look into essential oils.
I didn't really know much about them when I was pregnant with Ava but I did with Elle. They helped (and still do) with keeping me feel relaxed and pampered. I buy Young Living essential oils and use their diffuser as well. I enjoy having Lavender on throughout the day. Research which ones are best during pregnancy and which ones to stay away from. Essential oils are like the holy grail of medicine for people that are interested in natural remedies and preventive health. Go plants!

14. Look into chiropractic and prenatal massages.
 I wish I had done this with my girls. I did get prenatal massages but didn't know about chiropractic work during pregnancy at the time. I have taken Elle to Dr. Beth Cooper in Fort Lauderdale to get adjusted when she was just a few months old. I also got adjusted during the appointment. Dr. Beth also works with pregnant mamas.

15. No flu shots
This is between you and your doctor since it is a personal choice. I said no.

16. Glucose test
You can read more about my experience on that with this post. Basically, I said no to the Oral Glucose Tolerance Beverage aka: GMO-filled orange syrup that they offer you. I ate organic jellybeans instead. You can refuse the entire test all together and monitor your sugars manually or ask the doctor if they have a healthier option.

17. Do not "eat for two"

That whole "eating for two" thing is not my favorite saying. I did not do it and don't recommend it to any expectant mama. The truth is, you don't need double the amount of calories when you are pregnant. Eat well and go over your pregnancy weight gain with your doctor or midwife. Depending on your height, I believe it is something like 25-35lbs total. 

I am sure I am missing some other things but for now that is all I can remember.

I hope some of these things are useful to you during this very special time of your life. You are making a human! Embrace your beautiful body and fill your mind with positive thoughts on a daily basis.  Feel free to message me about any of this. Again, I am not a doctor. I am just a mama looking to help other mamas feel their best by sharing what worked for me and my healthy mama friends. 

Please go over your health goals with your doctor or midwife.

Happy pregnancies, mamas! 

-Christina

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“You are pregnant and you are powerful. You are bold and you are beautiful. Go forward in your boldness, in your beauty and in your contentedness. Trust your body to birth and know that the collective power of women worldwide will be with you.”

– Author Unknown