I can not believe a year has come and gone! I know it sounds so cliche but time has FLOWN this year.
We are SO blessed with the most wonderful little angel and I really try not to take it for granted, even on the tougher days! Anyone that meets Raeleigh almost immediately comments on her big blue eyes and her huge personality! She lights up a room with her giggle and she makes people laugh with her peek a boo games and her silly little butt scoot! She has been talking up a storm lately – mama, dada, baby and more recently, ‘up’ and ‘owww’! Always in motion, she’s a mover and a shaker, but no real desire to crawl on all 4s, or walk. Doesn’t even really like to stand!
Rae lovessssss oatmeal and fruit. She had a steady diet of that for almost a month as of late before popping her first two teeth! Luckily she’s started eating other things again, including Nana’s grain salad (what 1 year old eats a grain salad full of onion. peppers and like 10 diff kinds of grain and beans!?!)
Anyway – for her birthday, we had a combined 1 year celebration for her with a house warming party! SO much fun! (too much for me… ). We couldn’t have felt more blessed this weekend. We had SO many friends and family come and celebrate Raeleigh, and our first home !
We are so lucky to have my amazingly talented Aunt live so close by, and document pretty much every month of Raeleigh’s life with beautiful photos. This month was no different. We had an awesome 1 year shoot with a ‘fruit smash’ that included coconut whip and of course some pearls. Rae loves those!! These were taken just in time to be part of our [minimal] decor on the weekend!
This was really the first time Greg and I had ever been able to truly ‘host’ anything, because this is the first time we’ve ever owned a home. It was pretty crazy to have 12+ kiddos running around in our home, playing with Rae’s toys, having a BALL ! Complete and utter CHAOS but so much fun!!!
Usually I’m a lot better at capturing photos, but the day was so busy and such a blur and I didn’t actually take ANY photos. I have my sis to thank for most of these. There were SO many people that came and I was too busy enjoying their company to take photos. A blessing for real life, not so great for the purpose of this post! haha
Anyway, I could go on for pages about the weekend we had, but I won’t. Mainly because for some reason my pictures are still taking FORever to load so it’s frustrating and more time consuming than it should be!
Oh and now for the coconut oil pulling tips! So I’ve been asked about this a LOT and I think it is one of my most popular posts. OK so for those of you new to oil pulling… here’s the quick scoop!
Why oil pull?
>> Can kill bacteria
>> Reduces Bad Breath
>> Can help prevent cavities
>> Reduces inflammation/improves gum health
>>Pulls out toxins/helps detoxify
>> Whitens teeth!
How to do it:
>> Always oil pull in the morning when you first get up, before you eat or drink anything (water is okay)
>> Take 1tsp of coconut oil (or any oil) and swish it around in your mouth. Aim for 20 mins. This seems like a LONG time, so work your way up!
So my tips above and beyond this:
My time is super limited in the morning before Raeleigh wakes up, so unless I pretty much have the coconut oil sitting beside my bed when I wake up, I won’t do it. I’ve not done it as often as i’d like lately, and I’m noticing it mainly in the colour of my teeth. So… I would recommend finding a way to have it prepared so it’s right there when you wake up!
I took one of Rae’s old pureed baby food trays and I melted some coconut oil. I added Clove bud oil to it, because it tastes good and has some benefits (including freshening breath!). I then poured it into the food trays and put it in the freezer! Coconut oil hardens and then I can just pop out a cube at a time (or half a cube even) and it’s ready to go whenever I wake up! EASY! and a great use of the baby food trays when she doesn’t need them any more! Winning!
Now, I’m off to figure out a better way to upload photos, and enjoy a nice glass of wine from one of the bottles we were spoiled with this weekend!
xxx Andrea