October 13, 2016

4 MONTHS OLD

October 13, 2016/ Laura Liira

LUCA AT FOUR MONTHS

Oh my goodness, my sweet baby boy is now FOUR MONTHS!! He officially is not a little baby anymore (insert crying face emoji!!!!). We have a ton of fun together. He may not be teeny anymore but he is interacting so much and brings James & I so much joy...oh how I love my little lion.

He has seriously changed SO MUCH since he was born. A lot of his dark hair has fallen out but it's been replaced with fuzzy blonde hair! He doesn't look as Italian anymore, which makes me sooo sad but he's still cute as heck...and looking a lot more like his daddy these days.

WEIGHT: 15lbs 9oz
Again, he's right on the 50th percentile for weight and height (still around the 85th-97th for head size LOLZ). My doctor at our four month check up called him perfect...I know she probably says that to every mama but oh, it made my heart beam..ha.

HEIGHT: 25.1 inches
I have a feeling he's going to be tall like his daddy. His feet and hands are HUGE!

WEARS: Still fitting 3-6 month clothing but some of it is getting TIGHT! I'm sure I'll be putting him in 6-9 month clothing very soon. We're heading down to San Diego later this month, so I'm hoping to get some cute numbers from ZARA!! I'm also on the hunt for more sweaters & jackets as it's been getting pretty cold around here. How cute is this one and this one?

SLEEPS: He's still sleeping great.....my fingers are crossed as I keep hearing about this dreaded 4 month regression! He did have a cold for two weeks and that usually caused a wake up around 2 or 3 but then back to sleep until 8. But since he's been cold free, he's been sleeping between 10-12 hours straight. We've moved his bedtime to 7-7:30pm and I think that is helping him sleep better. He also uses his hand to self soothe so I'm sure that's what helps him get back to sleep instead of nursing. I'm convinced our next child will be one who is up every two hours ha...

HIGHS: A huge highlight of my day is going into his room in the morning and seeing how happy he is to see me. He gives the biggest smiles and is giggling more and more. I also love to put on music and sing silly songs with him. That always guarantees a ton of smiles!

LOWS: Having his first big cold definitely SUCKED! He absolutely hates the nose frida and don't you even dare put a kleenex anywhere near his nose. So that being said, getting those boogers out of his nose were the WORST.

PARENTING: Ah, I love being this little guy's mama! Luca is at an age where he can just chill on our laps at restaurants/shops and it's the best. It doesn't take much to entertain him and he isn't moving like crazy so I can still put him down and get stuff done! I feel like he's reached such an easy going age and I cannot wait for unlimited family time in San Diego!

POSTPARTUM: As I shared last month, I started to make a bit more effort in the whole going back to pre-baby size. Some days have been real good and others have been GIVE ME ALL THE FOOD. ha. I did start doing a workout video program (which I do on days where I'm home in the morning..so mostly 4 days per week) and I just got a membership at a gym..yay! Hopefully this will kick my butt into gear before we go away but honestly, I'm totally okay with my postpartum body. As I continue to make effort, I know the pounds will slowly shed BUT I'm also really trying not to beat myself up when I miss a workout or eat poorly.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: One word...DISNEYLAND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're doing one day in Disney and it's going to be INSANE but I am SOOO EXCITED. (I've had TWO separate dreams where I wasn't able to go on any rides so my hopes aren't too high ha.) Also, lots and lots of family time in San Diego.

Okay and look at those LASHES. Seriously, cutest little boy in the whole wide world, ha. Love you so much my little lion.

XO!
laura

August 24, 2016

4 YEARS MARRIED

August 24, 2016/ Laura Liira

Oh, look how far we've come. Four years of marriage and here I sit at 5:30am pumping and typing while you feed our baby. Real life babe. It's not as glamorous as our year two celebration at that gorgeous cabin on the ocean or our couple's massage, amazing dinner and hotel stay last year. It will be our first anniversary where we actually stay in our own home and as soon as we do get home from dinner, I may have to feed a crying baby. But you know what, this is my favourite one yet.

Because this year is different from the rest. We've seen vulnerability in each other on a whole new level. You saw me at my worst but yet my best moment as I brought our boy earth side and you loved me even more. Do you know how much it meant to me when you said that was the greatest moment of your life? Hollywood and society has made birth to be something that's messy and gross. It is messy, but it ain't gross. People say "you'll never see your wife the same way" and they mean that to be a bad thing. That saying is true for us but instead of it being a bad thing, it's a good thing.

I see myself different in your eyes now. You told me I was your hero and that you were so proud of me. You told me I was stronger than ever. And even more beautiful than before. And I believed you love. I still believe you. You took care of me when I was a mess, emotionally and physically, a big ol mess...with all the difficult things postpartum life brings. You did drugstore runs, getting what no man ever wants to be seen with at the checkout. And you did it without complaining because you love me.

Ha, boy did Hollywood get it wrong. Even though I weigh much more now than I did on our wedding day, I can see more love in your eyes. It's deeper, it's stronger, it's more.

We're proving the world wrong love. Marriage after a baby is a beautiful thing.

And the way you love our son. Oh, my heart melts seeing him light up when you're around and then looking at you, looking at him. Stick a fork in me, I am done. It's just too much.

And it's been hard, excruciating hard. I've yelled too many times. I've cried, you've cried, there have been oceans of tears. But he's shaping us, I see it, you see it. God's shaping us to be more like him. As we figure out this parent thing along with this marriage thing we're experiencing more and more of his grace. We're learning how crucial it is to depend on him.

As we grow we're both becoming more aware that we have no idea what we're doing but I think that's exactly where he wants us. That way our pride is stripped away and we realize just how much we need him and each other.

So happy to be on this beautiful, messy, scary yet exciting journey with you.
Love you more than ever.

Happy Anniversary,

XO,
laura

All photos by AMERIS

August 22, 2016

LIIRA FAMILY PHOTO SESSION

August 22, 2016/ Laura Liira

While Joy, Ryan & Sebastian (Jame's sis & famjam) were in town, James' parents arranged a family photo session and the pictures turned out so well! Sebastian and Luca are only six months apart and I defs see a cousin resemblance! Can't wait to see them running around chasing after each other next summer.

Ok, how beautiful is the Liira family!!!

All photos were taken by Spark Photography and I would definitely recommend them. Chris was super friendly and great at directing us as well!

Happy Monday :)

XO,
laura

August 18, 2016

PARKSVILLE FAMILY VAYCAY

August 18, 2016/ Laura Liira

Last week we headed up island to Parksville for a little family vacation. Parksville is located about two hours north of Victoria and has some beautiful beaches! Both James and I grew up spending summer vacations there, so we were eager to go back and create some new memories.

We went up with James' family and they camped at Rathtrevor while myself and James' mum stayed Madrona (which is a resort that's super close.) It was great to have the resort for the babe's to nap in and HELLO, I'm not going to tent with my two month old. But we did spend a lot of time at the campsite which was so fun!

Luca was such a champ! Obviously a vacation is not a vacation when you are a mom to a two month old but I was surprised with how well he did...aside from sleeping..aaah. He was defs affected by his shots and woke up quite a few times during the night BUT he napped like a champ in his carseat and ergo. We would spend most evenings at the campsite eating dinner, beach walking and hanging out around the fire. It was sooo amazing to have an actual fire...gimme all them smores!!

Luca even had his first "dip" in the ocean!

We also hit up Englishman River (where I stayed in the car as Luca napped and nursed, ha) and Coombs (ice cream is a must there)! James and I snuck away one morning and had breakfast at Bread & Honey...which we totally recommend for a cheap, delicious breakfast! We also walked by the tiny motel my family used to stay at...so many memories!

I was up one morning to see the sunrise (not by choice, ha!) and it was stunning.

My favourite moment had to be the post dinner beach walk on our last night. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous and Luca slept the whole time in James' arms. It was so precious!!!

It was a fun trip...super exhausting but so good to make memories with family! One day I will be able to enjoy the beach again with an uninterrupted tanning session, riiiigggghhhtt???

Hope you're having an amazing week!

XO,
laura

August 16, 2016

LUCA THE LION // TWO MONTHS OLD

August 16, 2016/ Laura Liira

LUCA AT TWO MONTHS

Sweet Luca is now two months old and on Saturday, he will be 10 weeks. My baby is growing so fast and it's breaking my heart. I love how he's getting way more interactive but can time just slow down pleeeeeaassee. Here is his two month update :)

WEIGHT: 12lbs 9oz
Goodbye newborn frame! The rolls have arrived! We thought that he was a chunky baby but after his appointment we found out he was only in the 55th percentile for weight...so relatively a normal baby.

HEIGHT: 22.8 inches
Grew another inch this month and is in the 50th percentile for height. His head is in the 97th percentile...thank goodness it wasn't that way at birth LOLZ.

WEARS: He's starting to grow out of some 0-3 month onesies and I'm freaking out!!! My little baby is getting so big, way too fast....like seriously. It's insane how much he has changed!!! I don't have a ton of 3-6 onesies, so I'm looking forward to buying him some cute new fall stuff. Joe Fresh has the cutest things...I got my eyes on this, this and this!

SLEEPS: He still sleeps pretty well. We've had a handful of 9, 10 & 11 hour straight nights...which have been unreal!! Going away combined with recovering from shots did a number on his sleeping so now I'm trying to get him more into a routine again. Last night he went down at 8:30pm and was up at 12:15am and 6am...hoping for those longer stretches again, ha.

HIGHS: All the cooing! Oh my goodness, I die every time he starts to talk. He has the sweetest little voice. He even has started to laugh with a single "HA" a couple times and that has melted my heart.

LOWS: The post shots aftermath. Firstly, I am VERY happy he got his shots. I am a strong believer in vaccinating your babes BUT the shots really affected my little lion. He had a fever, was crummy and even stopped taking the bottle :( All he wanted to do was nurse or be on me a lot of the time. Combine that with also going away = one cranky baby who refuses to nap and wakes up more in the night. But I know this is a short season so I will soak up those cuddles for as long as I can get them :)

PARENTING: Month two has definitely been easier than month one. It feels like our life has adjusted to having a baby. And don't get me wrong, being a mama is still the hardest job EVER. Yes, there are still crazy days when I burst into tears (the past three days for example lols) but we're getting better at this whole "raising a human being" thing. And it really is the most special thing. Last night as we were putting Luca to bed, he kept smiling and cooing at us. I told Luca he had a superpower, a very special superpower that emits laser beams of love into mommy and daddy every time he looks at us. It sounds super cheese but it's so true. When he looks at me and smiles, I feel a beam of love and my heart grows bigger.

POSTPARTUM: Still getting used to this postpartum body, ha! I kinda just want summer to be over so I can wear my fall clothes. I went for my first run the other day and it felt great! Still haven't managed to figure out an exercise routine as there are a billion things to do when Luca naps buuut as he gets more consistent, I'm hoping to start running a few times a week.