PREGNANCY POST // 5 MONTH BUMP UPDATE

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How far along are you?

I'm in my 19th week...in a few days I'll be HALFWAY!! Baby's arrival seems ages away, and I'm totally okay with that, ha.

How big is baby?

Right now baby is the size of a mango (15cm) and in a few days it goes up to the size of a banana (about 25cm)....looks like baby is going to have a big growth spurt!

Feeling:

Pretty great! The tiredness of my first trimester is gone but I find that a good night's rest goes a long way for me. On Friday, I was up watching James play at Sugar until 12:30!! Let's just say, Saturday was a rough day. Sleeping is starting to get uncomfortable. Either I'm waking up 4x a night to go pee or I keep adjusting because my growing tummy is getting uncomfortable....I can't imagine what I'll be in month 9!! 

Food love:

Well my appetite has definitely come back! I'm hungry all the time. I'm loving chips and anything sweet but honestly, I'll eat most things....trying to keep it healthy though!

Food hate:

My aversions have subsided! There's not really anything that turns me off right now...ptL!

Exercise:

I'm still managing to get out for walks, the gym and a run here and there. My pace is much slower but I feel sooo good after exercising so I'm determined to keep doing it.

Clothing:

I bought two pairs of maternity jeans (these ones from topshop and these ones from h&m) over the holidays and they have been total lifesavers!! Honestly, I have way less aches and pains because of them and actually feel good in my clothing. My bump has started to show (instead of the lovely bloat) so I'm starting to wear more fitted clothing!

What I'm looking forward to:

Our ultrasound TOMORROW! We're finding out the gender and I can't wait to let you know...My guess is a boy! What do you think???

eeeeee!

Talk to you soon!

xo,
laura

REMEMBERING WHEN YOUR EMOTIONS KEEP FORGETTING

Oh pregnancy hormones. They are a real thing. Maybe not for everyone, maybe some people are completely calm and the same as before...but that's not me. Sure, there are some days I feel like myself but then there are other days/moments when I'm not feeling like that at all....and don't get me wrong, BTB (before the bump) Laura wasn't always chill. I definitely had many moments of madness but man, this preggers thing seems to bring a lot more moments of madness than moments of calmness.

Today was one of those days where I was highly emotional...(I think a factor may be staying up way past my bedtime to see James play at Sugar last night lol) I was cranky. I was stressed. I was worried. I didn't want to stay in this mood so I laced up my runners and put on my way too tight running jacket and headed to a place I've gone when I needed to clear my mind and hear from God.

I think there is beauty in going to a place that has remembrance. I frequented this oceanside running trail often when James and I lived in our old apartment. In good times, and in really hard times I would run and God would be so kind and gentle with me. Today was the same.

As I ran (at a much slower pace than BTB lols), I was reminded of God's faithfulness. As I looked out to the sea, I remembered how He has met me too many times to count. He's brought us through so much and He won't stop now and even though I'm finding my emotions all over the place, I know that He is greater than my feelings. I will remember this truth when my emotions keep forgetting it. He is good and He is faithful.

xo,
laura

CARIBBEAN TRIP PART ONE

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So remember that time James and I went on a vacation in late October and then it took me months to share because #babyliira sucked all my energy and work was crazy? ha. The day has come and I'm finally showing you more pictures from our vacation!

We started out our fall vaycay by visiting Austin, Texas (read the post here!) where we spent some quality time with Joy & Ryan (and oh my gosh their baby Seby made his grand appearance and he is such a dreamboat!) and then we had the whole ordeal where stupid Texas storms caused our flight to Florida to be delayed causing us to miss our cruise!

But PTL for trip cancellation insurance (I highly recommend only booking trips on credit cards that have this magical life saver!) We ended up staying a night in Miami, then caught a flight the next day to Turks & Caicos followed by a flight in a teeny plane to Grand Turk!

I definitely want to go back to Turks & Caicos. I don't think I'd go to Grand Turk again because it was so teeny but I definitely would go to one of the bigger islands...that water is to die for.

We stayed at this cute little hotel called The Osprey and then caught up with our cruise the next day.

When we finally arrived at the hotel (which felt absolutely marvellous after travelling for so long) James immediately jumped in the ocean. A storm was brewing so I was a little less hesitant but he finally coaxed me in. We then watched the sunset from the beach then moved to our balcony. For dinner, we grabbed some Caribbean BBQ at that cute poolside restaurant and then the next morning we hightailed it to our cruise boat!!!

Now that was the best thing...strolling to the cruise and finally getting our room where we would sleep for the next five nights..ahhhhhhh. We first hit up the breakfast buffet then headed out to swim in that crystal blue ocean! 

The beach was crazy busy with the guests from two massive cruise boats but we didn't even care at all. I was not going to let that boat out of my sight.

I was 8 weeks pregnant then and couldn't help telling the world in the white sand. Wow, seems like a world away as now I'm in my 18th week!

Seeing these photos kills me because I know it will probably be a while until we enjoy a tropical vacation...ahhhh I will cherish these memories. 

I'll be back soon with part 2!

Xo,
laura

HELLO WEEKEND

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It's January 8th and my brain is going all like hsjdgkljshgjkhsdflkjhsdlfjkhsdkjlhfjkhsdf!!! Anyone else feeling the craziness of a new year? Thank goodness I have my energy back but wow, everyday I have mile long to-do lists.  #GodIlooktoYou

We're in the midst of our 21 Day Challenge at church...it's taking the first 21 days to fast and pray and focus on God. We've had noon-time prayer times and they have definitely helped with my sanity! 

I'm 18 weeks pregnant and in just over a week we find out the sex of #babyliira !!! Start placing your bets now...James and lots of others tell me I'm having a girl. I'm leaning towards boy but really I'm shooting in the dark here....sooo excited!!

And speaking of baby, Oh Joy! has released a nursery line at Target!!! Thank goodness Target ships to Canada. How cute are these swaddling cloths and this changing pad that folds up into a clutch!! She also has a home line coming out in February with super cute pillows and gold figurines...right up my alley.

Well hope you have a wonderful weekend! I have a jam packed one with Propel women, baby shower, bridal shower and two birthday parties...wowza! But I'm looking forward to spending time with great friends and family.

XO,
laura

YOUR FAVOURITE POSTS FROM 2015

Oh my gosh we are four days into 2016! 2016!!!!! It seems so crazy saying it out loud. I have a feeling this is going to be a good one but I'm pretty sure I always say that because of my optimistic nature ha.

But before all the 2016 planning, I want to share with you, your favourite posts from 2015. 2015 was an overall good year for the blog! I didn't do all the goals I wanted to but my readership increased...I also saw a lack of blogging in October-December which you can blame on the little 17.5 week old baby in my tummy! But don't get too mad because I'm sure that little baby is going to bring a lot of post inspiration this year ;)

So here you have it folks, your top 10 favourite posts from SSHEART in 2015! Thank you so much for continuing to journey with me :)

10. WARDROBE // 10

In this wardrobe post we shared how we won that huge prize from Mayfair (gift cards & stay at the Delta, which we used for our anni). I don't particularly love my outfit here but those leggings are beyond comfy! I'm now inspired to do another wardrobe post with my growing belly!

 

9. 20 GOALS FOR MY LAST YEAR AS A 20-SOMETHING

This year I turn the big 30 so I made a list of 20 goals that I would like to accomplish in my last year as a 20-something! Thankfully I've knocked a couple off the list but I got some work to do!

8. MY #1 RELATIONSHIP RULE

Last February I did a little relationship series which I received some great feedback from. I'm no relationship guru but through my own idiot mistakes and years of counselling others, I've accumulated some wisdom in this area ;) This post was about my #1 relationship rule.

7. RACHEL'S BACHELORETTE

Last May my bestie got married and we went to town on her bachelorette (aka bed by 10pm and ceramic painting).

6. #CLUNGTOTHEJUNG IN IPHONE PHOTOS

As I said right above, Rachel got married last May and IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST DAYS EVER!!!! The wedding was done right and everyone had so much fun. It was such an incredible day seeing my bestie marry the love of her life :)

5. PREGNANCY POST // 4 MONTH BUMP UPDATE

The start of the bump!! Oh my gosh it's (and I lols) have grown so much since then and I can't wait till month 5 where I can show my next update.

3. WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!

Our baby announcement was my favourite post from 2015 but thanks to pinterest, a couple others ended up on top lols. We took some holiday photos with Rachael Alexandra Photography and were so excited to post this one and share the news that WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!! 

2. EYE CANDY // 2

I did a couple of these EYE CANDY posts for inspiration and after pinning one of these photos, this became my second popular post of 2015...the power of pinterest!!

1. 5 BACKYARD PARTY IDEAS

I was totally planning on doing a lovely party in my backyard for my birthday but it ended up pouring rain and we had to throw on in our house :( We still had loads of fun and seeing this post again makes me excited to throw one of these this summer (with a little baby in tow!!!!)

So there you have it, your (and pinterest's) favourite posts from 2015!

XO,
laura