PRINTABLE MARCH CALENDAR
And just like that, it's MARCH!!! Sorry I was so MIA in February...it all had to do with Illuminate (our conference for teen girls at my church!) I'll be sure to share some photos from that amazing weekend very soon! But now I'm back and ready to get right back into the blogging swing of things because before I know it, I'll be back working full time!
And just like that, it's MARCH!!! Sorry I was so MIA in February...it all had to do with Illuminate (our conference for teen girls at my church!) I'll be sure to share some photos from that amazing weekend very soon! But now I'm back and ready to get right back into the blogging swing of things because before I know it, I'll be back working full time!
So as always, I made you a printable calendar for March...right now I'm all about lavender...nothing says spring quite like pastels!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE MARCH CALENDAR
(FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY)
XO,
Laura
LOVE MONTH ADVICE + SOME VALENTINES PRINTABLES
Oh hello almost VALENTINE'S DAY! My goodness, this month has just flown by. I'm sorry I've been a bit absent on the blog front...my free time has been spent prepping for Illuminate but I'm back tonight to give you some V-Day reads!
I'll need to write some new relationship posts soon but these ones are good, I promise!
Oh hello almost VALENTINE'S DAY! My goodness, this month has just flown by. I'm sorry I've been a bit absent on the blog front...my free time has been spent prepping for Illuminate but I'm back tonight to give you some V-Day reads!
I'll need to write some new relationship posts soon but these ones are good, I promise!
Oh, and last year I made you some cards to give to your BF OR BFFS and I still think they are the cutest!
Whether you're single or in a relationship, I hope you have a happy Valentine's Day...remember you get to choose your attitude, so you might as well have FUN!
Love you lots,
Laura
PRINTABLE FEBRUARY CALENDAR
Well hello there February!!! One month of the year DONE, can you believe it!? This is going to be one crazy month with Illuminate, Couple's Retreat, Valentine's Day, Family Day and a whole bunch of other things but it will be FUN.
Well hello there February!!! One month of the year DONE, can you believe it!? This is going to be one crazy month with Illuminate, Couple's Retreat, Valentine's Day, Family Day and a whole bunch of other things but it will be FUN.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR PRINTABLE FEBRUARY CALENDAR
(FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY)
Happy February!
xo, laura
LOVE OVER FEAR
My heart is heavy tonight. As you probably know, six men died and 19 were shot in my country last night. They were shot because they were muslim and it breaks my heart because I have been naive to believe that that kinda thing would never happen north of the border in safe ol' Canada.
My heart is heavy tonight. As you probably know, six men died and 19 were shot in my country last night. They were shot because they were muslim and it breaks my heart because I have been naive to believe that that kinda thing would never happen north of the border in safe ol' Canada.
Like most of the world, I am extremely saddened by Trump's decision to ban immigrants from 7 nations along with stopping refugees. I know, I know NOTHING about politics and I'm no expert on terrorism but all I can think of when I think of this decision is that it was made out of FEAR. And it makes me nervous that a lot of ppl down south are going to be making decisions from a fear based mentality.
In my experience, it's hard to love when you're filled with fear.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." -1 John 4:18
I can't even begin to imagine those being turned around at the border. Those whose homes have been destroyed, those whose loved ones have been killed, those who are escaping real war.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
-Matthew 25:42-45
It's a scary world out there but choosing fear will only give people a very narrow view of life. Choosing fear places labels on people....REAL PEOPLE with REAL stories and REAL hearts.
My prayer right now is that we would choose LOVE over FEAR....it may be the harder choice, but oh, it's the better choice.
xo, laura
LUCA THE LION // 7 MONTH UPDATE
And just like that, our baby is seven months. Seven months and becoming such a little BOY! I held a 7lb baby the other day and just about died of cuteness overload...and to think Luca was once 7lbs...(!!!!!!!) (I wrote half of this earlier this month but then time got away from me...so some of my answers may be a bit dated!!)
LUCA AT SEVEN MONTHS
And just like that, our baby is seven months. Seven months and becoming such a little BOY! I held a 7lb baby the other day and just about died of cuteness overload...and to think Luca was once 7lbs...(!!!!!!!) (I wrote half of this earlier this month but then time got away from me...so some of my answers may be a bit dated!!)
Here's the Lion's 7 month update:
WEIGHT: 18.7 lbs
Our next doctor's appointment isn't until he's 9 months so I'm guessing on our home scale. I think he's around 18-19lbs...he's getting up there!!
HEIGHT: 27 inches
Another half inch....getting so BIG!
WEARS: He's mostly in size 6-12 or 9 month clothing. I found some simple white onesies from Carters...bought him 12 month size because he's growing so fast!
SLEEPS: He's still sleeping so great! (ASIDE FROM TEETHING, which i will get into next month!!!) I thought things were changing because a few nights around Christmas time he woke up at 12am & 4am...I was like NOOOOOOOO...but thankfully it was only for a couple days and he's back to sleeping pretty much 6:30pm-6:30am straight. He's super sensitive to noise though, so James and I have to be sooo quiet when we're going to bed!! Any tips on having a baby that's super noise sensitive? We have loud white noise but he still wakes up if we have ppl over at night.
We're loosely following the 2-3-4 method for naps. It basically means he goes down for the first nap 2 hours after he wakes up, the third nap 3 hours after he wakes up and down for the night 4 hours after he wakes up. It usually works for us but sometimes he's showing me signs that he needs to go down earlier (rubbing eyes, yawning). We've officially cut the third nap and it's worked very well for us...(aside from the time we go to Adore at 6pm..then I try to get him to take a 3rd nap)!
EATS: He is still LOOOVING food. He breastfeeds 4x a day and then eats 3 meals and sometimes a snack too. I still have him mostly on purees but every morning I give him banana pancakes (2 eggs + one banana mixed and made into pancakes...that batch lasts us a couple days), I'll probably start giving him some more non-puree food but choking scares me!! But I have to remind myself, he is a great eater and is able to chew. Any tips on transitioning to real foods?
HIGHS: Baby's first Christmas was definitely extra special. We had a nice & slow December and it was so fun. He's at a great stage right now where he sits on his own and doesn't move much, I know it won't last long but it's nice to see him play for a long time without being worried he's going to crawl into the fireplace, ha. PS. send me your baby proofing tips!!
Another high is the relationship between Luca & our cat, Coco. (not to be confused with Auntie Coco aka Courtney). Let's just say, Coco is not the easiest cat to get along with. She loves James and I and that's pretty much it. She is super sassy to everyone that comes into our house and isn't afraid to claw you if you try to pet her (how dare you!) She scratched Luca when he was two months old so I have kept them pretty separated. In the past couple months Coco has just stopped caring about Luca which has been great but over the past month Luca started noticing Coco. He loves her and the craziest thing has happened....she has been so sweet with him!!! She hasn't once tried to scratch him and she has even given him a little kiss on the nose a couple times. That has been such a huge relief!
LOWS: He started to go through a bit of separation anxiety. My mom was looking after him and he wouldn't stop crying or go down for bed...which is crazy unusual because he loves my mom and usually goes down soo easy. My Wonder Weeks app told me that around 29-30 weeks (which is exactly where he was at that time) babies start to learn that mom can walk away from them. How sad!!! And I heard somewhere that they start freaking out because they don't know when mom is going to come back. It gave me a bit anxiety because as much as I love being a mom, I also love going out and having other people able to soothe and put down my baby. I know it's just a phase and it will pass but I'm stressing a bit because I'm going away (without Luca!!) at the end of the month!
PARENTING: I go away tomorrow for the night, so James has Luca and he is pumped. He's not worried at all, which makes me relaxed. We are big believers in co-parenting around here! Luca needs both mom and dad.....and for the record, we both change those dirty diapers :)
POSTPARTUM: I cut out sweets for the first 21 days and I saw a my weight go down to the lowest it's been since having Luca! Still not where I want to go but I'm celebrating the small steps :)
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Our first night away from Luca together at our church's couples retreat next month!! Also seeing the photos my friend Rachael took of us today!
Only 4.5 more months and this little bubba will be ONE YEAR OLD!! AHHHHHH
XO,
Laura