Instagram story viewer> @lainamoore> Posts

Laina Moore

@lainamoore

5.2K

followers

2976

following

Proud Boy Mom 🧑🏼‍🦰🧑🏼‍🦰👶🏻
Special Needs Advocate 🧬
Cheerleader of the Underdog 📣
“When we know better, we do better.” ♥️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Some parents spend years searching for a place that truly sees their child. We are so lucky that families like Laina Moore’s found Lionheart. 💛
At our 26th Party with Heart, Laina shared what finding the right environment meant for her son Nolan — a child who didn’t need to climb trees, just to keep swimming. Here, he found his confidence. Here, he found his people.
That’s the Lionheart difference. We don’t fit children into a system — we build a system that helps them thrive for life. And when a child is in the right environment, hope isn’t just possible. It’s inevitable. 🦁❤️#flashbackfriday⚡️ taken in The Hotel at Avalon, Autograph Collection by @lainamoore

93

14

7 months ago

It feels overwhelming vulnerable posting here, but this week, I had the honor of sharing my story at my company conference, where the theme was about facing hard things and navigating paths you didn’t expect to take.

I didn’t do it without tears (and they were plentiful at the beginning) but I spoke about what it feels like when life doesn’t follow your script. How, when things are unexpected, it can feel like it wasn’t supposed to be that way.

But your joy and grief can exist at the same time, and your pain does not disqualify your joy. And sometimes, the unexpected life you’re living is the one that grows you the most.

And maybe… it was supposed to be this way ♥️🧩 by @lainamoore

3

123

a year ago

Tomorrow I head back to work after maternity leave, and it is definitely bittersweet. 🤍

I have loved this time. Slow mornings, lazy summer days with a newborn, lots of baby snuggles, time with my big boys, and just getting to be fully present with my family.

Knowing this time was limited made me want to soak it in even more. The newborn days can feel long while you are in them, but somehow they are over in a blink.

I am also incredibly grateful to work for a company that has given me the opportunity to have this time with all three of my babies. That is something I will never take for granted.

And now, I am ready to go back.

Almost 14 years at @belay_solutions and I am still excited to return. I have missed my people, I have missed the work, and I am looking forward to stepping back into a part of myself that I really love.

Soaking up these last few hours tonight 💙💙💙

What a gift this season has been.

📸: @monicacarlsonphotography by @lainamoore

159

15

20 days ago

Welcome to the world, Hudson Daniel Moore 🩵

Hudson surprised us all by arriving 3 weeks early on June 28, 2026, at 3:04 AM. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz., was 21.5 inches long, and has already completely stolen our hearts.

Nolan and Owen are absolutely enamored with their new baby brother, and we are so excited to officially become a family of five. Watching our three boys together is already more than we could have imagined 💙💙💙

Welcome to the chaos, sweet Hudson. We love you more than words can say, and we are so thankful you are ours 🩵 by @lainamoore

263

93

4 months ago

Happy Father’s Day, Joel!

You did not know what fatherhood would look like when we started this journey, but you have embraced every part of it with more love, patience, and strength than I could have imagined.

Your love is loud in the ways that matter.

In the way you show up every day.
In the way you make our boys laugh.
In the way you carry the hard things without complaint.
In the way you make our family feel safe, loved, and cared for.

I see the sacrifices no one else sees.

I see the long days, the worry you carry, the ways you put us first over and over again.

You have been exactly the dad Nolan needs.

You are an incredible dad to Owen, whose face lights up the moment he sees you.

And in just a few short weeks, another little boy will get the privilege of calling you Dad too.

You show up.

You stay.

You grow.

Not because it is easy, but because loving your family well is simply who you are.

Thank you for being my partner through every season, for loving our children so fiercely, and for building a life with me that is filled with so much joy.

The kids are lucky to have you.

And I am lucky to love you.

Happy Father’s Day. 💙 by @lainamoore

66

3

4 months ago

Somewhere over the last 8 years, our updates about Nolan’s health became less frequent. Not because his diagnoses disappeared, but because he was doing so well.

So when we learned last month that his heart function had dropped significantly, we were shocked.

I think that is something many medical parents understand. You slowly let your guard down. The thing that once consumed your every thought becomes something you only think about at yearly appointments... until suddenly, you are right back in it.

The appointments. The waiting. The insurance battles. The worry. The memories and emotions you thought you had packed away. Preparing your child for tests & procedures that have become familiar, but are never easy.

Today was Nolan’s cardiac MRI under general anesthesia to better show his heart function. And if I am honest, walking back into the hospital brought back a lot.

It reminded me that while most of us move through our normal days, there are families living inside those hospital walls. Waiting for answers. Sleeping in chairs. Holding their breath between scans, labs, and conversations with doctors. We have been there. But when you are not in that season, it is easy to forget.

Today also brought something we desperately needed: good news.

Nolan’s heart function came back at 52%, which is significantly higher than the 45% on his echo last month. His cardiologist told us he was “pleasantly shocked.”

There are still things we will continue to monitor. His heart is still enlarged. His aortic arch remains severely dilated. And we will have an echo every 2 months now. There are also still unanswered questions. But today gave us hope and a little room to breathe.

We share Nolan’s journey because every year we meet parents who are just beginning theirs. Parents standing where we once stood, overwhelmed by diagnoses, appointments, uncertainty, and fear.

If that is you, I hope Nolan’s story reminds you that there can be joy, growth, stability, and beautiful ordinary days in between the hard moments.

And today, we are incredibly grateful for another good report and another reason to keep hope. ❤️ by @lainamoore

3

30

4 months ago

These boys are growing up way too fast, and these photos deserved a permanent spot on the feed 🤍

I really do not know how we are already at the end of another school year. Looking at these pictures and seeing how much these boys have grown feels equal parts sweet and impossible.

This year gave us so much to celebrate, and we are incredibly thankful for teachers who loved our boys so well. The patience, encouragement, support, and care they poured into them this year meant more than they probably know.

Summer is always a mix of emotions for us. We love the slower pace, extra time together, later bedtimes, sunshine, popsicles, and all the little moments that make this season special. At the same time, any shift in routine takes a little extra adjustment for Nolan, so every summer brings a new version of growth for all of us. And somehow every year, he handles more than I thought he would.

If you are a parent of a child walking through exceptional circumstances too, I see you. I know summer can hold both joy and heaviness at the same time. It can look different than you expected and still be beautiful. Different does not mean something is wrong. The duality of both things being true at once is very real over here too.

Here’s to summer memories, slower moments, continued growth, and soaking up this season with these boys we love so much 🤍 by @lainamoore

3

2

5 months ago

Eight years. We cannot believe we are celebrating Nolan’s eighth birthday today.

Over the last eight years, we have watched him overcome more than most people will ever see in a lifetime. Heart surgery. Multiple diagnoses. Rare diseases. Endless appointments, therapies, tests, and challenges that would feel impossibly heavy to so many.

And yet, Nolan keeps going.

He works so hard every single day for things that come naturally to others, but what amazes us most is that he does not see himself as different. To him, this is just life. He wakes up each day with joy, determination, curiosity, and a heart that sees beauty in the smallest things.

Today was simple and perfect in all the best ways. We spent the day at Barnes & Noble, Build-A-Bear, and Chick-fil-A for lunch, then baked a cake together before ending the night with pizza and cake with grandparents.

Tonight, he told us, “I got everything I wanted today.”

If only he knew that every single day, he gives us the greatest gift of all… the gift of being Nolan.

He reminds us constantly that different does not mean less than. He brings joy, perspective, resilience, and love into every room he enters. The world is better because he is in it.

Happy 8th birthday to our sweet Nolan! This life is so beautiful because of you! ♥️ by @lainamoore

3

28

5 months ago

“It’s time TWO Celebr-EIGHT!” 🧡💚💙

Today was full of balloons, cookies, cupcakes, laughter, chaos, and so much love as we celebrated Owen turning 2 (last week) and Nolan turning 8 (this upcoming week). Watching these two grow into exactly who they are meant to be is one of the greatest gifts of our lives.

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate our boys, whether you were with us today or cheering them on from afar. It means more to us than you know. 🥹

Thank you for loving our family so well and helping make their days so special. 🎈🥳 taken in We Rock The Spectrum - Alpharetta by @lainamoore

124

13

5 months ago

We had the sweetest day celebrating Owen turning 2 🩵

From donuts for breakfast, to Build-A-Bear, to baking his cake together this afternoon… ending with a pizza party and cake for dessert. At one point he looked around and said, “I love 2 birthday!” and honestly… same, buddy. I love it too.

If you know me at all, you know how much I hold onto moments like this. Birthdays are not just celebrations… they are markers. They take me back to the exact moment our world changed the day Owen came into it.

I remember wondering how Nolan would handle the transition. Wondering how our hearts and our home would stretch to hold one more. And then Owen arrived… and in an instant, those worries disappeared. It felt like he had always been here. Like we were never meant to do life without him.

He brought a new kind of joy into our family. A lightness. A laughter. A rhythm we did not even know we were missing. And he gave Nolan one of the most beautiful roles… being a big brother. Watching their relationship grow has been one of my greatest gifts.

These last two years have gone by in what feels like a blink. Today was a reminder that time really does move faster than we expect. That this version of him… the hugs, the “Oh, Rightttt!”, the tiny voice saying thank you, the pure joy… it is fleeting.

Two years of you, Owen… and every single day has been better because you are in it 🩵 by @lainamoore

3

10

6 months ago

Two years of pure joy. Happy Birthday, Owen! 💙

Owen, you are the happiest, smiliest, joy in human form. You light up every room you walk into and somehow make everything feel lighter just by being you. You love your brother so deeply, never met a playground you did not like, and give the kind of hugs that make people stop and stay a little longer.

You are kind and wise in ways that are beyond your years, always pausing to say “thank you,” and your little “Oh, righttttt!” has officially become part of our family vocabulary.

We did not know how much we needed you, and we are so, so lucky that you are ours.

Happy 2nd birthday, sweet boy! 🥹 🥳 🩵 by @lainamoore

3

23

6 months ago

Spring break gave me exactly what I needed this year.

We spent part of the week at the beach for Easter with my mom, Joel, and the boys. There were sunny beach days, an Easter egg hunt in the sand, sweet moments, and just enough rain on the last day to make everything slow down.

One of the most meaningful parts of the trip was unexpectedly getting to spend time with another family we know from home. By chance, we ended up staying at the same place as one of Nolan’s classmates and his family, and we spent time together over the weekend. Being with them was such a reminder of perspective, shared understanding, and how deeply meaningful simple connection can be.

Easter always brings thoughts of new beginnings, hope, and renewal, and this trip felt full of all of that in ways I did not expect.

This week also reminded me that even in imperfect moments, there is still room for grace, reflection, and reset. Sometimes slowing down makes space to see what really matters and to let go of what does not.

I am coming home reminded that not everything is an emergency. Not everything is as serious as it feels in the moment.

After spending so many years in fight-or-flight mode, I am learning that I do not have to live there anymore.

It is time to slow down.
It is time to enjoy.

Grateful for the perspective shift and the reminder to be present for what matters most. by @lainamoore

3

4

6 months ago