Monthly Roundup: June Favorites

It’s the last day June and I’m sitting here in disbelief. Honestly, where is the year GOING?

June marked the official start of summer and was a whirlwind from day one. Le't’s get right into it; here is a little recap of how the month went.

{ONE} Meeting Elin Hilderbrand

GUYS. If you know me, you know I love Elin Hilderbrand books (in the summer, my blog basically becomes an Elin Hilderbrand fan account). When I heard she was coming to a nearby beach as part of her book tour, I texted my friend and we decided to go. The line was longgg and outside, but thankfully it wasn’t raining. The event had a recommend dress code of orange and red, which I found a bit odd at first but also really cool once we arrived. The entire line of people wore orange and red! Elin signed my personalized copy of her newest book The Five-Star Weekend and it definitely was a day to remember.

{TWO} Summer Fridays

Summer Fridays are BACK, baby, and I love them. I’m so thankful to work at a university that honors work-life balance and closes every Friday in the summer. Unfortunately, most of my Fridays so far have been traveling to doctor’s appointments (more on that down below), but hopefully that won’t be the case all summer long!

{THREE} Dunkin’s Iced Caramel Coffee

It is not a new drink, nor is it new to me, but for some reason, I have recently become addicted to Dunkin’s iced caramel coffee (with a little cream and sugar). It hits the spot every single time. I’m not sure why or how this drink became my new go-to (I’ve always favored Starbucks, to be honest), but something about this drink makes my day so much better when I have it.

{FOUR} Father’s Day

We celebrated Luke’s first Father’s Day with his favorite meals, hanging out together, and a few special gifts from Vienna, including a very special surprise gift… she belly laughed for the FIRST time! It was adorable. She apparently found that throwing a ball to Lucy was quite hilarious, but has decided it is no longer funny and hasn’t done it again since no matter how hard we try.

{FIVE} A Health Update

I’ve hinted that these last couple months have been a bit rough. One of the reasons why is I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease - a thyroid autoimmune disease that has only two “remedies” (both resulting in being on medication for life after the initial treatment is complete). This news was hard to accept and the catalyst for a lot of tests, ultrasounds, bloodwork, etc. I share this not for pity, but for prayers because I have a difficult decision to make within the next couple of weeks and the last few months have been really stressful.

{SIX} Vienna Milestones

Vienna turned SIX MONTHS this month and has been going through a lot of stuff herself. She has plagiocephaly, which is a fancy word describing that she was too big in the womb, and therefore, needed physical therapy on her neck and a helmet to help with some flatness, which she got a few days ago. The helmet will help with her head shape and (hopefully) she’ll only need it for a few months. I’m honestly so proud of this little girl. She has endured a lot of doctor’s appointments herself (on top of mine!) and is a little trooper. She’s resilient and has adapted pretty quickly to wearing her helmet 23 hours a day (yes, even at night). On top of PT and helmet appointments, Vienna has been siting up independently, talking up a storm, trying new foods, and chewing on literally everything. I shared her favorite toys and books last week, so you can check that out for some 6-month-baby activity ideas.