Thomas Dean {11 Months}

Let's pretend we aren't just a few weeks away from Tom Tom turning one and instead focus on another amazing and busy month with our littlest man! We added another successful surgery to Thomas' medical resume - tubes! A few weeks ago Thomas received tubes to help prevent more ear infections and relieve painful fluid build up. He was down for about ohhhhh 3 hours after the surgery and then bounced back 120% by lunch time. I swear he is the strongest little man there ever was. 

Cataracts/Aphakia Update: In aphakia news, we decided to get a third opinion on Thomas' eyes. We really like our current doctor but with another upcoming surgery we just want to make sure we're doing all of our homework, preparing correctly and wanted to hear what one more doctor had to say. The doctor we met with was absolutely wonderful and we really liked him (and the entire practice). He told us that we are doing everything correctly, advised us to be more aggressive with patching (all day now) and also confirmed TDM's contact prescription is on point. So we were relieved to hear that. It's so hard to not constantly worry about Thomas. Matt and I constantly struggle with what else we can be doing to help him. There are days Thomas thrives and we feel so confident in his vision future. And then there are the dark days that Matt and I both recognize how challenging this journey is at times for us and for Thomas.

In other doctor news, we switched both kiddos to a new pediatrician! Over the course of the last 4523415 sick visits throughout the past few months we've had the opportunity to meet other doctors in our current practice. Lucky for us we met our new pediatrician several times in a row and Matt and I both felt very strongly about switching to her and are super happy now. She is the one who pushed us through for tubes and treats us very seriously when we bring any concerns to her about Thomas.

 Dishwasher and Tupperware drawer obsession at an all time high...

  ...for both kids.

Eating half the groceries before we even check out of the store.

The three amigos!

Proof that the terrible twos is no joke.

The cowlick patrol.

I usually refrain from bath pics but booooooooooy do I have the very best arsenal of cute baby bummy pictures to show his wife one day.

Eleven Month Highlights:

• Waving bye bye!
• Extremely happy 90% of the time!
• Loves Charlie. 
• FIVE toofers! 4 on top, one coming through on bottom.
• New contact prescription. Lost one contact this month in the pool.
• Throws his cup repeatedly on the ground now and says "uh-oh!"
  
• Flat out refuses his bottle (except at bedtime) but will chug an entire sippy cup of organic milk (yep, cows milk at 11 months) at each meal. 
• Size 3 diapers; 9-12 month clothing
• Patching his left eye all day now.

Eleven month favorites: Bath Color Dropz / Bath Seat / Wagon / Play Kitchen / Mickey Mouse Ride On Train / Bella Tunno Happy Knees / Wonder Bibs / Munchkin Miracle 360 Sippy Cups / Hide N Squeak Eggs / Sit-to-Stand Walker / Aquaphor (for dry cheeks) / Refresh Rewetting Drops / Ear thermometer / Mustela PhysiObebe No Rinse Cleanser / Dohm Sound Machine / MAM pacifiers / Motrin / Bella Tunno Pacifier Clips / Hope Frog / Nose Frida / Boogie Mist Saline Spray / Eye Patches

Thomas and Caroline at 11 months.

Rosemary Thyme Happy Hour Lemonade

Over the weekend I whipped up some classic lemonade with a delicious twist! For my long time followers you probably aren't surprised that I'm getting creative with lemons again (see: bridal photos). But I can't help but share a refreshing summertime beverage!

Rosemary Thyme Happy Hour Lemonade

 

Ingredients

 
1 cup granulated sugar
8 large lemons, halved
8 cups water
6 sprigs of rosemary
6 sprigs of thyme
Vodka
 

Instructions

1. In a small pot, combine 2 cups water with sugar. Cook over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and throw in the sprigs of rosemary and thyme. Set aside until cool (allow the mixture to sit for at least two hours for maximum flavor.

2. Discard the rosemary and thyme sprigs. 

3. In a large pitcher, stir together the lemon juice (approx. 1 cup), sweetened water and the remaining cold water.

4. Serve in individual glasses filled with ice and a shot of vodka. Garnish with a few lemon slices, rosemary sprigs and thyme sprigs.  

Rosemary Thyme Happy Hour Lemonade Print Recipe

Disclaimer: this delicious drink will definitely have you going back for a few refills! Enjoy!

Our 1st Pool Day with 2 Minis

This weekend Matt and I took the kiddos to the pool for the first time this summer. As soon as we arrived it was immediately apparent to us that it absolutely takes us both being on our A-game 100% of the time to make sure neither of the kids are jumping off the diving board. Long gone are the days of "relaxing" by the pool but we had fun getting our workout in chasing the kiddos around.

We arrived right after Caroline's skipped nap, just in time for the lifeguards to close the pool and go on break. So I jumped on the excellent opportunity for a family picture since we were just standing around explaining to Caroline why she couldn't run through the vacant splash zone for the next 15 minutes. 

As soon as the whistle blew the kids were OFF for two hours of non-stop squealing and requests to "look at this!!!! this!!! this!!!!!!!!! LOOOOOOOK!!!" Splash grounds are a magical place for toddlers.  

 

We took turns chasing Caroline around and around and around the splash zone while the other parent sat on the ground and crawled after Thomas over and over as he sprinted into the deeper splash areas. Gosh, he is so fearless it terrifies even me.

Also, I'm happy to report that the new girls stayed inside my mom-suit the entire time. This is a legit fear for me now. Normal people can tell when their bathing suit needs to be pulled up a bit. If I'm not on suit patrol at all times things can go south way fast. So anyway, I approve and highly recommend this adorable (and on sale for $14) swimsuit which allows for you to sprint, bend over every 2.5 minutes and carry two children on your hip while staying in place! 

Oh, I forgot to mention how obsessed Thomas was with smushing his face into the fountains of water and then laughing hysterically. All fun and games until you flush out a $175 contact into an abyss of sprinklers and wild toddlers. Expensive lesson learned.

Our first pool day with two littles was a little hectic but not enough to prevent us from returning next weekend...with goggles for Tom Tom.