I guess the first thing I should mention is that Salome will be getting a new baby brother or sister this March, which is kind of why the blog fell by the wayside. I was sick sick sick for a little while, but now I'm back in the land of the living. Salome is over the moon about being a big sister - I've had her request to me anything from "Can I get in your tummy with the baby?" to "Will you push her out right now because I want to hold her." That's right, "her". We have no clue of the sex, and won't till it is born, but Salome is set on a sister and she wants to name her Peter.
Anyway, more on that to come.
Besides a few miserable weeks for me, the summer was about as perfect as we could ask for. The weather was phenomenal and it extended itself beyond the official last day of summer, which was great for us.
We started off with a trip to Billings, to visit Salome's great-grandma Alice and family. Auntie Hilly and Uncle Jacob were along and it was one of our last summer trips with them since they left for Cincinnati in August (where Hilly is attending law school.) So it was fun to cram in some quality time with them and Salome enjoyed pretty much the whole trip - from the time spent playing in Grandma Melody's yard, to the point where we ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. She was happy to play in the gravel by the side of the road and then we found a serendipitously situated playground. Once Grandpa Jerry and Uncle Jacob secured us a gallon or two of gas, we were back on the road without a hitch.
Here at home we have had plenty of friends visiting, and as an added bonus, Salome has really bonded with our next door neighbor Candice and her boys, so whenever I'm wondering where she has gone, I can find her at Candice's, having a snack and being read to, or doing an art project. We're so lucky to have neighbors like that.
We got a chance to go on two camping trips - one at the beginning of the summer, and one on the very last, gorgeous day of summer. The first was a raft trip with Uncle Jacob and Auntie Hilly and Uncle Jacob's friend, Uncle Asher. The river was beautiful and the best part of camping...unfortunately we weren't able to have a campfire and the mosquitos were feeding on us in clouds. But it was lovely weather and great to get Salome out in the wild.
The second camping expedition consisted of Salome and me and three other mamas with 4 other kids and two dogs. The campsite was on a lake and everyone enjoyed a campfire and wading in the water and encountering lots of crawdads/crayfish: some dead, some alive, and all fascinating to the kids. It was a great way to usher out the last day of summer, though we could hardly tell fall was coming in the 85 degree weather.
Our other outings were to Echo Lake to the beautiful wedding of our friends Teryn and Matt, where Auntie Hilly was a bridesmaid, and also up to Flathead Lake to visit our midwife and have a prenatal appointment. What an amazing place for a prenatal - we had a wonderful time; it felt like a little vacation.
And our last big trip was to Boise to see Taj Mahal and Bonnie Raitt in concert and visit cousins Kerri, Fiona and Hunter. Salome and Fiona really hit it off and had a blast dancing to the music at the concert. Salome was especially crazy about Taj. Another great part of the trip was the drive along the Clearwater River and our stop at one point where we stopped to picnic and Salome went for a dip. A beautiful river to travel along.
I guess that covers the summer...whew!
I'll make sure not to get so behind for the next post and fill you in on all that Salome has been up to. Her imagination has taken off and she has many stories to tell me throughout the day, mostly about the adventures of her baby doll, "Baby Kade" (named after her cousin Baby Kade). She also gloms on to certain words she hears from various sources and then uses them in as many contexts as she can: "Hey mama you are a secretary man and it is secretary day," or "This is where my fantastic baby sleeps." She has also used the words "surely" "manager" and "comedian" in various ways. I don't even always know where she hears them. She's still a sponge, soaking it all up and delighting us when she squeezes out her interpretations.
