Lily is 3 months!

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Our precious Liliana turned 3 months old last week. We cannot believe how fast she is growing...I would say "she is growing like a weed" but I prefer to say "she is growing like a flower!"

Nick had a week long furlough last week so we took advantage of his time off. We took Lily to the Lincoln Park Zoo (mmm...not the best idea) and also the Chicago Botanical Gardens (great idea!). We ate breakfast at Ann Sather's Swedish restaurant and enjoyed daily BBQ's with our new grill.

My sister, Heidi, brought her family and my mom down for the day on Friday. Our niece, Olive, and nephew, Ira, loved the water and beach. But they REALLY loved holding and kissing Lily. We had a great time with them and went to every park that is within walking distance.

We spoke with Grammy and Nick's cousins yesterday. They are visiting Grammy from Texas and are having a great time. Hopefully we can take Lily out to Kansas sometime soon. She would love to meet her great-Grammy.

Time to go and change a diaper!

Love,
The Salmons

Lily was baptized!

Liliana Mae Salmon was baptized on July 5, 2009. She was baptized in the same Catholic church Nick and I were wed in two years ago. Although small, St. Patrick's Parish in New London, WI, is very important in our lives! A small crowd gathered for the event, to include her godfather, Jeremiah Auer. Her godmother, Lizzie Salmon, could not make it so Aunt Heidi stood in for her during the service. We would like to thank Grandma Tina for arranging the date and hosting the party afterwards and Msgr. Lally for officiating on both occasions.

As most of you know, our little Lily has a big personality (and a great set of lungs). She knows what she likes and what she doesn't, even though she is only 2.5 months old. Lily really, really did not like the holy water poured over her head and she let us know all about it with her cries. But once the water was off, she was happily showing off her baptismal gown, which she received as a present from her Aunt Kim and Cousins Grace and Anna. The beautiful matching hat could not be worn, as we know by now to never put a hat (no matter how cute or how much I spent on it) on her head.

In other news, we are doing great here in Chicago. The weather is finally hot and Lake Michigan is warming up. Nick went swimming in it last weekend while our good friend, Ryan, was in town. Nick is still working second shift but we adjusted to this schedule quite well. We are all looking forward to the last week of July when Nick will be home and we can spend time together as a family.

That is all for now!

Love,
The Salmons

Lily was born!

I know that I have not kept up with the blog. But in case you were wondering if I was two months overdue with our baby, I will end your suspense. Liliana Mae Salmon was born on April 29, 2009, at 2:14 p.m. She decided to come out just two days ahead of her due date. It was a long labor but a very fast delivery. She is doing very well and is already two months old! In fact, we took her to get three immunizations today. Luckily for us, she was not too agitated and is now sleeping soundly.

Nick and I are extremely grateful to everyone who helped out after her birth. We had rotating Grandmas for three weeks which was very much appreciated. We also received so many letters and gifts from friends and family around the world! Thank you to everyone.

I will attach some photos. Let's face it...who wants to read about her when you can just see her??? And our little Lily is really a beauty.

Love to all.

The Salmons



P.S. This little doll was given to Lily by her Great Grandma Carr. She really loves the doll and loves to look at anything that makes noise!

I am not sure when today's "Baby Shower" began, but I'd like to thank the creators of this event. It is a wonderful way for women to connect over motherhood and to celebrate the upcoming birth of the newest baby/mother in the family. Everyone at my "Girlie Baby Shower," held on March 28th at my mother's home, was eager to impart their expertise in a certain area of motherhood, or to suggest a name or two. I was all ears and I received great advice on everything from which way to hold a crying baby to how to finaggle a back rub from Nick.

Although the day was cold and even a little snowy, the party inside was fun. Since there are wonderful chefs in our family, all of the food was absolutely delicious. Little sandwiches and lots of salads made up most of the meal, but there were also six cakes and ice cream punch to fill up on. My Grandma Helen even made her famous Champagne salad, which I hid in the freezer after awhile (no worries, there isn't any actual champagne in it) so I could eat it later.

The rest of the party was just as grand as the food. Most of our family members from Wisconsin were able to join us, and even my aunt from Arizona attended. Although family from Kansas, Missouri, New York, Virginia, and Maryland could not make it, they made their presence known through cards, calls, emails, prayers and presents! The company was wonderful, the decoration were beautiful, everyone received multiple prizes just for coming (thanks for that, mom), and I received wonderful presents for our little one. She will be one of the best dressed babies on the block, that is for sure! It was a great day and I look forward to using these gifts in a few weeks for our little baby, whenever she decides to come out. Thanks to everyone who was there and to those who wished that they could have been.

Nick spent the weekend with the men of the family up at Jere's farmette. Little Bubba had to show his two Uncle Nicks the sheep and her two new lambs. He also spent about an hour on Sunday trying to fit all of the gifts inside the car!

Enjoy the photos from the day and have a wonderful day.

Love, The Salmons (and tadpole)

P.S. Here are some photos of my nieces and a neighbor girl. Look how fast they are growing up!

Rushing Around

On January 1st, I woke up early and suddenly realized, "I am going to become a mother in a few months!" I turned that initial panic into productivity and quickly signed up for weekly pottery classes and knitting lessons. I took Pre-natal yoga on the weekends and I signed us both up for Parenting classes at our local hospital. I became serious about finding a church and dragged Nick all over Chicago in search of one. I learned how to best use our crock pot and I began trying a million different types of recipes. I continued to meet weekly with Emira, a very nice lady from Bosnia whom I tutor in English, and we began seeing some of the city together, including some thrift stores and eating at a Bosnian restaurant. I read three baby books, two regular books, and I even started to highlight stories in "Parents" magazine that I think I might need in a few years. I was/am trying to cram as much as possible as I could into just a few months.

Meanwhile, Nick did not see the point of frantically trying to make use of his time before the baby comes. He was content with watching "American Idol" when it came on, going for leisurely strolls, and definately didn't stress out about such things as baby furnishings. That is, until this past month. Suddenly Nick exclaimed one Sunday morning after noticing my enlarging belly, "we're gonna be parents!" He researched a little and then signed us both up for guitar lessons and signed himself up for a flying lesson. He researched and bought a bike and began exercising more than usual. Then we really did something noteworthy--we planned the baby's room and Nick hired a painter! Nick also put together a changing table and I had to fill up a hefty cinch sack's worth of clothes to make room for it all.

We are now both in the "ohmygoodnesswearegoingtobeparents" mindframe but still enjoying our time together before she arrives. I will admit that we do worry/fret a little bit about the future but we are certain everything will be fine.

Earlier this year, Nick signed us up for The West Point Society of Chicago's Annual Founder's Day Dinner. It was held last weekend at a suburban posh country club. Luckily we had a few friends come, too, and we spent the night eating good food and enjoying the company. A very unexpected highlight was meeting the newly appointed Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, General (Ret.) Eric Shinseki and his wife, Patricia. They spoke to us for a few minutes about the Army and also babies! It was really an incredible discussion to have with such an influential and decorated man.

On Sunday night Nick also had a special treat for us. He bought tickets to see "A Bronx Tale" downtown at the Oriental Theatre. The whole show was done by one man-Academy Award nominated actor Chazz Palminteri, who also starred in the movie with the same name. Since this was Nick's first time at a broadway play I was a little nervous if he would like it or not, mostly because I'd like to go again sometime! But I was nervous for nothing--we both ended up really enjoying the entire performance.

Now we are going to take it easy for the next seven weeks. The only special events we will be attending are my baby shower up in Wisconsin on the 28th and we are going to travel out of town during Easter weekend. Nick is finding us a place to visit that also has a grand church. We are busily preparing for our little one's arrival and almost have her new room finished.

We hope that everyone else is enjoying the nice weather. I am not sure what it is like in other parts of the country, but it is finally warming up here. Thanks to Aunt Suzanne and Mom S for the special treats they sent our way this past week. We loved everything.

Have a great Spring and keep in touch!

Love,

The Salmons


P.S. Just a photo of little Ira for everyone! Isn't he cute?

Griffin Daniel Auer

Welcome, Griffin Daniel Auer! Little Griffin is the son of my brother, Grady, and his wife, Sarah. He was born on the 13th of January and weighed nine pounds at birth. While he was a long 21 inches, I think that about half of that length is his legs!

Nick and I were able to meet Griffin a few weeks ago when we visited New London. Griffin curled right into Nick and snuggled with him until it was time for a feeding. After that, Griffin fell asleep on my shoulder while his mom was able to shower and relax a little bit. We will see him again soon as we are heading up north again in a few weeks to attend Griffin's baptism.

As for us, we've been on the move for the past few weeks. We had Delta airline credit so we flew out to Boston earlier this month to visit friends. I stayed with Robin and John, who are attending Harvard, and Nick went skiing in Vermont with his Army buddies, Ryan and Rob. Nick absolutely loved the skiing and I absolutely loved staying at Harvard, playing with the new Wii, and visiting John's family that lives nearby. They had a going-away party for a family friend from Camaroon who stayed with them for six months. The girl from Camaroon, Veronique, was amazing to talk to and she taught us all how to dance with a bottle on our heads. We all tried and I did pretty well without even drinking a drop of alcohol!

We also had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Of course, Nick gave me a dozen beautiful roses, as he does every year. We also wanted to try something special for the big day so four weeks ago we made reservations at a new restaurant in downtown Chicago that had a special six course V-Day menu. My favorite course was...the salad? But this wasn't just a typical salad. There was cashew crusted warm goat cheese over baby arugula, grilled onions, and topped with a spicy kumquat/orange vinaigrette. It was delicious. Nick favored the meat dishes. He enjoyed our appetizers that were a Maine lobster croquette with basil aioli and a green peppercorn crusted lamb loin fennel-pear salad with a red wine chocolate sauce. The main entrees were also tasty and the final dessert - a chocolate heart with strawberry sorbet - left us completely satisfied. Two hours after arriving, we somehow managed to waddle back to our car and head home.

We hope everyone is doing well and managing to endure this crazy winter. It is raining here right now. Only eleven weeks and it will be May 1st, though! That is our little daughter's scheduled time for arrival, but I imagine it is more up to her than anyone else. We are busily preparing for her and will attend another Birthing/Parenting class this weekend.

Take care everyone!

Love,

Maria and Nick and baby bean

Inauguration 2009 - Final Day

On January 20, 2009, Nick and I awoke at 3:00 a.m. in order experience one of the most monumental events of our lifetimes-President-elect Obama's inauguration. It was a day that we had anticipated for months and were eager to start. We weren't too excited to forget to dress warmly, though. After hearing lectures from everyoneI knew better than to walk out the door with less than six layers on.

At approximately 4:00 a.m. our group of Presidential Classroom alumni loaded three buses and made our way to Union Station. The station was the only place for any bus to park and even though there were around 10,000 buses in the city, we were three of 80 that had reserved spots. It took much longer than normal but we did arrive after circling the Pentagon a couple of times and being turned away from a highway by the police.

Nick and I decided to experience the event just like everyone else-on the crowded and crazy National Mall. We walked about two miles through tunnels, along streets, and around hawkers selling everything from hand warmers to Obama bobble heads. By the time we arrived, we joined about twenty thousand others and were able to score a great place not too far from the Capitol and right underneath a jumbo-tron. The number of onlookers eventually swelled to an estimated 2 million. We were in our spot about five hours before the beginning of the event so we took a seat and made friends with those around us. It was cold but the entire day was joyful and exciting. The crowd was patriotically waving flags and cheering together throughout the entire ceremony.

After the ceremony the crowd was thick, the porta potties were full, and we were all tired but we still had to get back to our hotel. All of the roads were closed and the lines to the metro were terribly long but we only had two miles to walk back to our hotel. We joined the throngs of people walking over the Jefferson Davis Highway and 45 minutes later we were back.

The rest of the afternoon we spent napping, watching the parade on television, and taking hot showers. Nick changed into his tuxedo around 5:00 p.m. before heading downstairs to the hotel lobby to meet up with an old friend while I got ready for our ball.

The Presidential Classroom ball was held at the Marriott. The cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing were all wonderful. The jazz band played until all hours of the night and I had my very own Fred Astaire lead me around the dance floor over and over again. Who knew it just took a few gin & tonics to turn Nick into a dancing machine? We left around midnight not because we were tired but because our feet hurt from the day's activities.

We are still in Maryland and will be here until the end of the week. Yesterday we spent time with Nick's grandparents who live in Woodbridge, Virginia, before driving north to spend the night with his dad and Jackie. We are having a great time and wish we had another week just to be with friends and family.

Love to all!

Maria and Nick