Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone!! It is a little early, but we will be leaving soon and I wanted to make sure and write. For Christmas this year we are going to join Georges family in Haiti. I have been waiting 4 years to go there and meet his family and see where this man I love came from. So we are so excited that this day is not far away. We dream of Christmas on the beach already!! In WARM weather. Not that there is anything wrong with a White Christmas, but I look foward to being in a bathing suit instead of snow boots and a hat. Our camaras are ready to go so I will be sure to take lots of pictures. Simon has already opened all his Christmas presents. He got a Tool set (since he loves to find and play with Daddys), cars (of course!), and a big toy boat (to make bath time more exciting). However now he cries when I take him out. Grandma Tami got him a big wheeler. It is too cold of course to go outside with so he tries to push it around the kitchen. He doesn't have the coordination to bicycle, but his legs don't reach it anyway. Last Sunday we had our Family Christmas Gathering at Moms. It was nice this year to have Simon older and able to stay up longer to play. He fought with Cousin Nixon over the toys they got. Dinner was yummy and Simon actually ate his carrots. We sang some christmas songs and had some good laughs at our chaotic family. Georges and I decided this year to go shopping together for each others Christmas Presents. I got two new bathing suits. And he got a pair of new church shoes, and I actually finally found him a new, nice jacket. The man has such long arms, nothing ever fits him!! He is not an easy man to buy for. Wanting to save as much money for Haiti, he didn't even want to have a Christmas present. It is truly a miracle that we are going. I know it will be amazing and one of the most memorable moments in our families life. It is truly a wonderful blessing to go and give a great ending to 2008 and a great beginning for 2009.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Reading Time

Grandma watches the boys for a couple of hours and they fight over her attention the whole time. But they love when she reads to her. they scramble to get on her lap first.

Simons First Snow Day

He really couldn't get enought of it.

I was so excited to put him in his snow outfit i bought with snow boots. The hats and gloves just made me melt. He is part carribean, but loves the snow more than his daddy.

Halloween

I have always looked forward to my first Halloween with my kid. We went to the Ward Halloween party a couple days before. We went to the trunk o treat the night of and we went walking with Lori and her 4 kids around her moms neighborhood the night of. I decorated our trunk for the ward trunk o treat like we did in California. But soon realized no one else does that. Oh well, Simon had a blast sitting in there eating candy and running around the parking lot. He was a puppy. I just threw on a chinese shirt I got on my mission in Taiwan and Georges just threw on a Jordan outfit to be a basketball player. Simon kept the hood on for awhile but for the most part took it off his head. The funnest part was walking around the neighborhood. There was some pretty scary houses and I had a blast scaring Simon. I know terrible right. There was a spider and I put him right up next to it. It is so funny to see there face freak out. And they hand on to you for dear life. What would halloween be without a few scares!!!

My boss has a huge pumpkin patch. We collected a whole bunch of pumpkins. Simon loved running around saying ball to all of them. I was obsessed with collecting as many as a could. It was sad to leave so many behind.

I knew this day would come. I am surprised it took him so long to figure it out. Of course closing the door all the time didn't allow for much exploration in the bathroom. he also very talentedly covered Mickey entirely. See the block image under his bum. Don't worry though. Mickey ate most of it before i got a chance to undo him.

Sunny Again

AHHH!! What gorgeous weather. I love it!!! We have been able to play outside again this week. Simon got a little sick and now me too, so it felt extra nice to enjoy the beautiful weather. We went to Lunch with Mom and David, Julie, Molly, Grandma Jeanne, Emily and Nixon yesterday and then all went walking up the canyon for 2 hours. Simon loved sitting in his stroller. On the way back he got anzty and I put him on the ground to run around. He had a blast running full throttle. The best exercise I have ever seen him do. No doubt he has some athletic skills. We debated who would be taller Nixon or Simon. We concluded they would grow to be the same. We are all doomed to nights of Basketball week after week when they grow up. I already have to chase after him while he throws the ball. Julie got some great pics of them playing ball together. Cute as can be. I hope we can see them. But it won't be the last time they play I bet.

October Rain

Wow. The Fall Rain has finally arrived. It is so depressing. I'll probably be updating more now that we will be stuck in doors as the weather gets worse. Simon is going to go stir crazy. He is taking his afternoon nap right now. I am still amazed that he will take to full naps a day while still sleeping all through the night. Work has definitely slowed down. We got all the deposit refunds out and havent had too many people calling in mad yet. The rest of the semester should be smooth sailing. I am enjoying the extra time to spend playing with Simon and going to my pilates class at the gym. Still workin on the last 10 pounds from pregnancy. I am sure it will be a forever thing though. Anyway, better run to the grocery store before Simon wakes up. Love you all.

Yellowstone Pictures

YellowStone

Georges and I took a big long trip to our families cabin in North East yellowstone last weekend with My Mom, David, Julie and Moran w/ Nixon. We got back Sept 3. Simon survived the driving, but did really good at the cabin. Our time was spent mostly relaxing in the house and doing some sight seeing at near by areas. We saw lots of Buffalo, Deer a few times, and even a moose once. I was so excited to see a moose. I don't know why. It just seemed like an animal you would never see. Some were able to see a wolf too. My favorite part of the trip (besides reading the twighlight series) was watching Nixon and Simon play together. The couple of hours between there morning and afternoon naps were mostly spent playing on the floor in the main area. After a few surpise hits from Simon, Nixon was on defense whenever simon came around. They played nice and shared most of the time. We took a short hike to see an enormous waterfall. It was interesting caring Simon, and was extremely sad when simon (totally exhausted already) tripped on his blanket and fell to the asphalt scrapping his soft cheek. It must have stung him because he cried in pain the whole way back until he fell asleep ontop of Georges head. On our way back we almost got lost. Missing our last turn off to the West entrance we stopped at famous site seeing place called Old Faithful. We let Simon get the wiggles out and figured out really fast that we were off course. It felt like we were trapped in this neverending forest in yellowstone. We were only 30 min off course, but it felt like forever to get back on track. It was my fault too. Luckily I have a very trusting and patient companion. But the odds were evened up when Georges got pulled over a couple hours later on our way to Idaho Falls. He was only going 70 in a 65. We think the cop suspected our vehicle or something, cause he didn't give him a ticket. It was irritating though. All and all we survived and thankfully Simon slept the whole drive home through the night.

Move in Day

The big day is over. I was exhausted by the time 3:00 hit dealing with all these kids and their parents. Of course people showed up late. And so I had to raise out of the office to avoid getting stuck forever. Unfortunately on my way out I ran into people. After helping them and experiencing drama as usual I ran across the street, saved Simon from getting put down for a nap by Daddy and grabbed our swimming suits to jump in the car. We headed over to see Julie, Morgan, Molly, Andreas, and Grandma and Grandpa at Julie's Pool. Poor Simon was so exhausted he just layed around and snuggled. It was so relaxing!! The best part was to just get away from work finally!! It had consumed me all day. More drama was going on of course, but being gone and away there was nothing I could do. It was a relief. It was so nice to be in the sun with friends and family. We stayed a little longer after everyone left for mommy and son time. I took pictures of Simon in this cute mini inner tube. I spun him around and around and he layed his head back and giggled over and over. I didn't get a picture of this, but it was so fun to take him into the bigger pool where there was a basketball hoop and balls. Again I am amazed at him. He would grab this big ball and put it up over his head towards the basket. So I lifted him up out of the water and he dunked it in the hoop. Followed was a high pitch squeel of joy and approval from him. We did that about a dozen times until he started to shake from the cold water and wind. It will be interesting to watch him grow up in sports.

One more day

I am just so excited that I have only one more day before move ins and then the summer torture is over. Tomorrow we put the apartments back together and check everything and then we wait for the tenants to come on Saturday. It is also the last saturday I have to work for a long long time. I can't wait to take time off. Next weekend for Labor Day we will join my parents and some of the kids and go to the cabin in Montana. It will be a long drive and a long trip, but boy are we excited to get away and take a break! I feel like i have almost reached the top of the mountain and will soon have that rest at the top overlooking the beautiful landscape. Followed by a relaxing, effortless climb down.

Move Ins and Move Outs

The crazy time of year has arrived for us. It is all the move outs and move ins for the apartment. Getting organized and planning ahead was essential. It has really paid off too. We are half way through it. One more Move in to go this weekend. Every day for the past two weeks I have been getting up at the crack of dawn. Painting crew and Cleaning crew arrive at 8am. It is so hard to leave Simon and Georges so early in the morning in the house. Lunch breaks are a joke to fit in. Even if I do get home for one I usually get a call that pulls me right back after a few minutes. But great news!!! We are finally full for Fall. The last contract came to our fax yesterday. We hit 248!!! The stress just cut in half. Of course we were bound to get full, but until you hit that moment it is a lot of work. People are draining. Lori, my neighbor friend made me a yummy potato soup for lunch and I actually got to sit and eat it without any interuption calls yesterday. So things have instantly gotten better. We have been very lucky that things have been runnging smoothly. My boss is exstatic and rewarded us in our paycheck!!! Yipee!!! Too bad it goes into savings for Simon. I can't wait until this weekend is over so I can relax more and play with my Simon.

Since losing my recently trained assistant, Danielle, my sister, was recruited for help. And she has been wonderful!! We have experienced some wild encounters with tenants and prospects. Recently a tenant was putting up fighting with us. It didn't take too many insults from this guy to get Danielle upset. After the 3rd or 4th insult Danielle butted in and said, "Dude, if you insult her one more time". . .I would have loved to here the end of the sentence, but I couldn't allow her to go off, so I gave her a stirn look and a shake of the head and said, "Danielle, We can't". She tried again to defend me, which is so sweet of her.

Simons Birthday Pictures

1st Bite of Birthday Cake

He still loves this

Fights with his BF with this one

FIRETRUCK!!!!

Truly enjoying B-day cake!

Mommy loved the clothes

Cutest frame ever!!

Simons 1st Birthday

Simon Turned 1 Year Last Saturday. Thank you to all those that could come and for all the fun stuff you gave to Simon. We hope you had a good time. We left all his new toys on the floor this whole week for him to play with. It kind of drove me nuts to see the mess and not pick it up, but he had a blast. He would get so excited about them, but he couldn't decide which one to play with. He would drag them all around the house and so wherever I went he had a toy to play with. His big animal balloons deflated fast but he had fun trying to reach them and carry them around the house too. It has been fun to see him play hard. We brought over the popcorn machine from my office at the apartments for the big day and it is still here because Simon loves it so much!! We discovered his love for popcorn on his birthday. Apparently he went around to everyone begging for it. Now every day Georges pops some popcorn in the machine and Simon eats it, but mostly he just makes a mess all over the floor.

Now for the big news update. For a birthday gift we bought Simon a new shitzu puppy!! Yep, we have a new addition to the family. It is a boy. black and white. 11 weeks old. Georges named him Mickey. He is a little bit older, but mostly potty trained. Very sweet and well- mannered. He will follow us everywhere we go. After Simon wakes up in the morning we take three go out for a walk and Mickey stays by our side the whole time. Its in there nature, but he did it right from the start. It was a quick adjustment for him and for us. Last night he didn't whine at all before bed. It is like having two kids. (but a lot easier). No second baby for us for awhile. But at least Simon has a new friend at home. They are soooo cute together. Simon will egg him on. He crawls on the floor after Mickey until Mickey gets excited and attacks him. Simon will put his head to the floor to take cover and Mickey will lick and chew on his ears. It makes Simon giggle histerically.

UH - OH

Simon said uh- oh yesterday finally. I have been trying forever to get him to say it. He pauses in between the uh and the oh but it is so cute to see him trying. I went clothes shopping with a friend yesterday and Simon did not want to stay in the stroller, and you can't keep a boy in one place for long. I ended up walking all around the store with him exploring the hangers and mirrors and toys. A particular toy was found on the ground in a miscellaneous spot. A Tonka lime green race car. It was love at first site. I would push it real far down the walkway and he would literally fall over himself running to catch it. I knew we were going to have to buy it, but upon further examination I found no price tag and it looked pretty worn. We asked an employee if they had any idea if it was for sale or a lost toy. The second we handed it over to her to examine it Simon pitched a huge fit and did everything he could to get behind the counter to get his toy back. Laughin at Simon she handed it back. It turned out it was a lost toy. Leaving my number for the owner to claim if they return we took Simon and his free toy and left.

Fourth of July parade. Simon went balistic over the fire trucks, jet in the sky, and motorcycles. It was so fun to take him. He looks grumpy in this picture because he we made him hold still for a moment. I love that you can become a kid again with your children.

Slide

Simon went down his first slide. I never would have expected him to do that so early. The neighbor kids were going down a big one on Saturday, so I think that he decided to imitate them on a mini slide. I watched as he climbed up the two little steps, sat in postition and pushed down. He slid down that thing like he had done it a dozen times. Of course he absolutely loved it so he went up and down a few more time after that. He even tried to tackle climbing up it backwards and then would give up and slide back down on his belly. It was only two feet high, but he was fearless!!! Again, wish I had a camara!!

Daddy don't go !!

Simon seems to know when we are about to leave the house. I don't know if its the putting on the shoes that gives it away or grabbing the keys off the counter. But today Daddy started to head out and before he even made it out of the kitchen, Simon had plastered himself against the front door. We suspect he was keeping daddy from going, but he also could have been taking the opportunity to go outside and play. I don't look forward to the day when he runs. Chasing him down will be interesting.

First Words

Well, many have told me that they start talking over night, and its true!! Simon of course has been saying the Mama, Dada words for awhile, but he surprised me last month when he mimicked Byron's Cat Niki by saying Meow! But that is not considered a word. However, recently he blurted out what I call his first word. UP. He started to beg a lot to be picked up a month ago. And than he decided to say the word after me. Couple days later he said Please. And then a few days after that he said Hot!! I had no idea they could be so adorable saying there first words. He goes aroundr repeating the word over and over again. So proud of himself for saying it. He is really enjoying mimcking us now over everything. Like . . pushing the tv button. .turning it off right at the best part of the show. Bouncing his head to music in the car. . .especially R&B! Pushing the keys on the keyboard. . like mommy at work. And writing on paper with a pen. His all time favorite still is Digging in the dirt and pulling weeds like mommy. Weathers hot now though. By the time it cools down he is already in bed.

Feeding Himself

Even though Simon does crazy silly things everyday, I had to share how defiant he has been about eating. He cried when I put him in his highchair and than would turn his head aside when I tried to feed him. It has been going on like this for weeks. I pulled all the tricks out of the bag except one. Today I let him have it. A spoon that is. He Wants to feed himself. Definition: Make a mess everywhere!!! It was so fun though!!! I straightened my hair while he dumped yogurt all over. And I got all the dishes done when I gave him strawberries. Which ended up in his hair. HILARIOUS!!! Should have took a picture, right? I just couldn't stop laughing fast enough to take one. Promise, next time I will.

Father's Day

It was Georges first fathers day today. We all gathered at Grandmas house in celebration. Simon united again with his cousin Nixon for playtime. He was so exhausted from having skipped his afternoon nap that I was impressed he lasted as long as he did. David cooked some amazing BBQ and we all pigged out including the little ones. Byron and Bejana treated everyone to yummy strawberry shakes. And nixon had fun getting it all over himself. They played on the grass, on the trampoline, and Simon played with Davids newly placed rocks tossing them as far as he could throw. After a fun game of Name the famous person we had to quickly take Simon home because he was so tired. In the car we glanced back at him and his eyes were open, then five minutes later I looked back again because he was so quiet and I watched as his head flopped down with eyes closed fast asleep. Poor thing. He played so hard.

Tummy Time

Simon's whole world has expanded since he started walking. But he has become fond of laying on his belly again. He picks a place on the floor and sprawls out playing with his choice of toy in front of him. Sometimes he just lays down and kicks his feet up behind him. How do they learn so many things so fast? Today at work he tried to put paper in the printer and recently Grandma saw him trying to put my keys in the door lock. Unbelievable!! His favorite toys are my toys. I got him a toy rake and bucket. He's not interested. He refuses to give my rake up once he gets possession of it. At the office all pens, staplers, keyboards, mouses, paper, and boxes are his toys. He has had to learn NO really fast.

The Aspervil Family

Hi to all!! I hope to share updates and stories of our life with our family. Right now I am about to start working full time as the Apartment Manager for Winter Haven. Student Housing for UVU in Orem, Ut. We live in a wonderful home provided by the apartments and have been here for a little over a year now. Georges is still pursing his mechanical engineering degree at UVU and his currently taking his College Algebra class for the summer semester. He never wants to stop taking a class fearing that he will never start again. He will be a Sophmore this Fall and so will still have a few years to go which means we will be here for awhile. Last Friday was his last day at his job with Blendtec as an engineer assistant. He is going to do school full-time and stay home with Simon in the afternoons while I work across the street at the office. Thank you to all of my family that helped tend Simon this year. You know who you are and how much I appreciated your weekly help with Simon. Now Simon. . .He is 10 Months old, growing fast, and cuter than ever!!! He has been walking for a about a month now, climbs up and down our stairs freely, and loves to play outside in the dirt while I pull weeds. He loves anything with wheels on it especially daddy's motorcycle. And has been so excited to have Daddy home as a babysitter everyday now. I would say Simon's first word was daddy. Well, that is just a quick summary of out life right now in a nutshell. Stay Posted . . .