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.