SATURDAY SPA VISIT AT WESTLAKE RESERVE

Zoe' and Zeke went to 'The Spa" reluctantly this morning as the "SPA Massuse and Maseur " prepared their warm 1st bath. Zeke liked the event much better than Zoe'. Neither really likes the gentle, warm hair dryer and brushing. Here are some photos of the event. I think next time the Westlake Vet and Groomer might get this task as it was rather stressful for Bubby and Poppie. Too many "puppy tears". The vet said yesterday that it will not be too long before we need to begin brushing their teeth on a regular basis. I am glad that Maury is retired and home alot.....he will need the time to do all of the puppy grooming and care.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Today the puppies are 9 weeks old. We went to Pet Smart and bought them each a winter "puffy fur trimmed coat" and some puppy treats. They loved walking in front of our town home in their warm fur coats.

Later on Jason, Meredith, and Amelia dropped by to see the puppies and to get their Valentines' Day presents a few days early. Amelia got lots of 24 month sized knit tops, jeans, and jackets with lots of pink for the special day. Mommy Meredith and Daddy Jason got a card with something they can use later. Amelia has gotten so big that she has out grown most everything! She also liked the miniature Valentines Day snow globe with a Valentines heart inside! She knew exactly what to do do with it....shake, shake, shake it!

Amelia loved playing with the puppies again today. Here are some photos of our time together. Look who is "pooped" out after a busy Sunday afternoon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBY! FEBRUARY 4TH

Jason and Amelia came over for a Sunday birthday breakfast and to bring Bubby a big bag of birthday goodies while Mommy Meredith was getting a break with a few hours of painting . What a great gift bag full of puppy treats, toys, a "bone-shaped" picture frame, dog cookies plus more. Zeke and Zoe' loved the presents too, especially the pink and blue chew bones with the ribbons attached. We had great pancakes, bacon, juice, coffee...and of course Amelia's favorite "Oreo Cookies"!

Greatgrandma Irene and Poppie gave Bubby funny cards and several checks for shopping. It will not be long until Bubby will go out on a shopping trip to buy some new spring clothes. Aaron and Caren called with a fantastic announcement....they are buying a brand new condo in New York...actually in Brooklyn. It is much closer to Manhattan. Bubby said...."It was the best birthday ever".

THE FIRST SNOW

We all stayed home today. Judy and Maury both worked from home. Zeke and Zoe' were delighted as they were "free" from their "all day" crate stay. They spent the day cuddled in our arms and playing together.

The snow was a new experience for them. They were not crazy about going out in the snow to "do their business". But, of course, I do not blame them much.....IT WAS COLD!!!!

1st DAY AT HOME

Today was a big day for the Simon Family. Zeke and Zoe' came to live at Norman Ridge Lane in Raleigh. We were not sure when we left the Patterson's home is Cary if they were going to like the ride to their new home in North Raleigh. Zeke tried out his vocal cords most of the ride while Zoe' slept in her car carrier.

They had their first walks on their new leashes, first dinner in their new dishes, played with their new toys, had treats when they "did their business" outside, and scooped out the downstairs of our town home. As you can imagine, we spent the afternoon yesterday at PetSmart preparing for their arrival. We needed two of everything. It was like preparing for twins!

They had a little trouble standing up on the hardwood floors today as they were use to walking on carpet. It did not take them long to figure out where their food and water dishes are located in the laundry room.

In the late afternoon, Jason, Meredith, and Amelia came over. Amelia immediately loved both Zeke and Zoe'. She gave them both lots of huggs, kisses, and loved petting them. It was amazing how gentile she was with the new puppies. She did get a bit jealous when Mommy Meredith had both puppies in her lap and insisted that she get to sit on "HER" mom's lap. We all enjoyed our Italian Dinner that Bubby prepared. We believe that spagetti with meat sauce is one of Amelia's favorites...Besides COOKIES, of course!

Amelia learned to say "shushhhhhhhhhhh" with her little finger over her lips as she did not want to awaken the puppies while they were sleeping in their new crate. How CUTE! She is a loving little one! Jason and Meredith have done a FABULOUS job thus far with little Amelia!

We hope that the rest of the family will love Zeke and Zoe'. They have been really good thus far.

NEW FAMILY MEMBERS

Meet Zeke and Zoe'. They are the newest members of the Simon family. They are six week old YoChons. They are brother and sister and are a Yorkie and Bichon mix. They will come home to live with us the first week of February. We cannot wait until Amelia and the rest of the family meets them. We think they will all be great friends!

SATURDAY WITH POPPIE AND BUBBY

We just returned from a wonderful Sunday morning brunch feast at our favorite Brigs Restaurant where we met Daddy Jason and Mommy Meredith to return Amelia after a fun visit at the Raleigh Grandparents.

What fun we had yesterday visiting the horse farm on Leesville Road right down the street from Bubby's and Poppie's house. When we returned from our tricycle ride, we took a car ride to Lake Lynn. We saw swans, ducks, Canadian geese, mallard ducks, and even a few turtles. Amelia loved the entire afternoon while her Daddy and Mommy were shoppoing and out to dinner. Poppie and Amelia read lots of books and played with "Tickle Me Elmo" while Bubby was cooking a delicious dinner. We played for a while and then off to bed. She was so good about going right to sleep and slept until 7:00 a.m.

We loved our afternoon and evening with Amelia. We cannot wait for another overnight visit!

LOTS OF FAMILY AT THE HOLIDAYS

Spending some holiday time with the West Coast Simons....It was great to stay with Mike and Cindy Simon. One day we took Irene to the Claremont Hotel for lunch and met Vicki, her family, and Valerie at breakfast. Hopefully there will be many more visits. We all had a HAPPY HANNUKAH!

MORE CHRISTMAS PHOTOS

We had a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION for Caren, Aaron's girlfriend, at the Christmas day lunch (even though her birthday is the day after Christmas). We also wish Grandma Simon a happy 91st birthday as well!

2006 CHRISTMAS

It sure is quiet today. Earlier this month we went to California to spend a few days with the Simon Family. Irene seems to be doing well after the loss of Oscar last August. We got to spend a little time with the entire Simon Family. We even visited with Bruce, Carolyn and Steven Simon.

This past weekend we had a great holiday with Great Grandma Cooper, Jane and Peter who all came up for a three day visit from South Carolina. Aaron and Caren were also here as well from New York City.

Amelia loved being the center of attention for the entire holiday weekend. We had lots of relatives and lots of family meals together. Our traditional Italian "Spagetti" night on Saturday, Peking Duck and other Chinese favorites at the "Jade Garden" on Sunday Christmas Eve, and a great combined effort of the "Dueling Grilling Chefs" as Aaron and Jason made lots of great grilled foods like shrimp on skewers, trout, and marinated steak (recipe from Alton Brown on :THE FOOD NETWORK"). The pouring down rain did not keep them from making a great meal. Well, we will all have to make trips to the gym later this week to take a few of the pounds off that we put on over the holidays.

As you can see in the photos, "Tickle Me Elmo" from Santa and the Fisher Price Piano from Uncle Peter and Aunt Jane were big hits. Since Amelia has grown so much recently, everyone bought lots of clothes to refill her closets and dresser drawers. Amelia's family will have lots of fun shopping the after Christmas sale with all of the checks under the tree. We hope that they will find the toy box that Bubby and Poppie ordered to be suitable for Amelia's room full of new toys.

We hope that all family and friends that read this BLOG had a Happy Hannukah and a Merry Christmas. We hope that we see you all in the New Year. Come see us in Raleigh at ANY TIME!
Have a great 2007!

GOOD BYE TO UNCLE AARON AND CAREN

We had a quick good bye dinner at the Jade Garden Restaurant before Bubby and Poppy took Aaron and Caren to the airport. Amelia seemed to enjoy most of the Chinese food but did not acquire a taste for the "bland" white rice. Once again she behaved so nicely at the Chinese restaurant. She also had an opportunity to wear one of her animal birthday hats.

AMELIA'S 1ST BIRTHDAY

Amelia had a great time at her 1st birthday party despite the fact that she did not have much of a nap that day. All of the one and two year olds were happy, played with each other, and had lots to eat. Even the little rain showers did not cause a problem.

Amelia shared her birthday week w/ her Mom on September 21, Uncle Aaron on September 23, and her Dad on October 3. Bubby and Poppy need a "raise" after all of the birthdays! Happy Birthday to all of the Simons!

Amelia and her friends wore their "animal party hats" briefly....but you can see from the photos below who enjoyed the hats the most!