It's official... we are homeowners! After much worrying and much praying, we were able to sign on Tuesday morning. The signing wasn't as bad as I expected, although the process was a bit long. It started with the notary reading aloud from the 20-something-page papers. She was a fast reader, but still. Fran was like, "You are going to have this baby while we're still sitting here!" And the thought had crossed my mind. Fortunately she didn't read every single page word for word, just the highlights. A couple of hours later, we handed over one gigantic check and got this key!

That night we went to the apartment to see what kind of shape it was in. The answer was, surprisingly good shape! Of course we will paint, repair and clean a bit, but I thought it looked quite clean and inhabitable. I took a bunch of pictures with my phone, but the fact that it was night and I had no flash mean didn't look so great. But here are a few where you can actually see something:
 
This is the front door (l) and the living room (r). Touches like the stone things (that's an architectural term), that old window and the wood floors made us really like this place.
 
The view from the living room (I told you, it was night), and the kitchen, which is pretty huge by Mexican standards. It needs some help but I am just excited for all that counter space!

This is the guest bedroom, which the previous owners were using for their two boys. The apartment has three bedrooms plus a maid's room and two baths plus the maid's bath. We are so excited to spread out!!
 
Oh, also, did I mention it's only one flight of stairs up from the parking area AND there's an elevator? In case you don't recall, our current apartment is a fifth-floor walkup and you have to park so close to the wall that the driver has to crawl out the passenger side. Not so easy when one is 8 months pregnant.

Most of all I just feel so proud that we own our own apartment. Obviously I have been working for a paycheck for quite a few years now, but I don't really make a big connection between work and the money I'm able to spend (is that weird?) But now that we signed and got our key, I just thought, "Wow, all these years of working and the way Fran and I have managed our expenses, etc. have added up to this — a nest for us and for our babe! And for Puffy of course!!"