Ann.

Ann is our childminder, our friend and our family.
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Ann looks after my lovely children one day a week so I don't go completely nuts. She started out by looking after Elliot when I went back to work. Not long after, Noah came into the world and Ann started looking after him, too.
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Elliot's first day with Ann

Ann has looked after at least one hundred million kids over the course of her childminding life. She can name each one of them and at what age they started potty training. Her house is always full of little people, snacks, toys, potties, sticker charts, and books. Her mode of transport is a double buggy which she pushes through the streets of Dalston and Stoke Newington, a gaggle of children at her sides, pedestrians be damned.
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Noah's first day with Ann

She taught my boys to hold the buggy when crossing the road, stay "off the black bit" so you don't get walloped by a swing, tidy up when you're done with toys, sit down when eating and not get up until the last person is done. She has encouraged them to draw, read and count. She helped get them potty trained. When things get messy, she's prepared with a closet full of clothes, including a hilarious pair of harem corduroy trousers that I hope I never see again, yet never forget.
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With Elliot starting 'big school' in September, though, he has now graduated from "Ann's Gang" into the ranks of "Kids Who Have Been Looked After By Ann". Today is his last official day with her. And, although she's still very much a part of our lives, it is the closing of one of our first chapters.
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Today

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Days Seven, Eight, and Nine

Day Seven: Hollywood, dun dun dun dun, Hollywood. Open top tour bus around Hollywood. Interesting, but not 100% my thing. Dinner at a great Mexican place in downtown. Drinks with the cousins that evening.

Day Eight: Walked around Pasadena in the morning, then The Main Event - Ben and Michelle's wedding! The couple were beautiful and gracious. They put on a great party and we were all so pleased to be there.

Day Nine: 4th of July! BBQ / brunch in the park this morning and then our flight home this evening. Sitting in LAX right now and looking very, very forward to seeing my little squidgy people...

Day 6

Drove from Carmel to Hearst Castle via the Pacific Cost highway.
Beautiful scenery. Hearst castle was interesting, but stuffy. The
grounds were amazing. Survived a near miss on 101 (the crash literally
happened right behind us; we were incredibly lucky) and now are at
LAX, awaiting the arrival of The Bub.