Miriam's days

Mimi's first day of school at the Orange House (pictured here!!)

Miriam has been very busy these days! She started "school" at the Orange House the day before Ami went to Kindergarten so she had a head start with education this fall!! She is loving going to Daycare/preschool and the Orange house is a particularly lovely place and vibe. They always play nice music (including Suzuki book 1!) and they are very loving and responsive to the kids. It really feels like Mimi is at somebody else's home and that she gets to do stuff there that I don't think to do with her here. On Friday Helen (the woman who runs the business) said that she had a great time gluing! She always is glad to see me but also really jazzed about her experience. She wants to go there every day!
Mimi attends the Orange House with Ruby Gonzales (who also lives in the Nichols Apartments with us). We walk 1/2 a block to get there! Ruby is always stylishly dressed and very put-together and Mimi doesn't always leave the house quite like that! This photo is from their first day and I am not sure that Mimi wanted to have a picture together with Ruby! It is good for them to go together because they are the only girls! Helen tells me that if a childcare situation does not have a gender balance policy that boys far our-number girls... interesting...

Now that school has started up again at CDSP, I have resumed my childcare swaps with Sylvia. This year I get to look after her 2 girls and she looks after Mimi. Mimi and Alexandra seem to be getting along very well as you can see by these photos!


Although Sylvia is a dancer she has never encouraged Alexandra to be interested in dance and especially in ballet. Alexandra has other ideas!!!! And now Miriam seems to want to do pink ballerina things too! I just love this photo of them and Miriam's body and leg shape, her socks.. etc...
I am having fun looking after Alexandra's baby sister Johanna who was born at the beginning of June. She is super sweet and very forgiving and it is fun to have someone so little to hold and then be able to give them back!

Here is Mimi on our camping trip. By this point we were with our friends from All Souls Parish and we were so dusty (perhaps you can see it in the air..) it was quite unbelievable! Ami and Mimi really loved camping and we hope to do more of it in the near future.

This is Mimi singing a little song on an amazing beach on our Big Sur camping adventure.
Mimi is LOVING her new sandals that Gran sent for her!
She is showing signs of being a BIG character and loving a good joke and being an altogether awesome gal.