Grande Merci and Au-voir Ta-ta Latifa

On Friday, it was with great sadness that we had to say bye bye to ta-ta Latifa. It was Bibou's last day at the creche, which is closed in August, and then Bibou goes to school in September. The time has certainly flown by! Bibou has had 30 wonderful months at ta-ta Latifa. She's been a wonderful nanny to Bibou, who has grown up with her and learnt so much from her. Ta-ta Latifa has also been more than a nanny, she's been a great friend; her daughter Sonia babysits Bibou for us, always has a kind word and never forgets Bibou's b'day and Christmas - she always has a gift for her. She also came over for a visit when Angel was born (but unfortunately, Seraphine was at the neonatal ward having her medication via the drip so tata couldn't see her) and even sent some food home with Bibou when I came back from the hospital. I also remember my very first week (the 'adaptation' week) with tata. It was obviously my first time being apart from my little baby and it was hard for me, and I broke down crying. Tata comforted me and made me feel so at ease, that I knew that Bibou would be in good hands.

We (both us and tata) have been telling Bibou that the 'end' is near and that she won't be returning to tata anymore (except for course for the occasional visit and odd babysitting). We're not sure if she's completely understood (no tears or tantrums or fears from her yet). We'll see. Well, we're planning on keeping her quite occupied in August. Next week, we hope to hook up with Dan and bring both of them to various places in Paris. Then Mamita and Grumps will arrive for a 3 week visit and that will certainly keep her happy! They will even be here when Bibou goes to school, and this time it will be with her pal Dan. Anyway, so yesterday, when we went up to collect Bibou, we brought tata a gift - a digital photo frame and we'd also uploaded a few photos of Bibou and tata through the years. Tata really liked her gift, and we looked at the photos together. All too soon, we had to leave. It was really sad to go. We will miss her. But I'm sure we'll see Tata soon.

This weekend, Bibou got invited to a birthday party. It was Gaia's 3rd birthday and she was throwing her party in a room above a toy shop! They even had 2 princesses who helped the party along. They had games, dances and even a puppet show. Bibou even had her face all painted up like a princess, and she had fun dancing with Daddy.