Lara's Here!!!

When I was pregnant with Will, Matt and I started discussing our options for childcare when I go back to work with 3 babies at home.  We had heard of the Au Pair program before and thought about it, but always been a little timid.  This time around, we learned a bit more and got VERY excited about the idea.  An Au Pair is a nanny program sponsored by the Department of State.  Au Pairs come from all over the world through program agencies.  They are mostly girls between 18 and 26 years old who want to come to America for an adventure, to learn english, and because they LOVE children.  They live with the American family and take care of the children during the week.  It is a great cultural experience for the families and the girls!!

SOOO..... We are SO VERY EXCITED to introduce LARA!!!  We interviewed several Au Pairs over skype and Lara happened to be the very first Au Pair we met with.  She was so sweet and mature and wonderful, Matt and I instantly loved her from the very beginning, but Lara was just starting her interviews as well and recommended that we talk to other Au Pairs and she would talk to other families so we all could experience the entire search/matching process.  We were very impressed with her confidence and wisdom to know what she wanted.  After several other interviews that always ended with, "She was nice, but I still like Lara more..." we 'matched' with Lara and began planning her trip to America to live with us!!!!

Lara is from Cologne, Germany which is the polar opposite of Indianola!!!  She insisted she was open to the new experience.  She is 18 years old and just graduated from high school.  Luckily, German high school grads are years beyond American high school grads.  In Germany, many of the students take a "gap year" where they take a year off school before going to college. 

Lara landed in Seattle Friday evening after a week long training program in New Jersey.  In order to really introduce her to American culture and completely overwhelm her the first day ;) we took her to Red Robin for dinner right off the plane.  She's a trooper and didn't seem too overwhelmed.  The kids have never been so excited as they are with Lara here.  She is so great with them and I've heard nothing but giggles from them all weekend. 

Saturday we took Lara for a ride in the golf cart up to the Indianola Saturday market.  We walked on the dock and played at the playground and met a few local people.  We're spending the weekend getting her settled and the kids are THRILLED with their new playmate.  We keep telling Lara it's ok to take a break, but she has some great playtime stamina and they all just keep laughing and playing. 

LARA!!! We are so happy to welcome you into our family!!!  You are such a great addition to the house and we are looking forward to a fantastic year!!!