Visit from Nani and Nana

Certain other things may have upstaged this post, but I wanted to take a minute to thank Naresh and Suzan so much for all their help during their visit last week!

Dev's parents (whom Beatrice and her cousins call Nani and Nana) arrived on May 13 and immediately were put to work helping us with a ton of last-minute house projects before Arthur arrived, including buying and installing a new washer and dryer; setting up the laundry room; starting new landscape projects; researching paint colors, tile, gates, fences, and trees; re-sodding the empty dirt circle that once housed the fountain,

BEFORE


DURING


AFTER

and worst/best of all, painting the built-in bookcase in Beatrice and Arthur's room, which wound up being a far more involved project than anyone expected - it took Suzan at least twelve hours of sanding, priming, and painting all the shelves and sections. (Stay tuned for a full before-and-after photo once the paint is all dry.)

Almost all of their visit was spent helping us with babysitting and household projects, but at least we were able to give Suzan and Naresh a few breaks to do more relaxing things, like take Beatrice to see baby ducks and geese at Descanso Gardens or have an elegant baby-free dinner at Little Dom's in Los Feliz the night before Arthur came.

Beatrice chasing baby ducks at Descanso

Nani and Nana took Beatrice on daily walks; Beatrice loves to walk Cromwell

And then, of course, Arthur was born!

And so Nani and Nana extended their trip and cared for Beatrice and both dogs while Dev and I were in the hospital - which meant that they were caring for a toddler while still painting!

We were so glad and grateful for their help! Not to mention delighted that their visit intersected with Arthur's arrival so they were able to meet him. And we promise next time they come we won't make them work so hard...