Ultimate Au Pair Nominee
Au Pair: Laura Veronica Naula Tupiza
Ecuador
Host Family: D'Souza
Location: New York
From the very beginning of her arrival, Veronica has been absolutely phenomenal. For the past two years she has given more than we ever imagined a childcare provider could. Within the first few minutes of walking into our home that first day she lovingly embraced our then 5 month old, and now when I hear the usual loud screams of laughter from our now 2 year old son, I thank the universe for sending her our way.
From others around her I have heard how she treats our son as if he was her own. I have no doubt of this from the love I see that my son has for her. At least 3 or 4 times a day when she is not with us he asks for her. During a typical day she is always busy doing something, whether its taking him to play dates or birthday parties that she herself has organized or keeping our whole house in order. She cooks lunch not only for him but also for me when she eats her own. She does hundreds of little things for us that we never asked her to do. She goes above and beyond, is smart, interested in learning about the world, and generous with her love and her efforts. She has been taking English classes every day and has improved her language skills tremendously since she arrived.
I was expecting our second child a few weeks before my older son's second birthday. Veronica bought the invitations, distributed them, spent her free time buying the party games, had her au pair friends over to help prepare the food, and even had a baker friend give us the most beautiful birthday cake. The party was a huge success and my son still talks about it. Also, for Christmas last year she gave my husband and I, as well as my parents, a photo album of my son's first year. She included all the pictures she took which we hadn't seen before, all with little notes of what he was doing. These are just a few examples of the many wonderful things she has done.
Veronica is always willing to learn and try new things, which is always needed in our young family. I don't know what we would have done without her!
She will be returning to Ecuador soon and we will all miss her. She even helped to review all the new au pair applications and talked to her replacement au pair, helping us to make the decision on who will join our family next.
We plan to keep in touch and she will always have a place in our home and in our hearts.
