When we interviewed Annika over a year ago now we knew straight away that she would be a perfect fit for us. She was the first applicant we interviewed and we decided to follow our instinct and sent her an offer the same night of the interview.  It turns out we were right, she has been exactly what we were after.

Annika is an independent, organised and mature member of our family, while also being patient, loving and fun with the our two kids aged 4 and 2. You can tell she loves them and they certainly love her and what more could any family ask for.  

We laugh about how much her life has changed, she came here with ambitions to become an lawyer and very independent and now she carries baby wipes in her handbag, has an audience in the bathroom and seldomly has peace from the "An-car" of the youngest calling her name. She embraces all of it and while she still wants to be a lawyer she's going to go back to Germany with a whole new experience and outlook on life.

At the moment while both my husband and I are busy at work, Annika is basically running our home. I say 'thanks mum' as she cooks my toast in the morning rush and passes it to me on my way out the door. When I get home the kids have been fed their dinner, ready for bed and the house will be tidier than when I left it. There's likely even my washing done and on my bed. I couldn't appreciate it more and we thank her every day.

While I'm nominating Annika for au pair of the month it really should be au pair of the last 9 months. She's all we had asked for in an au pair plus a whole lot more and we would love her to be recognised for it by more than just us.

Nicky Coleman