I would like to acknowledge our wonderful au pair Maike, and nominate her for Au Pair of the Month.

Maike arrived with us in April and from the moment she arrived at home with us (actually we felt sure she'd fit in well before she arrived), she has been an awesome addition to our family.

Maike has been an absolute pleasure to have in our home. She is kind and considerate, often finishing tasks that we've not had time to do without us even mentioning it. Although she insists that she cannot cook, everything she prepares is delicious and is gobbled up as quick as a flash, by us and our hungry boys. When we arrange to have guests over, she automatically steps up - and joins in the crazy cleaning and tidying flurry that occurs before they arrive. Maike has been flexible and understanding when our work has prevented us from being home on time, and always greets us with a smile (and sometimes cooked pancakes for lunch).

Due to Maike's beautiful, gentle nature, we have never observed her being anything other than patient, kind, respectful and loving towards our children. This is tough when you have two busy boys in your life. And in turn they absolutely adore her - 2 year old Miles often asking "where is 'my Maike'?" when she is away on the weekend. It has been so wonderful seeing the boys learning with her, and I really feel that she has got her own goals to see what they can achieve in their development during her time with us.

Maike has been through many difficult and stressful situations with us; travelling overseas, moving house, changing our job, dealing with the death of our dog, and the most current struggle - potty training! She has taken it all in her stride - and has been a true champion; just the steady rock that we wanted for our boys during times when we knew that other stresses might get the best of us. In fact, I feel like I have learnt a lot from having the chance to observe her and the boys doing their things together.

We really enjoy her company and her energy for life. Maike is the first au pair we've had join our family and we only hope that our next one can live up to her.

 

Maike