Mornings used to be madness in the Weingarth household.
Janelle and Mark Weingarth would have to wake their two boys at 6am to get them fed, dressed, out the door and dropped off to day care before they started work.
But that all changed when Samira Haas came into their lives. The 19-year-old German joined the family as their au pair in February.
“Samira has fitted into our lives so easily, it’s like we’ve always known her and she is part of our family, our friend and importantly part of our parenting team,” Janelle says.
The couple were so impressed with how she cared for Cooper (4), and Fletcher (21 months), that they nominated her for the Au Pair of the Year competition run by PORSE partner company, Au Pair Link.
There were tears all around when the family found out that Samira had won.
“I was so surprised and really pleased,” Samira says.
Samira was awarded an STA Travel voucher worth $1,000 and a Certificate of Excellence.
Au Pair Link General Manager, Casey Muraahi, says each entry was judged based on writing from the heart, the passion of the entry, the specific and exceptional differences made to the lives of the children and parents, and the evident bond developed between the au pair and host family.
The Weingarths compiled a video of Samira having fun with the boys. Cooper holds up signs saying: “I love my Samira”, and “She is caring, kind, fun and beautiful”.
Fletcher and Cooper love Samira, and can’t wait to play games, read stories and climb all over her, Janelle says. Cooper idolises Samira – copying a picture in her room many times so he could be just like her.
