1. Describe your family and your children's personalities:
Hello we are the Kunraths! My name is Mary and my husband is Erich.
Erich and I met through our parents. His father (Egbert or Opa Kunrath) is from Salzburg and acts as a guide for ski trips to Salzburg. My mother (Sue or Grandma Miller) knows Egbert through these trips. One year they decided Erich and I should be married... And we were of course after deciding for ourselves :) We now have two little ones and are loving our parenthood adventure. Lukas is 2.5 years old. He LOVES trains and talking. He is funny sweet sensitive and happy. We recently welcomed Charlotte (almost 2 months old) into our home. She is a very round lovable and content baby who loves to snuggle. We also have a very sweet 10 year old yellow lab. She is very calm and easy going. Erich was a pilot in the Air Force but separated when we had Lukas so he could be at home with Lukas. I work at a nearby medical clinic as a pediatrician for poor families. Erich and I are both focused but fun. We are kind and enjoy being with friends and family.
Here is a video our friend recently made:
https://vimeo.com/133415991
password: Charlotte
2. Briefly describe the au pair's responsibilities/typical weekly schedule:
I will be working 3 days a week up to 10 hours a day. My office is very close to the home. Those days we would most need au par care. Erich may end up returning to work as a pilot and so there may be a couple of days a week where he would be traveling but that is to be sorted out. Primary responsibilities are to love and enjoy the kids. They will need routine feedings diaper changes and naps. We live in an ideal location for getting out and about a little. I would like for them to have some adventure outside daily (going to park walking on the trail or walking to library). It is important for infants to have stimulation. Playing music for Charlotte talking to her getting her out for walks and on to the floor to roll around and play are all things we do for her and we would like for you to do as well. Lukas loves to be read to play with his train table and run around the house when indoors. He has a wonderful playroom and does a nice job of staying on task when we start an activity for him. We limit screen time and want to make he stays busy during the day. Currently he takes a great afternoon nap. He loves spending time outdoors. This summer his sandbox and water table were a hit and we also had fun making bubbles digging in the dirt and drawing with chalk on the driveway. Most importantly whatever the activity or situation I want to make sure that both kids are always safe and supervised. I want an au pair who is calm confident creative and eager to make their day fun but still structured. Helping Lukas learn to respect his toys and pick up after himself are important too. Keeping the children's living areas bathroom and laundry maintained are important. Also helping with meals for the kids would be a part of the evening schedule some nights. I also really want our au pair to approach us with any worries or concerns.
3. What are your families' interests and weekend activities?
We love being outdoors going for walks hikes or adventures around the neighborhood. Recently Erich and Lukas have been going to a big indoor pool and Lukas loves it. We also have park with a short walk and they have a children's splash pad which is great for hot days. I like a little break to sneak away and use our local gym. Erich gets away for a bike ride when he has the chance sometimes solo and sometimes with children's trailer in tow. We are blessed with both sets of families nearby. We love spending time with grandparents aunts uncles and cousins. Also we are about 1 hour from the mountains and 2 from the beautiful Oregon coast! Trips are fairly easily given our location. The Portland international airport is only 25 minutes away and both Erich and I did travel quite a bit before the kids but less so now. We also enjoy getting out to a good restaurant now and again! We really enjoy working on the home gardening and cooking!
4. Describe your home/community:
We live in West Linn Oregon which is south of Portland by about a 20 minute drive. We love West Linn and the convenience of being close to Portland. We live tucked into a beautiful hidden corner in West Linn. It feels very private and peaceful but amazingly we are close to everything! We are across the street from a wonderful library with an entire floor devoted to children a 1 minute walk to the Central Village which is a shopping center with a great market coffee shops gift shops pet store post office gym restaurants and coming soon an ice cream/frozen yogurt store. We also have great access to trails and a beautiful wooded area called Maddox Woods. You can follow a trail down to the Willamette River where there is a sand beach (more so in the summer). We also walk almost daily to a fun children's park which even has a splash pad for hot days. Our neighborhood is very safe and quiet and we have lovely neighbors.
We have lived in our home for 3 years and have made our own. The kid's rooms are on the upper level along with the playroom/office. The main level is where our room the living room and kitchen are. Downstairs is the guest room bathroom and family room. This is will be a great space for you. We rarely use that lower level and there is plenty of room to enjoy some private time. Also your room looks out into our lovely backyard.