*Blake knows his own name and if you ask him who he is he will tell you. He won’t say Samantha’s name yet though.

* Samantha saw a dietician due to her high cholesterol. I had been keeping a log of the items she’s been eating and after reviewing it the dietician said that there wasn’t much more we could do in our diet except possibly add flax seed and Omega 3 eggs. She said that children her age with high cholesterol either are eating very poorly or it is hereditary. We will be eliminating all fruit juices, fruit snacks out of our diets however to lower her triclyercides.

*Blake saw the plastic surgeon for his birthmark on his cheek. We had conflicting opinions from the doctors regarding whether we should have it taken off or not. The plastic surgeon highly recommended that we have it taken off due to the fact that there is a 4% chance that it would become cancerous later on in life. He had no recommendation as to when we should have it taken off so we will probably wait a couple of years.

*Samantha and other children her age sang a song in the church’s cantata. She enjoyed every aspect of it from practicing at home and church to performing. She has even asked since then if she can do it again.

*Before Christmas Blake came down with a stomach flu. It wasn’t a couple of days later that both Samantha and I came down with the same thing only much worse. We survived and thankfully it was only a 24 hour flu. It was Samantha’s first experience throwing up and she was a trooper. She amazed me by her strength.

*Samantha loved wrapping presents. She loves cutting and taping so it was right up her ally. The cutting lines weren’t always straight but I think everyone understood.

*Our first Christmas celebration was with Travis’s extended family on the 19th. We enjoyed spending the weekend with Travis’s parents, it was very relaxing. Saturday evening we went to this Aunt and Uncle’s house to join the fun. Most of his extended family was there and it was fun to see everyone again.

*For the first time Travis’s parents and grandma traveled for Christmas and came to our house. They came into town a day early due to the weather and then ended up staying an additional day for the same reason. We enjoyed having them here for the extra time. Samantha had been praying for snow for Christmas and boy did she get it!

We had a special breakfast Christmas morning then opened our gifts. The kids really enjoyed the experience. I think Blake liked opening the gifts as much as anything else. We played with everything in the afternoon after a big turkey lunch.

*Travis’s parents left on Sunday and my parents came into town on Monday. Soon after they got here we opened presents. The kids loved all of the opening again and loved playing with their gifts.

While they were here we had to take our traditional trip to the mall and we took them to Wonderscope, our children’s museum and Fritz’s the train restaurant. I think they enjoyed both, I know the kids did.

*When it snowed Samantha wanted to make snow angels and go sledding. Well, she was able to make snow angels in our yard but we didn’t get sleds. I called around and no one had sleds. I knew my parents were coming that day so I called two of their WalMarts before I found sleds.

They brought them along and I think it may have been Samantha’s favorite gifts. Papa took her out in our neighbors yard and she loved it. On New Year’s we took the kids to a much bigger hill to slide down. Samantha loved it but Blake wasn’t so sure. Afterwards we stopped by Starbucks to warm up.

*Before Christmas on a “warm” night we took the kids to Crown Center to see all of the lights. They enjoyed the large tree, lots of lights and the things to play on. Samantha enjoyed watching everyone ice skate and keeps on asking when she can ice skate

*Samantha is going to be our little adventurer. She wants a scooter for her birthday and has already asked about rollerblading. We may have lots of trips to the hospital in our future.

*Blake has his first hair cut before Christmas. Dad had declared long ago it was time for a cut and I kept on putting him off. Blake did so well…he sat perfectly still while the lady trimmed it all up. I was so proud of him.

*Just this week Samantha has gotten sick again but this time with a nasty cold. She spent one entire day on the couch because she felt so awful. She stayed home from church today but I promised her I’d bring her home her craft. On the way out she told Blake and I to be careful on the roads.

*Blake has started to last through the entire church service due to snacks, stickers and books. It’s been great to sit through a service even though I don’t get anything out of it yet.

*Blake has started to actually give kisses. He would kiss all of his stuffed animals and even have them kiss me. It’ s adorable to hear him make the kissing sound.