Big Sister: Samantha is a great big sister to baby Nicole - although she does have her moments. She showers her with attention and gives her plenty of kisses. She loves to help out with Nicole whenever the opportunity arises as well as having some quality time with Mum and Dad. She frequently goes up to Nicole, gives her a hug and says "I miss you Nicole, I love you Nicole". Mum is happy that Samantha's good sleeping habits have not been disrupted upon Nicole's arrival into the world.

Language Development: Samantha started full-time daycare from mid-February. She has made a very good friend in Yael and the girls are inseparable and have a great time playing together. Samantha has benefited tremendous from the social environment although she is still shy around strangers. She loves singing and is often coming home with new songs and making up her own. With Dad's encouragement she has learnt the words to the song 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day. We have found that Samantha seems to understand the basics of adding and subtracting with small numbers.

Recently, Samantha went looking for Mum who was busy putting Nicole to sleep. So she starts saying "Mummy, where are you?" which quickly turned to singing "Mummy, where are you?". and then "Mummy, sweet little bunny... Mummy, sweet little bunny" - Mum was almost hysterical with laughter... except there was just the little matter of the little one almost asleep.

Samantha enjoys going to the pool and the slide and climbing. Dad has recently introduced her to the game of golf - she already has a mean swing - watch out Tiger Woods! We've set up a train table for the girls and Samantha is absolutely trilled with her new toy - especially with the power driven train that can pull all the other trains around the circuit. The day after we set it all up, Samantha walks into our bedroom and says "The train table is still here" - It was almost as if she thought she might have dreamt about it and thought it was too good to be true!

But why?: Well - we haven't been bombarded with the "but why?" phrase alot. However, to make up for it Samantha is now always trying to understand why we make certain decisions. Once upon a time, she would do anything we ask and accept anything we said without hesitating - those days are certainly behind us.

Books: Samantha continues to enjoy her books. We've found that before we return the library books, Samantha is able to tell us just about word for word what's written on each page ... if only our memories were that good!

Grandma: Samantha met her Grandma for the first time this year since she was a baby. It didn't long before the pair were inseparable and now Samantha often talks about her.

Friends: Samantha has made a close friend in Yeal at daycare and the pair get into all sorts of mischief together.