Every day brings another change in Samantha's development and behavior. Today for the first time I noticed her tracking objects visually. I was talking to her while feeding her, and when I moved my head out of her line of sight, she followed me with her eyes and then turned her head to be able to see me. She did the same thing with her bottle when I took it out of her mouth -- followed it my moving her eyes as far as she could, and then by turning her head. I think this some kind of major milestone in development.

On other notes, we took Ella and Samantha and Carolyn walking around Horn Pond today, and then to the Sheepfold so Ella could play off-leash with other dogs. Even though the area was filled with kids ages 3 to 7 or so (the ages Ella most loves to play with), she didn't jump on or near any of them. She ran around and played with other dogs and greeted some of the people she knows, but with all four paws on the ground. She also continually came back to check in with Amy and Samantha. I wonder if having a newborn in the house is helping her understand that she can't jump on children, or if it's just another stage in her own maturation.

Carolyn offered to watch Sam on this, her last night here, so that Amy and I could go out and have a grown up dinner. We went to the Elephant Walk, which has always been a favorite of Amy's. Sadly, the food was a little disappointing. But it was still nice to be able to get out of the house for an evening. Tomorrow it's just the two of us (and Samantha) again.