Today was a whining day again for Samantha. I wasn’t home with her, so I am getting my reports from Matt. I got to spend the afternoon in an MRI tube. Oh joy. I managed to get through the last bit by first pretending I was Jodie Foster in Contact, in a big tube with magnetic rings whipping around heading off to meet friendly aliens. That got me through most of it, except towards the end. Then I imagined Sam’s big grin and giggle, and I actually started smiling myself. I bet not too many people do that at the end of a half hour in the MRI! Not everyone has Sam’s smile to remember.

She was screaming this evening, so I decided to give her a bath, maybe it would help to soothe her. She stopped screaming the minute she hit the water, and started kicking and gurgling with glee. She is now the bubble baby, blowing lots of bubbles with her drool. Finally a use for it besides sliming Matt in the face. I am told that blowing bubbles is an early form of learning speech. I don’t know about that, but she is certainly having fun with it. When I blew bubbles back at her, she stopped and stared with such intensity, I could practically see her brain as a sponge, soaking up just how I make those fun sounds. She really is fun. She makes me think of Ella, that elemental joy in life that they spread around so effectively.