Well, we are in the thick of training now, and Sam is cracking me up. True to a toddler, she is mimicking everything Matt and I - and the dogs, are doing. We have a girl dog and a boy dog and when we go out on walks they do their doggy stuff. They sniff a bush, Sam muscles her way in and sniffs the bush. Tucker pees on a bush, Sam waits her turn, then goes over and lifts her leg just like Tucker. I tell her over and over again that not only is she a girl and Tucker is a boy, but she is a girl and Tucker is a dog. People use potties. I think my message might be more effective if I could just stop laughing hysterically. She is very genuine about wanting to do everything Tucker does. When I asked her the other day where she likes to go when she is alone, she said she wants to find Tucker and her blanket. He is a good boy with her and very gentle. He comes to find me when Sam is upset in her room. He wants her to be happy.

Sam’s language is more complex now. Every time she comes back from Papa Bear Day Care her language shifts a bit. I think it is Jasmine’s influence, another bright little girl about 6 months older than Sam, just old enough to further Sam along a little.

Sam has delighted her father by loving the same childhood book that he did, a book by Dr. Seuss called, "Sneetches" that has a story about pale green pants. Sam now wakes up from her nap talking about "Spooky pale green pants with nobody inside 'em!" and how the pale green pants were crying and then they stopped. She will also wake up requesting to “watch Harold and the purple crayon and the shining moon!” Then I will hear about the squirrels and the rain and Harold runs to save them and climbs a ladder, all in one breath and as fast as she can say it. Most of it is a direct quote from the show. Tonight she grabbed my hand and “Mommy, go for a walk, and the shining moon came with us, a walk with the moon, Mommy! Hello, Moon. Come on, moon, come with us, keep up, hello moon, come on moon!” She likes “Harold and the purple crayon” shows produced by HBO for kids. They are pretty good. Scholastic made some that aren’t nearly as fun or interesting. Scholastic stuck completely with the original, straight from the book’s pages, and completely ignored all the great things you can do with television.

At night I sing Baby Beluga to her and she now sings “bada bum bum” when the rhythm needs a little extra oomph. Then we start giggling together. She’s a funny kid. We also sometimes sing Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, the Shema, and Michael Row your boat ashore, otherwise known by Sam as Hallelujah. She loves singing Hallelujah for some reason. Maybe because it has no hard consonants? I don’t know.

I went over this evening to visit our neighbors that are moving (I’m sad they are moving and trying to ignore the whole concept). Sam informed Anne that Tucker ate acorns and he was a naughty boy. She yells this and says it at least four times to make sure that Anne understood her. Poor Anne didn’t know what to say. Sam was very chatty with her, but then Anne has always been very kind to her and likes her. Anne has known Sam since before she came out, and now Anne is moving away. I don’t like change.

I have now memorized the poem and say it to her now and then.

Cradle Song, Yeats

Angels are stooping
above your bed
They weary of trooping
with the whimpering dead

God in heaven is smiling
to see you so good
The sailing seven are
gay with his mood.

I sigh that kiss you
For I must own
That I shall miss you
When you have grown.


I suppose I am warping her mind with it, but a good parent has to add a twist now and then. Otherwise how will she be prepared for life's curveballs? Besides, it has a ring to it that is hypnotizing.

Sam is getting into everything, as always. She loves painting and drawing. She practically attacks the easel with her silky crayons. She adores Tucker and likes to lie down next to him when he lies down. She will go get her blanket and another one. She puts one blanket on him, then lies down next to him and pulls another blanket up over her. She also sets up picnics for them both, putting a plate in front of tucker’s paws and one in front of her, then she pretend feeds him. He just sits there and watches her. It is the cutest thing I ever saw.

Sam is very sweet. Matt swallowed something wrong and coughed a bit. When he was done, Sam said, “Are you okay?” in a very adult, concerned voice. She went to a birthday party this morning at her friend’s, Abbie. She gave Abbie a hug and a kiss and said, “Happy Birthday.” Why can’t I have the video for those moments? Then they played peek a boo behind the curtain for a bit. Looked like a lot of fun, if their giggling was any indication. She seems so grown up some times, and a baby at others.

Sam’s older friend, Cory, came by today. She was showing us a part of her dance recital that involved some jumping and tapping. Sam was fascinated, as she is by everything Cory does, and has been hopping and trying to imitate the dance all evening. Sam will definitely have to try dance when she is older.