Samantha had a decent evening for the most part, but toward the end of dinner she was getting tired and a little out of hand. It was one of those nights when she was frustrated and decided to take it out on the dog (Tucker) by smacking him. I scolded her and told her not to do it, so of course she did it again. At that point I told her she was going to bed, which shortly thereafter she did.

She actually stayed up for a few minutes longer because she said she busy feeding mommy. She was. She was carefully taking bits of grilled steak, putting them on a fork, smearing them in steak sauce, and feeding them to Amy, each bite accompanied by a cheery "Here you go, mommy!"

Amy actually put her to bed, but she insisted on seeing me before she went to sleep. The reason she wanted to see me was to say "I love you, daddy" (after which all was, of course, forgiven -- how can any father resist that?) and to insist that she get out of bed, find Tucker, and tell him she was "very sorry for whacking him" (her words, not mine). I guess she really does have a sense of empathy, when she's not too busy being a tired, frustrated, stubborn toddler.

She's pretty damn cute at times too.