I asked Sam the other day what she would name a little brother if she ever got lucky anough to have one. She gets a big grin on her face and says, "Chuck E Cheese!" This is a positive thing. She loves their merry go round, so I think this means she thinks a little brother would be as much fun as a merry go round. None in the offing, just wanted to see what she would say. When I asked her what she wanted for lunch for her birthday, she said she wanted to go to a restaurant, China Cafe! So we had Chinese food for lunch, tofu with vegetables, tea, duck sauce with bits of chicken, and mushrooms from the hot and sour soup.

I wanted to bake her a cake, but she said, no, mommy, we'll buy one from the grocery store, a blue one with balloons. I offered to make a cake with blue frosting, but she said no thank you, we'll buy one. I feel a bit slighted, but oh well.

A couple of people have reminded us that it has been awhile since we updated the page. Sorry about the long time between notes. She is keeping us busy! Grammy came for a visit for a couple of days and got to see Sam in action. Sam was determined that Grammy see the lionfish at the Boston Aquarium, so we dragged Grammy around to see that. She was impressed. Sam loves the Aquarium and often talks about the lionfish, that it is lonely and needs to see her. When we get there, she only glances at him to make sure he is there, but that seems to be enough. She loves to play with the purple stick that moves a laser image of a fish on the bottom of the penguin tank, part of the living enhancement for the penguins. They think they are chasing a real fish, and Sam is delighted to entertain them.

She went to Cole’s birthday party at Planet Gymnasium and had a wonderful time. The space was huge and filled with mats, trampolines, and pits with foam in them so you can leap in safely. Sam was the first to run down the trampoline runway and leap into the pit. She dangled from the rings and climbed the 6-foot tower. She had a blast, and loved all the candy in the goody bag too. She was tired today, but very happy.

Matt and I just rushed to Sam’s room after hearing a bloodcurdling scream. I see Talia, the cat, rushing out of Sam’s room as fast as she can waddle, and I hope that is all that happened. In the dark, her lip looks dark red, but in the light, she is fine. Evidently Talia was making noise under Sam’s bed and scared the bejeesus out of Sam. I promised to check under the bed from now on to make sure there are no cats under there. I think Sam now knows just who Talia is, and is not thrilled with the relationship. Sam is very stoic, once the initial fear is resolved. She calms right down and is asleep again in minutes.

Sam had a party at Jim’s day care on Friday. I brought balloons and a wee birthday cake. Jim put candles on the cake at lunchtime. They all sang “Happy Birthday” and helped to blow out the candles. Jim said they were just giddy with the cake. He asked if they wanted some to eat, and they jumped up and down, yelling, “yes, yes!” Glad I could make their day happy. Sam wants to have Clara and Danny (Jim and Lila’s twins) to her home, so we hope to have them come and visit soon.

Sam is really into puzzles right now, for the first time, really. I see her putting the wooden pieces in and out of the boards. I don’t know why she is so interested for now, but she is having a grand time. She also loves Thomas the Tank Engine and talks to her invisible friends, Gordon, Thomas, and Salty all the time. There is a list of about ten engines that she imagines around her, and then she adds in the lionfish and the shark for good measure. We borrowed Charlotte’s Web from Becky. Sam is fascinated by the movie. She now talks to Wilbur and Charlotte a bit, and loves the part where the ram tells Wilbur to “settle down now.” She loves the part where Fern tickles Wilbur’s tail and they play hide and seek around the tree. I start getting choked up when Charlotte dies at the end, but Sam just keeps watching Templeton and doesn’t seem to be affected by it. She is interested in what death is about. She asks me to keep playing “Harold and the Purple Crayon, Goldie episode.” It is about Harold’s goldfish that died, a very cute episode with a very soft yet direct approach to dying. Goldfish now fascinate Sam. She loves going to the grocery store, Roche Bros, where they have a goldfish at the service counter. We have to stop and say hello to Goldie, and then make a detour to talk to the lobsters. Last week none of the lobsters were moving, and Sam was quite worried. The clerk said they had a rough night but would perk up soon. Yeah, right. We said goodbye and moved on to the rest of the shopping.