Our Social Butterfly

I am thrilled to report that Samantha is becoming a much more social girl.  She has been fine with adults for some time, but loud noises and quick movements have always startled her.  And since most of the kids I know are top sources of loud noises and quick movements...  well, you see where this is going.

But last weekend, our friends Greg and Sherry were in town from DC with their adorable son Ridge, who is walking and chattering away at 17 months.  He was a big bundle of energy, diving headfirst into Sam's toy bin, rolling into her on the floor, and generally doing the things little boys do.  At first, there was lots of crying and fussing.  By the end of the night, however, he was lying on the floor next to her and she was patting him on the head and playing with his hair.  He even gave her a kiss!  Well, not exactly... It seems Ridge usually receives the kisses, so he actually just leans in really close...  but we're all sure it was meant to be a kiss.

Today, we had a playdate at our house with a girl who used to scare Samantha to death.  Sweet child, but I have never met a louder baby girl.  She literally bellows.  Samantha used to cry the whole time she was here.  Today, they actually played together, tapping little plastic rings together and shoving things back and forth.  Awesome.

For the record, Sam still doesn't stand up.  We're mystified.  We got some advice yesterday from her therapist that will hopefully encourage her.  I am hoping she's just stubborn (and who would be surprised by that?).

Oh - and last weekend we made a quick stop at the zoo again while we were downtown for lunch with friends.  We were particularly delighted with this little springhaas, who fell asleep right next to the glass.