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Sam's Story: Week 139 September 25, 2006

Hiring baby sitters has always been nerve-wracking to me. We had a party to go to this last weekend, though, and Ger's parents were busy so it fell to us to go gently inquiring to neighborhood girls about finding someone to watch our spawn. I've never gone shopping for crack, but I suspect it's a pretty similar procedure: you start dropping subtle hints to your neighbors whenever you happen to see them, then as time goes by and you get more desperate you start being more direct, telling people that you gotta get something NOW, but do you know this guy and can you totally vouch that he's cool, man?

And actually, the girl we found turned out to be great. She put her best foot forward by showing up on time and not absconding with our child to Mexico while we were out drinking wine and eating couscous. And after a few moments of uncertainty the idea clicked in Sam's head and this gal was suddenly her very best friend in the whole world. Sam actually took her by the hand and started pulling her around the house, showing her where the stacking cups and blocks were kept, and where the potty was, though she didn't' think she'd have any need for that tonight, thank you very much.

I did spend much of the evening worrying that Sam would freak out when the baby sitter couldn't figure out what "Wan read Artur Cluck!" or "Make a hide for the amamowls pees!" meant ("Want to read the [book called] Arthur Cluck" and "Make a slide for my stuffed animals, please" respectively). Sam was in bed when we got home, but I couldn't resist checking in on her to make sure that the sitter hadn't done something like put her diaper on outside of her pajamas. She hadn't, and the young girl's competence was further delineated when I went in the next morning to get Sam up and she demanded "Hey, where's the baby sitter?"

Here's some pictures for your clicking pleasure:

This picture is my new favorite. It captures a lot of the personality that Sam has been so diligently developing. There's also some great shots of the day that Sam insisted on wearing a pink tu tu and frog slippers, including her jumping up and down. I can't vouch for the fashion statement, but the kid sure loves to jump lately. She'll jump in place, jump off curbs, and even off stairs if we don't jam out our hands and run towards her, shrieking.

Speaking of Sam's personality, it's really blossoming nicely. Much better than those actual flowers Ger's mom sentenced to slow death under our care. This kid loves to laugh, and will do so at the drop of a hat. This is great, because I love to make her laugh, and I've found that laughing myself is one of the best ways to get her to do so. So it's not uncommon for Geralyn to walk into a room to find both me and Sam sitting in the middle of the floor just sitting there and guffawing at each other like morons. She will, of course, join us. Sam has also managed to balance both being petulant and polite in the same breath, as evidenced by exchanges like this:

"I want to go outside, Daddy."

"Okay, but you need shoes. You'll have to go get them."

"You go get them. Now!"

"Hey, Sammy... Is that how you talk to me?"

"You go get them. Now! Please."

And, let's face it, she's starting to get a little manipulative. The other day I was sitting down in the basement watching TV when same came up and gave me a big hug.

"I love you, Daddy," she said into my shirt.

"Awwww. Sammy, I love you too, sweethea--"

"I want something to drink. I'll wait here."

Of course, I went and got it.

Comments (1) | Permalink | File under: Parenting , Samantha
Tags: Baby Sitter, Bad Behavior, Sam's Story, Samantha