Luckily, Santa was so kind and softspoken, so Samantha did settle in. . . not like those fake Santa's I've heard about. This one HAD to be the real one!

Sammi is one cool cat!

Daddy noticed in the paper that Clifford, Samantha's FAVORITE celebrity was going to be visiting a local bookstore. We were so proud that Samantha warmed up to the giant red dog in no time.

Emily Elizabeth (Clifford's best friend) read Clifford's latest adventure to Samantha. I think they got through three pages before Samantha was on her feet to go practice spinning the bookracks.

This is probably going to be one of the only pictures in Sam's lifetime that she doesn't mind wearing horizontally striped tights with a mini-skirt! We just love Sam in red.

Those grey eyes could hold the gaze of a finch with attention-deficit disorder! I have to ask for everyone's patience in the coming months. I fear the pictures will be diminishing since Samantha has become nearly impossible to photograph. She is in constant motion these days.

We just decided to take out the camera and see what we could get on a random day. No special occassion, other than the shining smile Sam offered.

Boy, it really looks like Sam is deliberately posing! Who knows?