All About Samantha

Hello, blog. It’s been a while since I last posted. A few things have happened since last January, like the birth of my second daughter Samantha Claire Mayes.

She’s been living on the outside for almost two weeks now, and so far it seems to agree with her. John and I are almost ready to stop holding our breath and crossing our fingers while waiting to see if The Rage rears its ugly head again. As it stands now, Samantha is one of the most mellow, easygoing babies I’ve ever encountered.

Here’s an introduction to my precious baby girl:

First Name: Samantha. John and I had an extremely hard time settling on a name this time around. We created endless lists of names (Morgan, Alexis, and Keira were all in the running at one point), but nothing seemed right. Lana was keen on Wendel (her friend Preston's father) and Edna Moles (from "The Incredibles"). We weren't convinced. Then one day I was reading a book in which the main character's daughter was named Samantha and I mentioned it to John. He liked it, too, so the name went on our list. As months passed, it moved to the top of the list until we finally reached that important point in the final month of pregnancy when "Baby Girl" became "Samantha" to us.

What helped sell me on the name in the end? Besides liking the sound of it and the nickname potential, its meaning is "listener" according to my baby names book. The way big sister Lana talks, that will be an essential personality trait. Also, it's the name of Molly Ringwald's character in my all-time favorite movie, "Sixteen Candles".

Middle Name: Claire. The name Claire was high on our list when we selected a name for Lana, but in the end we didn't like the way the two sounded together. We were very excited that it worked so well paired with Samantha.

Hobbies: Purring like a kitten while she sleeps, snoring like an old man while she sleeps, looking around serenely, being generally affable and adorable.

Likes: Sleeping, eating, more sleeping, hanging out and chilling.

Dislikes: Having her clothes and diaper changed. That's about it. So far, it’s hard to tick this baby off.

Nicknames: Sam, Sammy, Moon Pie