I told Sam before the movie started that parts of it might be scary, so if she needed to, she could just cover her eyes and I'd tell her when the scary parts were done.

The first few minutes were pretty tame, and Sam spent the majority of that time sliding her 3D glasses up and down her nose and reaching out in front of her to try to touch the picture.

Then, we got to the potentially scary stuff: An animated T. rex chased down an ankylosaurus-type dinosaur, and a raging battle began. I looked over at Sam, who was sitting still as a stone in her seat, holding her ginormous glasses against her face with both hands.

The dinosaurs fought for maybe a minute, and then the ankylosaurus-type thingy whacked the T. rex on the leg with the spiky ball-like club thing (OK, so I don't know the exact terminology here) on the end of its tail. The T. rex fell over, roaring in pain.

And my Sammy, with pure awe in her voice, said loudly: "Good job!"

It was just like the time our dog ate the head off Daddy Lion: I thought she'd be horrified, and she thought it was the coolest thing ever.

"Mom, that wasn't scary at all!" she declared as we walked out of the theater.

But teddy bears on the floor in her room at night? Now those are terrifying.

*smile*