December Already?

It's almost the end of the year! I can't believe that Christmas is next week. It's crazy how fast time flies.

I feel like we've been super busy over here, even though I haven't done much outside of taking care of the kids and our home. And we've all been sick, so it makes it a lot harder to get normal things done.

Anyway, even in the mundane moments of everyday tasks, we've been able to have some special times with the kids. Samuel discovered that he likes ice cream . . . really likes it.

Elena's usually playing something imaginative. Usually she wants me to play with her, which can be difficult with Samuel going from one room to another. Here, Elena's some kind of dressed-up pirate.

And here she's building with her big blocks.

Then she put her "Jesus toys" on top. They're part of a Little People nativity set that I bought after last Christmas. She plays with them pretty much daily, checking the figures with her doctor kit, putting them to sleep on a tiny pillow, putting them on her blocks, etc. She loves them. And yes, she's dressed as Doc McStuffins here; that costume has gotten a lot of use since Halloween!

Most days she doesn't nap, she just plays quietly in her room during her "rest time." This day, though, I think she got bored and just passed out. Some days I'll find her in her bed asleep with a book open on her tummy. She usually reads her books or plays with her dolls during rest time.

 She's my sweetheart.

And this little guy . . . I'm chasing him around all the time. He's a really good walker, and even if he falls he knows just what to do with his body so he won't get hurt. He's starting to play in Elena's kitchen, he likes to jump on bouncy toys, he likes building with megablocks, and he loves toy cars. And he has the most amazing eyelashes!

We get them all bundled up to look at Christmas decorations outside.

They have fun in the bath together.

And as hectic as my days seem trying to keep up with both of them, I miss them when they're sleeping (even though I really enjoy resting during those times).

I'm hoping that next year will have a lot of good moments with them. I'm going to try my best to slow down and just enjoy them as much as I can.