This morning, I mentioned to Ava that we needed to create an Advent calendar. I said this, though I had no idea how I would pull it off, as I am definitely not crafty. Lo and behold, what did Ava make in school today? An Advent calendar! I nearly embraced her teacher, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude.

We had a pretty good day, until I tried to make them sit still for Christmas photos. Not a good plan.

I gave up and instead I took pictures of Carter eating dinner, which is pretty entertaining. It is so nice that he actually eats dinner, something Ava did not do until she was about 2. And sometimes she still doesn’t unless I monitor each bite.

I also let them ‘clean’ the tub with a bowl of baking soda mixed with peppermint soap and some water—it makes a paste and they had a blast smearing it all over the tub. And the floor. And the walls. And the chrome fixtures. And each other.

But it all rinses off very easily, and the tub is actually clean. Really.