49/52: Advent-ish

Well, somehow we are nearly to the third week of Advent and I'm only just now putting pictures up? The end of November was busy! Our manger is filling up quite quickly, although it seems as though this year the "Christkindl" isn't inspiring quite so many loving feelings as last year, and I think that's just because everybody has been extra-awful to each other lately in general. I'm imposing a "get-along boot camp" until Christmas, in the hopes that we can bring a little more peace into our home, because the teasing and fighting has just gotten completely out of hand. Time to re-read "Siblings Without Rivalry" and get to work!

Meanwhile, sweet Edith has been taking everything in and I love how receptive they are at 3 to all of our traditions. She spent a couple days VERY confused about Baby Jesus and when exactly Christmas would be, but now she understands things much better and is really enjoying looking through our Christmas and Advent books, particularly the new ones from the library. She has been setting up elaborate scenes with the nativities, although they usually involve various figures needing to use the potty...

Peter has decided that he is an Artist, and has been taking a page from the girls' books and drawing all the time! It's very experimental right now, and there have been a LOT of drawings of people with giant gaping eyes and mouths full of far too many teeth for a reasonable person, but the other day he sat down and worked SO hard to draw a train engine, car, and caboose to tape to his door, and I was thankful for the "how to draw" books we have, because it's so easy for the kids to just follow along with those instructions instead of having me muddle along trying to teach them what I don't know!

How is your Advent going? Let's pretend Christmas isn't less than two weeks away, shall we? I'm certainly not ready!