It seems I’ve been collecting a lot of cute memories around here and should probably write them down before they’re forgotten.

1. Whenever you ask Bastien “how many?” the answer is “Eight!”. For example, last weekend while we were waiting for Jim to pick up pizza, I asked Bastien how many pieces he was going to eat. He replied: “Eight. Seven. Eight!” And actually, this was his furthest departure from just plain “Eight” to-date.

2. Despite a couple recent accidents, Bastien is now fully potty trained. It took about a week of intensive watching and asking. But now once he goes, he stands up and claps and cheers for himself.

3. Not at all related to potty training, probably his most frequent request these days is “Hold it?” This was especially true when The Elf On The Shelf lived here before Christmas. The books says “You cannot touch me or hold me” which naturally prompted Bastien to ask to “Hod’it?” every single time he discovered the elf.

4. He is always pretending to be someone else. Usually Santa Claus (i.e. “Ca-Claws”). He points right to his face and tells us who he is. And often, who you are supposed to be as well.

5. He is starting to sing. He “knows” Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, The ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. But really, he wants YOU to sing these to him. And then he says: “Button”, meaning, I am now pressing the button Santa Claus, so change your tune, pronto. This is truly hilarious – and challenging to be able to come up with so many songs at the press of a button.

6. Hadley dances now. Sometimes to music. Sometimes just because.

7. She’s also fond of making the kissing noise. Which is a whole lot cuter than the ear-piercing shrieks she’s also fond of.