3rd day of Christmas

Kids spent some more time playing with the Peppa Pig camping trip toys this afternoon. I realized, listening to them play with it, that Kate was really, really happy that Jack was playing with her, with toys. Because he's a little older, and he likes to read, and play football in the yard, and play computer games. He doesn't always want to sit down with Kate and play make-believe games with toys. And he was doing it, and she was ecstatic. "Here, Kate, let's do this." "OK! And, Peppa will be over here, OK, Jack?" "OK!"

A lot of the games they do play are imagination type things. They play "toy," where one of them acts like a toy and the other the child playing with them. They play some sort of roughhousing game where I'm always scared one of them is going to get hurt; I'm not sure what that one is called. "Nearly hitting head on coffee table," I think.

The games Kate likes best, generally, Jack gets tired of sooner, and he wants to go do something else, usually that Kate has no interest in. And she gets sad, or angry, and I try to either fill in when I can, or cheer her up, not often with success.

So it's nice when they find an activity they can both enjoy, and I don't always realize how much Kate appreciates it. Jack is kind of mild-mannered, I think, so he doesn't seem to make a big deal out of it. But I tell him, Hey Jack, Kate really enjoyed playing that game with you. It was great of you to do that.

I like to think he's happy to know that.