Elf

Kid 2 takes it upon herself to be as kid-like as possible, at the same time as she's telling me she can't wait to be a teenager. Sometimes I can't work out whether she does it to humour the parentals, or because part of her wants to hold on to childish things for a little longer.

This morning before school she wrote a very polite note to Santa, asking for a microscope for Christmas. 'You know Santa's on a budget', she told me. 'It turns out he went to New York as well. The Elves told me.' Indeed.