We enjoyed a few more Christmas activities the past couple weeks. Quinn saw Pirate Santa at a waffle party we went to - a long, strange story - but she thought he was pretty cool. Jonathan's parents took Quinn to Storybook Land and she enjoyed all the treats and sights. Our neighbor girl planned a Frosty the Snowman party that was quite a hit. Quinn had her last music class. I think taking the sports class was good practice because she had no worries about joining in with this class. Some highlights were playing drums and testing out a trumpet, french horn, and flute. We went with some friends to visit Santa on Friday. Archer was not a fan.

Yesterday, Quinn and I joined the neighbor moms and kids for a performance of Mary Poppins. Quinn insisted on wearing her costume. She was completely mesmerized the whole two hours. She would mouth the words to the songs she knew and clap at all the right times. She would shout out characters' names when they first appeared on stage. It was pretty special. 

Jonathan got some man-time with Archer while we were out, which was nice. Archer Man will be nine months on Christmas Eve and it's boggling my mind. He's seeming a lot less baby-ish these days which is breaking my heart. I swear he's signed "more" a couple times during meals and I think he's really trying to communicate with us in other ways too. Today we've been cooking up gifts in the kitchen and putting final touches on presents. Jonathan has the whole week off and we are all looking forward to it.

It's been a full, blessed couple of weeks. We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Eugene. We've still been running a lot. It was such a gorgeous November! Quinn's been joining Jonathan for about 1/3 mile of his Saturday morning run - so precious! It was all her idea too.

Quinn helped me plan a cookie exchange party. I've hosted a few over the years for my friends to attend, but since Quinn is always throwing parties for her stuffed animals, I decided this year's should be a mother-child party. She picked half a dozen buddies and helped me make paper invitations, scrubbed my great great aunt's tea set, made bracelets for party favors, and helped bake the cookies. I had guests bring a dozen cookies to donate (our church hosts a foster care Christmas party that needs cookies) and a dozen to trade. The kids decorated the cookies Quinn and I made while the moms sipped hot drinks. It was a pleasant little event.

Quinn and Jonathan went to a father-daughter dance at our church. They had a blast and she came home with wide eyes and lots of singing and twirling. Such a formative occasion for these two.

We got our Christmas tree this past weekend. Jonathan and I can laugh about the experience now, but it wasn't our favorite in the moment for various reasons (love you, hubs!). The kids seemed to enjoy themselves though and it's so nice having our cute little tree set up. Both kids are enjoying playing with the nativity set and Quinn was eager to get the Jesse tree Advent routine going again and the Christmas decorations up.