The past month or so has been such a relief for me. Quinn and Archer have reached a point developmentally and in their relationship where they actually play well together. The phase of battles, shouting, and tears was starting to feel like it would last forever. They had to be supervised constantly. I prayed about it, sought the advice of parents one step ahead of me, read books and all signs pointed to it being a phase and that I need to stay strong and be consistent. I didn't want to have an expectation that they be best friends, but I wanted them to act respectfully. Well, I think Archer beginning to follow directions better and Quinn growing in empathy and using her words have finally brought us to where we are now. About a month ago I noticed the change in Quinn and pointed it out to her. I asked her if she had any thoughts about what had changed and she said, "Well, I learned and learned and learned about being nice and, finally, it stayed in my brain!" So, there you go. I'm sure it will ebb and flow, but for now I am soaking up how cute it is when they play together.

Right now, a big favorite is they both stick a ball in their shirt and run around bonking into things and each other. They also pretend to be animals, set up picnics/feasts, be a mommy or daddy to their stuffed animals, build with blocks, perform concerts, and lots of dancing. Today they pretended to ride horses that were really just garbage bags full of hand-me-down clothes and held onto the ties as reins. Also, playing inside the coat closet is popular.

Quinn's imagination continues to amaze us. The quotes I have recorded lately from her are so surprising. The other day we were playing Star Wars and she told me Chewbacca packed us a snack. I asked what it was and she said "not dirt and mice like Chewbacca eats, but Italian food, candy, and French Toast." She is really curious about Star Wars. While perusing the ballet section of the library, she spotted a Star Wars book and that kicked it all off. She has had Jonathan tell her about all the movies, knows tons of vocabulary and characters, and is constantly incorporating it into life. She requested to be Princess Leia for Halloween so we obliged. And Archer was an Ewok with a hand-me-down bear costume.

She has been doing great with our home preschooling and is enjoying writing a lot. At the start of the month she requested thankful leaves to start again and has taken the job of recorder for the family. She has also had some great questions lately about death, forgiveness, and other deep things. It's been amazing to be starting to sow the seeds of the gospel with her.

Archer continues to be loud, fast, and physical. He can disassemble the vacuum cleaner parts and reassemble them into a sword and can make a more realistic gun sound than me. I'm also starting to see his compassionate qualities really develop too. He'll often find two similar toys and bring one to another child to try to initiate play. If a child is crying, even a stranger, he'll go check on them. At a playdate he was heading toward a slide and a girl younger than him got there at the same time. He stepped aside and let her go first. 

We feel pretty blessed to be parenting these two! It's definitely challenging at times, but such a gift! 

We went to an awesome parenting conference a couple weekends ago that was a good refresh. We also went to Eugene that weekend to visit family. Quinn went to the Sleeping Beauty ballet with her grandma as a special treat. 

Halloween was rainy but we braved it trick-or-treating with the neighbors. Quinn was pumped about her seven pieces of candy, haha. 

Last weekend we spent the morning visiting some friends who just moved back to the PNW. Their house was so lovely and the kids all played so well. Otherwise we've begun packing, selling stuff, and planning what to buy for the new house. Jonathan has the day off so we are going to have an Ikea date and run some errands while my mom is visiting. Thirteen days until closing day!