Archer was dedicated at church at the start of the month. He giggled when we got up on the stage and he saw everyone looking at him. And he didn't fuss when he was handed over to the pastor, phew! Archer, we pray every day that God will make His love clear to you in your heart and mind and that you will choose to follow, serve, and love Him. That is our greatest hope for you above anything else. 

My parents were able to come up and we went to our favorite restaurant for brunch. It was a nice weekend overall.

This past weekend, we headed to Eugene for a visit. We spent some good time with Jonathan's family Saturday. We had an indoor picnic and Quinn got to live out her Robin Hood dreams with some help from her Grandpa.

We spent Sunday with my family. Activities included lots of loud piano playing and the usual making of a huge mess.

A neighbor family hosted a zebra-themed Valentine's Day party for the kids today that was a blast. Our neighbor and her daughter are quite the creative hostesses.  Quinn's been working on Valentine's cards for days. We had a date night last week and will probably do something as a family this weekend. And Jonathan has Monday off, hooray!

Time for a Quinn update! This girl is cracking me up nonstop. She is constantly pretending, narrating, singing, dancing, all day, everyday. Current make believe scenarios on repeat are Mary Poppins, Jesus and Jairus' daughter, Boaz and Ruth, Winnie the Pooh, Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Moses and the Red Sea, Zero the Hero, swim class, cooking, camping, and ballet performances. She's not a fan of stopping any of this for photos these days, but luckily I snag some videos of the mayhem.

We are still doing twice a week preschool sessions during Archer's morning nap and she loves it. We do a calendar time, letter of the week, Bible story, and some sandpaper letter practice. I got some Bob Books from the library for her to practice some early reading and it seems like she is starting to understand the basics of how reading works. She is also starting to understand some basic addition with her fingers. We use a Voice of the Martyrs prayer calendar for her preschool calendar and she wants to pray for and talk about the people on there all the time. This is not the best picture, but she built (from right to left) Bethlehem (two buildings), Jerusalem, a stable, Pharaoh's palace and a pyramid in Egypt, and the Red Sea with people walking in it out of blocks.

We just gave up on nap with her and I'm so glad! It's so nice, I wish we'd done it sooner! Most days she would not fall asleep until right before nap was over and then it was impossible to wake her up. She'd be grouchy and groggy through dinner time and then have a hard time falling asleep at night. Not a good set-up at all. I still have her do a quiet time during Archer's afternoon nap for my sanity, and she does pretty well with it. I let her have music on and we reserve her library books for that time or she'll play Legos or something that's tough to play with Archer awake. She goes to sleep at night right away now and sleeps later in the morning so I get more one-on-one time with Archer in the morning. 

She's in swim lessons once a week and loving it. She joined right in from the start (a big deal!) and has improved with every class. She loves her teacher and talks about her class and "teammates" all the time. She really hates goodbyes and if she knows one is coming, she'll try to hide and not acknowledge the person she needs to say goodbye to as if that will make it not happen. She does this with playdates, guests, all sorts of things. I could tell she really liked her class because she wouldn't high five her coach at the end and got really sad. We talked through the issue, but I was amazed she liked the class so much. She starts ballet in February so we'll see if that's as beloved.

She chooses all her own clothes now. She still prefers hair free flowing and nothing on her feet. She has some chores like putting away silverware, feeding the dog, putting away some laundry, but we definitely need to ramp that up. She is still very into maps and declared part of our yard is the Hundred Acre Wood. 

Quinn, you are a sweet, clever, endearing, busy honey bee and we love you so!

Archer is all over the place now. The speediest caterpillar I've ever seen. If he hears water running anywhere in the house he switches to turbo speed to get there because he loves baths, showers, and splashing in water so much. He is also drawn to doors and curtains. I think it might be because his small effort can cause such a big effect on those items, he'll spend a long time swinging them open and shut. A couple days after he began this army crawling business, he started clapping too. It seems like he's been trying to say "Amen" after we pray for meals which is sweet. Sometimes when Quinn isn't in the same room as him he'll say, "Nin nin" and go looking for her, I'm suspecting that means Quinn. And he may be picking up, "no" which sounds more like "nah", from his sister...hmmm. He's a big fan of lift the flap books and likes it when I stand him up by the bookshelf so he can choose books to read. Our favorite time of day with him is in the early morning. Jonathan eats some breakfast while I nurse Archer. Archer is always extra chatty and giggly at that time and he's all cozy in his jammies. He likes trying to sip Jonathan's coffee mug and peeks out the window when Jonathan heads to the bus stop. He's still an enthusiastic eater and likes many flavors. He's starting to master drinking from a regular cup as long as I hold it.

Archer went to his first concert at a birthday party last weekend. We took him to swim at the pool and he still loves it. He also went to the children's museum for the first time when we went with some friends. I can't believe he'll be ten months tomorrow!

I've been walking with the kids and Shinobi to meet Jonathan on his walk home from the bus stop now that the sun isn't setting so early. Jonathan has been working hard to build us a shoe bench for our front door area. It just needs another coat of paint and I think it's ready - I'm so excited! I went to a friend's baby shower and we met with the fabulous Hvass family in Salem. We also watched the Duck game with some friends last week. We've been keeping busy with our home group and women's Bible study too. It's a pretty sweet season of life.

Archer has had a busy week. He was, in fact, saying "more" the other day and continues to say it frequently and with gusto at mealtimes. 

Two days ago, he started to inchworm scoot forward a tiny bit but it seemed like it could be a fluke. Yesterday, he was going slow and steady. Today, he is starting to explore all over the place with an inchworm army crawl. His greatest motivators are getting to books or whatever sissy is holding. Uh oh, game changer!

This video is from yesterday:

This Christmas was a memorable one. Sadly, we were all sick at various times throughout the week. But, it was also nice to start some new traditions with our little family of four. This was our first Christmas morning at our house and it was so special. We went to church Christmas Eve night, had dinner, the kids put on their Christmas jammies, and we woke up for some tasty breakfast and opening gifts before heading to Eugene mid-morning. We stuck with the same gift strategy we've done in the past (something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read). Quinn got swim lessons, ballet lessons with a leotard, a head lamp, and an Away in the Manger book (her favorite Christmas song). Archer got a dump truck, swim lessons, a hat I crocheted, and the book "Tiny Baby Jesus". Both got pouches in their stockings. Pouches have been Quinn's most repeated gift request for months when asked what she wants for Christmas. Who knew pureed fruit and vegetables in a little squeeze package were so desirable. Quinn made Archer a plastic bottle filled with colorful beads that has been very popular. Archer (or maybe it was me) made Quinn some playsilks with this tutorial and they are a huge hit too. Jonathan got me the best spatula in the world and I got him the best mug in the world. We are very luxurious, obviously. We also bought matching Patagonia houdini jackets in November that we are counting too. 

All dressed up: Archer wore a shirt Jonathan wore for his first Christmas that his mom made and Quinn wore a necklace of wood beads she painted with a sparkly cardigan she picked out and a fun dress from Great June.

We had a fun time in Eugene with both families. It was nice having more kids around this year. We spent a lot of the days after Christmas recovering from sickness and playing with new toys. Jonathan had New Year's Eve and New Year's Day mostly off so we got to have some family fun and some friends over. 

Archer had his nine month check-up today. He's grown an inch and a half in three months keeping him in the 90th percentile for height, and he remains in the 50th for weight and head circumference. Quinn grew an inch in three months. They're growing before my very eyes! Archer shouted what I think is "more" at me multiple times during lunch today as soon as he swallowed a mouthful of food. If it continues, we might call it his first word. These two make us laugh so hard!