We have been spending a lot of time with our neighbors lately. There are four main families that we see the most, and two of those we have been close with for quite a while. A lot of nights we meet at one of the parks near us after dinner and a lot of weekends we end up congregating to hang out and bbq in someone's yard. It really is a huge blessing to a part of this community. This past weekend, I went out to lunch followed by ice cream followed by wandering Alberta with the other four moms. It was such a nice luxury and we definitely need to make it happen more often. Sunday, we hosted some kiddie pool time in our backyard and then grilled up some dinner for the neighbor families. Monday I went to the zoo with one of the neighbor families. It was Archer's first time at the zoo and he was very entertained. He seemed to enjoy the fish and turtles in particular because they moved so much right next to the glass. He also liked the giraffes and lions a lot.

Jonathan's parents came for a visit last weekend. We saw the author of The Pout Pout Fish at the Beaverton library with some friends a week ago. Archer loves that book and consistently says, "blub" whenever he sees it. The marvelous Changs were in town from the Netherlands and we were able to have a very long brunch with them. Quinn made a welcome sign for them. Ever since writing her name, she wants to write a lot. She'll ask me to write out a phrase on a scrap of paper and then vanish to her little desk to write it out. Yesterday she asked me how to write "mommy loves me" and reappeared with this.

She wanted me to put it on her door. My heart almost burst. Sometimes it's easy to wonder if I'm doing "enough" for my kids. When I'm ready to collapse by 8pm everyday, it confirms to me that I'm being busy for my kids. But do they know why? Do they feel loved? Am I just managing them or am I nurturing them? Us moms don't get annual reviews or grades. To me, this totally counted as the feedback my heart has been hoping for. Thank you, Lord. And I hope she never forgets that it's true.

We went to Sunriver last week with my family. It was such a nice time away. The kids woke up so early though, maybe because they were eager to play? We spent lots of time outdoors, went to the pool, I got two runs in, we played pickleball, we played cards, and ate lots of good food. The kids all got along well and it felt like we all got some quality time together. 

Quinn developed some new tricks this week. She can talk to lady bugs,

hang from high bars,

and write her name!

On her own, she realized she could do Q, I, and N so she wanted to learn the rest. The U was giving her so much trouble but she stuck with it. So proud of you girly!

It was a lovely Mother's Day weekend. Friday night I took Quinn to a mother daughter pajama party at our church. There were so many nail polish colors that she had me paint a different color on each nail so she wouldn't have to choose. Saturday morning we had a babysitter come so Jonathan and I could have brunch at our favorite place. After brunch, we had a picnic lunch in our backyard and the kids played for two hours in the kiddie pool. We spent the rest of the day at our neighbor boy's birthday party. Sunday we went to church and had a leisurely day around the house. Jonathan gave me a beautiful bouquet of peonies and Quinn surprised me with this gift on Thursday.

Archer took steps by himself for the first time as a gift. Jonathan and I had him bring us a ball back and forth while Quinn recorded it. It seems he needs a task to do or he gets impatient and wants to just crawl to his destination. 

It's a pretty big blessing getting to be these two cuties' mama. There are definitely highs and lows and everything in between, but I'm so grateful to God for my babies.

Kiddie pool season has officially begun at our house. We busted it out last week and the kids loved it.

We cooked on the grill for dinner last night and ate outside, it was so nice! It feels funny to be typing that while it's raining outside though. We try to take advantage of the sun whenever we can. 

We went to our neighbor boy's first birthday and our neighbor girl's fourth birthday. My mom came for a visit. I'm almost at the one year mark for running regularly. It feels longer than that! I think my favorite months to run were October through January which I was actually a little nervous that I would quit during those months. The kids had a little cold bug last week so we all took it easy to recover. 

Archer (finally) got his sixth tooth, so no more goofy asymmetrical grin. He has a sweet new dance move that looks like flapping his wings and then shaking his hair upside down. He's attempting some animal sounds - I've heard dog, cat, duck, and cow. Not accurate, but consistent. He regularly requests "Barnyard Dance" and other animal stories to be read to him.

Quinn loves to stand up tall and say, "I'm this tall today!" She asked me to measure her yesterday and she's almost two inches taller than she was on her third birthday! Yikes! She is still in constant narration mode and does multiple voices for her stuffed animals and alter-egos. She frequently talks about wanting to be a nurse, pediatrician, and veterinarian when she grows up.

The kids and I had the privilege of being in a photoshoot with my parents while Jonathan was in Canada a couple weeks ago. We worked with Ashley Reich and she did such a great job capturing this funny stage of life. Ashley did our wedding photography and a family session when my grandma June visited last Spring. She has lots of energy and enthusiasm to keep the little ones going.

Here are a few favorites: