Is it really almost Christmas? I have been SO enjoying my time with the kids and with family over the last month. We have our good days and not-so-great days, as momma is learning how to manage this household of 5. I've realized, that now with 3 little ones, I just can't meet everyone's needs all at once- we are all getting a lesson on patience :) And why is it that disasters always happen all at once? Usually while I am feeding the baby or otherwise engaged...The kids have discovered ingenious new ways to do things now that I'm not always available to help. For example, Caleb can now scale the fridge, release the lock we installed in the top of it, and swing himself on the door to open it. Two days ago, he proceeded to get out the peanut butter and jelly and make a sandwich- which had grape jelly a mile high on it! He then cut it in half and he and Ellie chowed down. So, I looked into the kitchen area to discover a nearly empty jelly bottle and two messy kids, both wielding butter knives. I'm choosing to be thankful for their independence :)

Here are some new pictures of our littlest man:Sweet little toes:Bath time!Sleeping with one arm suspended in the air. Caleb did the same thing- how do babies do this??Deep thinking....
Will started smiling!!!! He even flashed a few to Jessie and Janis this week!Sleeping through his tummy time! Daddy feeding him his first bottle:Christmastime has been so fun this year! Caleb and Ellie are really getting into the decorating, and music, and lights, and traditions; the joy that comes with this time of year is truly amplified when you see it through the eyes of little children.

They enjoyed putting up the tree (the box was the best part!)and the ornaments have already been re-organized several times :) Here are a few interesting things I found in our tree:

Baby Nahla:Baby Jesus from their nativity set: Most importantly, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus and it has been so sweet to hear their prayers and see them beginning to understand God's amazing gift to us. We have been lighting our advent candles each Sunday, and they really look forward to it- well, they mostly love blowing out the candles, so we usually end up re-lighting them a few times during our attempted devotional time, but I have to believe that God smiles when he sees them participating, even in their own imperfect way!

Here is Ellie playing with our nativity set. She has lovingly named the cow "cowboy", lolIts been the season of Christmas parties, so I thought I'd share a few highlights. The men of Christ Community Church cooked up a delicious desert bar, complete with some hilarious introductions- here is Reid rocking his rap about the "Arctic Awesomeness", which was delicious by the way! The best part- the ladies got to enjoy and didn't have to cook a thing!The kids had their annual Christmas party at preschool, too. And there was even a surprise visit from good 'ole Santa Claus! Caleb was really in to it this year-Ellie was not so sure. She ventured just close enough to get the bag of "reindeer food" he was handing out and was done with Santa! They made some super-cute Rudolph crafts at the party- see below:
Caleb's is just perfect~And Ellie's has three noses and an antler coming out of his cheek- love it!We also had a fun holiday visit from our friends the Hunnicutts last weekend! It was super-fun, as always! We had a housefull, but it couldn't have been a better weekend! On Saturday night, we had the Brooks' and the Foster men over to hang out with us and the Hunnicutts, and we decided to get a picture of all of our kids. Yes, there were NINE kids under the age of 5! (And that doesn't even include Beckett and soon-to-be baby Zoe!) If you think that sounds crazy, you should have seen us at Old Chicago after church on Sunday- we literally had a whole SECTION. We couldn't be more blessed to have such amazing friends, and our kids love it, too!

At home, we are still trying to get into a routine, but at least Will is sleeping fairly well at night- we get up about every 3 hours, and he usually falls asleep after his tummy is full :) HOWEVER, last night he slept for 7 hours!! Let's hope that continues :)
This cold weather has made getting out of the house a challenge! And all this hibernation has caused us all to get a little stir-crazy! We've been keeping busy doing crafts and little projects at the house. Play-doh is a fave~(it's all ground into my floor and the cracks of my table, and they have ingested probably more than I care to know, but it's fun!)We made ornaments for our tree, too! And I wonder why Will is always covered in glitter!
We try to get out and take walks when weather permits! Caleb and Ellie can do some fierce bike riding. It's serious business at the Linhart household :)The kids have been really helpful and sweet to their baby brother. Here's a pic of my lil' mama!I actually took all three kids out last week! We went over to the Great Mall to run, play, and read some books at the bookstore...there may have been cookies involved, too ;)It was really fun while it lasted! However, this was the end result:Big outing + late nap time + lots of exercise + sugar + I'm going to be miss independent and do everything my way + mommy said I can't have any smarties because I was not being a good listener= meltdown!

In other news, we took a risk and decided to travel for Thanksgiving with our 3 week old baby....and it was so great! We had a really good time seeing family, and only had one up-all-night :) Here are some highlights:
The kids loved seeing their uncles! After we got back, Caleb kept saying he wanted to live in Wichita where Uncle Ryan and Uncle Tom were.
Hanging out with Uncle Ry:Uncle John and his girlfriend Jackie (love her!)Playing an intense game of Candy Land!Grandpa David was helping Ellie teach Pepper (the dog) some tricks. Ellie just kept giving her the treats, though! And after we got home, she was trying to get Sam to "sit", "lie down", and "roll over"- he didn't do any of these things, in case you were wondering! Haha...Caleb has been my big helper, and I'm constantly amazed at how well he listens and how sweet he is to his little brother. Sometimes I can't believe how big he is (he's gotten so tall lately!), and I love hearing all the funny things that his imagination comes up with these days.

Ellie is still our Miss Independent, her favorite 3 words being, "I do it!". She likes to dress herself, too- do you notice something a little odd in this picture? I'm happy she is an independent little lady, but sometimes having a strong-willed girl is difficult! Good thing we love her SO SO much! She has a charming little side that can truly melt your heart. She had a little mishap the other day. Daniel had just gotten home from a hunting trip last Saturday night- the kids were so excited to see him and they were all playing and wrestling when all of the sudden we heard a "pop!"- one of the little bones in Ellie's left arm got dislocated. Fortunately, after a trip to the doctor we found out that it was back in place, no fractures or any other issues, but she was very sore, and was walking around cradling her left arm for a day or so. And because she is left handed, this made life a little more difficult. But, she is totally fine now! Never a dull moment!

Something I've been getting much better at during the last month is accepting help from others. I usually tend to do most things myself, and though I absolutely love to help others, I have not always been the best at asking for help. But after Will was born, we have had such an outpouring of generosity from our friends, family, and church family- what a blessing! We've had lots of visits from friends and family, numerous delicious meals brought over to the house, sweet gifts...and one thing that's been SO great is that not only are we showered with love for our new little one, but our friends and church family have made Caleb and Ellie feel SO special, too. Jo came over a few weeks ago and took Caleb and Ellie out for a super-fun day at Zonkers (an indoor play place filled with games, climbing toys, and even a merry-go-round. She even took them to lunch afterwards. I had the whole afternoon to spend loving on Baby Will- and the best part: I even got a nap in! The kids came home with huge smiles on their faces- it was such a treat for them! Here they are showing off their gold coins from Zonkers :)
They both crashed for their naps, and when I went up to check on them, I couldn't find Ellie~ She apparently tried to sneak out of her room, and fell asleep on my floor- haha!
We got to hang out with newlyweds, Paul and Beth! Aren't they a beautiful couple?! Beth prepared a DELICIOUS meal for us, too, and even baked a homemade apple pie. It has been hard to get back into the routine of cooking meals, especially since Will's fussy time is usually in the evening and the other two kids are a little restless at the end of the day, so an amazing home-cooked meal and fellowship with great friends was the best gift!

We had a sweet visit from Ann, too! (or "Ant", as Ellie lovingly calls her). And that's ALWAYS a treat :)
GREAT NEWS! Ann just accepted a job at our Church- so we will be working together come January. When I took on my position at Christ Community, Ann and I talked about how awesome it would be to work together someday, and I can't believe it's actually happening~ we are so blessed to have her join our team and I couldn't be happier that we will be in the same town again. Can you believe we've been friends since 6th grade? The kids are so excited, too. After her visit, they couldn't stop talking about when they would get to see her again. I'm happy to say, it will be more often than once a year now!

To add to our list of adventures, Ellie got her first haircut (yes, she is 2 1/2, but I haven't been able to bring myself to cut off those sweet baby curls!). All went well, and we did lose a few curls, but she came out with a cute little bob and a few bangs, too!
Before:
After:Caleb joined in the fun, too!
Before:
After:Here is a picture of Caleb singing in church last weekend- he started out doing really well, then got nervous, and spent the remainder of the two songs looking around at the other kids and didn't sing a single word!Many of you know that Caleb and Ellie are masters at working our iPhones, iPad, and computers! Kids these days- lol. Caleb figured out how to take his own picture on my iPhone- this is a sampling of what I found in my album (there were TONS!):



We wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!