Merry Christmas!

We would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Hezekiah hopes that everyone enjoys eating "candy cans" while relaxing in their "jamamas". And don't forget the true reason for Christmas- Jesus's birthday (or was it baby Moses's... or Hezekiah's...?). And this evening we hope that you can all enjoy the "Christmas outside" (Christmas lights) that Hezekiah has been enjoying so much.

Truly, we wish everyone a beautiful day with family and friends. Remember the love of Jesus, who left his home in Heaven to live and die on Earth for you and me.

With love,
The Linauer family

Happy Half Birthday to You!

My son Hezekiah is now two and a half years old! I cannot believe how quickly he is growing up. In these two and a half years he has learned how to scoot, crawl, walk and run. He has learned how to make sounds, words, and sentences. He can even pray for our dinner! He has formed preferences for things like trucks, trains, bananas, and yogurt. He has changed from a baby to a little boy.

I love Hezekiah immensly, even when he is driving me crazy. He is a sweet boy who loves to be silly. I cannot wait to see what the next two and half years have in store.




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2 Years, 3 Months Old

One of Those Days

Today was one of those days. One of those days that I am glad is almost over. One of the first days that I have really thought, "How am I going to survive as a single mom?"

The morning started off pretty well. We went to a doctor appointment and Value Village. Hezekiah was doing pretty well at both of those. Then we got home and it all went downhill so quickly. I can't remember all that happened but I am certain there were a few time-outs for hitting or kicking his sister and that those time-outs involved a lot of sneeking away, screeming, and fake crying.

Then Hezekiah sat down for lunch. Meal times have been pretty frustrating lately because he loves to throw anything he has on the floor. Today I warned him not to throw his milk on the floor. A minute later I hear, "Look Mommy." This is what I saw:

Yes, that is his highchair tray completely covered with milk. His just-filled cup was almost empty. That was the end of lunch time. So upstairs we went for diaper changes and nap time.  We had only been home a little more than an hour but ahh, how I couldn't wait for the quiet of naptime. The only problem was that Hezekiah didn't want to nap. He had fallen asleep for about 15 minutes on the way home from the store and I guess that had energized him. So my frustration only grew and grew as I tried to get him to calm down and rest. Finally, I was able to buy myself 10 minutes of quiet by giving him some books to read in bed. Between "nap time" and going to class there was more frustration and I was very thankful to be dropping the kids off at a friends house. Spanish was a much needed break.

After returning home this evening, things quickly went downhill once again.  Within 15 minutes of returning home Hezekiah had been in time-out for doing something to Annaliese, Annaliese had scooted over and started dumping out the cat food, and Hezekiah had gotten ahold of Grandma's tiny reed diffuser air freshener and dumped it on the floor. Of course, all the while I was trying to heat up leftovers for dinner.

Dinner actually went well and so did bath. We are working on potty training so I was a bit annoyed when Hezekiah pottied in the tub right before getting out.  But he is good at going on demand and was still able to sit down on his little potty and go a little bit. Of course, he was also able to then go on the bathroom and bedroom floors. I must say that the very end of his day did end on a good note for me. Since he hadn't really taken a nap, he was asleep before I even left the room. No getting out of bed for him tonight!

I kept praying for patience today. I didn't feel like God blessed me with patience but maybe he is working on the long-term rather than the short-term. I can definetly imagine that all of this drama today will help me to be a more patient in the future.

So, if you think of it, please pray for me to have a bit of extra patience and understanding for Hezekiah. Please pray that I will learn how to do this on my own without feeling overwhelmed. Annaliese and I will be off for a women's retreat this weekend. After today, I can use the break.

Such a Noisy Boy, Unless He's Sleeping

The house was so quiet last week. Hezekiah was at his Oma and Opa's house. When he is gone there is a tremendous difference in the house. Mom mentioned it a few times and I definetly noticed it too. Mom and Dad have been used to a very quiet house but I think that they are adjusting to the noise.

Hezekiah sure can be noisy. At dinner he likes to say nonsense words very loudly. Then when we ask him to be quiet he says, "I'm saying nony nony," or, "I'm talking!" Today he was creating quite a ruckus because he did not want to get dressed (he really likes "naked boy" time) and later because I put him in time-out. You would have thought that I was hanging him by his toes in a dungeon!

Annaliese also seemed to notice the quiet. Twice she just started screeming these cute little screems. She was jumping in the excersaucer and just, "Aaahhh!". She would go right on playing as if nothing had happened. It sure surprised Mom and I! Especially coming from such a quiet little girl.

Well, we enjoyed a few minutes of peace around here this morning.  Annaliese was napping and Hezekiah told us that he wanted to take a nap. Yes, my son does request nap times. Usually he only asks for nap at his normal nap time after lunch but I guess he was feeling tired today. I feel blessed to have a son who knows when he is tired and wants to take a nap!

This Boy's Memory

My son sure can crack me up. He is staying with his Oma and Opa for a few days and I called their house this morning. He was not very interested in talking with me on the phone so I finished the conversation with my sister-in-law and we hung up. A minute later the phone rang.  Oma said, "Hezekiah asked to talk with you," and she handed him the phone. "Hi Hezekiah!" I said. He responded, "Don't step in dog poop."

That was it. "Hello? Hello?" I said. He was gone and had handed the phone back to Oma who was laughing so hard that she couldn't talk.  Really?, I thought. That's what he wanted to tell me?  Don't step in dog poop.

Now, this isn't really coming out of nowhere. Last time he went to Oma and Opa's house, Oma had warned him to watch out for dog poop in the grass across the street from their house.  About a week ago he was talking with Oma on the phone about the upcoming visit. "I don't step in dog poop," he told her.  At the time we could not figure out where this was coming from. Oma had since figured it out and filled me in.

I am amazed by Hezekiah's memory and amused by the things that stick in that memory. I mean, of all the things to remember and bring up about visiting Oma and Opa, the dog poop was right at the top. Aah, to be a boy.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope that you have a chance to enjoy the fun of getting dressed up as someone other than yourself and maybe being just a little bit silly. We enjoyed a Halloween party at a friend's house, making entrances as Woody the cowboy, an adorable cat, and a librarian.

And, of course, we just had to get out to a pumpkin patch.  As you can tell, Annaliese is always quite fond of her brother. Hezekiah, on the other hand, was more interested in the farm animals.  Also, Hezekiah was a big help when Grandpa made his jack-o-lantern. Well, maybe not a big help. I mean, the inside was all "grossy". He sure was excited about the whole process though! Halloween is a good excuse for a little bit of extra fun and excitement in our lives.





"You're talking downstairs!"

This afternoon I was enjoying a t.v. show while Hezekiah was napping. Mom joined me and we were talking about the show when, from upstairs, we heard, "You're talking downstairs."  We continued to talk and I assumed that Hezekiah would simply come downstairs.  He often talks from the top of the stairs before he comes down.  Well he didn't come down; he just kept saying, "You're talking downstairs!" 


"Yes we are," I said. "Did we wake you up?"


I believe he said "yes".  Then, "I'm trying to nap. You need to be quiet."


I just cracked up. We are always telling him that he needs to be quiet when Annaliese is napping. Of course, he didn't go back to sleep (he was at the end of his normal napping time) and just came down to join us. I definitely have a child who is not afraid to let you know how he feels about something!

They're Here!!!

It's official! Annaliese has her first two teeth. Tooth number one, on the bottom left, arrived October 20th and the second one, on the bottom right, arrived just four days later. Aren't they just so tiny and adorable?