Christmas 2014

Yes, I know... I'm really really late. But I still wanted to post about Christmas. I have loved Christmas even more than normal because it also means we get a lot more time with Sean! This last Christmas was his last Christmas break and it makes me sad that we won't have those awesome 2-3 weeks of  uninterrupted time with him. No med school, minimal studying (if any...woops!). So Christmas has been so wonderful these last two years!

Aben loved decorating the gingerbread men...

And Noah loved to eat them!

This last Christmas we went home to Idaho. We were very blessed and got to fly home. No 24 hour drive! We went to Nampa first to visit my family. My brother Jerry and his wife Ashley were the only ones that were able to come up for Christmas. I missed seeing my other brothers and their families but it was really nice to actually have some time to visit with Jerry and Ashley and their cute kids. We don't get time like that living so far away. The kids had so much fun playing together. Jerry brought up their dog, Penny, and she was a definite hit. Aben loved her soooo much! Noah loved her too. He started getting mad when Penny would jump up on him...but we soon realized he didn't mind if she jumped up as long as she didn't go for his binki. Ha ha. We were able to hang out at home and play games. I think our night of BLURT will be forever remembered. We were all slightly delirious due to the late hour, but it made for some great memories! We went bowling all together and the kids were just so fun to play with. They were so good! Sarah even got a strike! I think her score was almost as good as some of the adults. Aben absolutely loved it, and it was so hard for him to wait his turn. Noah loved it, but it was a love-hate relationship. The balls are obviously too heavy for an 18 month old so he would get so frustrated that he couldn't do it himself. The best part of the trip was when we got to eat some awesome, authentic Thai food! (Okay...not the best part. But seriously, how can Kansas City not have any good Thai restaurants!!)

 Doing dishes with Grammy Taylor. He is such a big helper and loves to clean!

    We then went to Rupert for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was such a blast! I love going to Rupert and I love how it really truly feels like home to me. It was always a worry that when I got married I wouldn't feel as at home and comfortable at my in-laws. When I met Sean's family 6 years ago, those fears quickly disappeared. I love going home to Rupert! My kiddos love playing with Grandma and Grandpa Rutschke and they love that their cousins live just around the corner. They get to play with their cousins all day everyday :). Since all my brother's and their wives were either doing their own family Christmas or with their in-laws, my parents didn't have anyone coming for Christmas day and we were able to convince them to come join the crazy Rutschke party in Rupert. It  was such a treat to have both my parents and in-laws for Christmas. And, another miracle....it snowed of Christmas Eve!!! It was a true white Christmas!

Aben's snow angel

Christmas Eve is always a crazy loud and awesome party with the Rutschkes. All the family gets together (siblings, parents, aunts, cousins, grandmas, everyone!) and it is so fun! We play lots of awesome games involving fighting over fun presents (the fighting is friendly and injuries are usually to the minimum :) ), and of course we eat lots of amazing food! They know how to have a good time! Christmas morning, we wake up and do presents with my in-laws and both Grandmas come and join in. Once we do our own family gifts, Sean's brother and sister and their families come over to open presents from Layne and Janie too and spend the afternoon together. It's great that they all live so close so we can spend holidays with all of them when we come to visit.

The boys with their sock monkeys from Santa Claus

Noah just loved his big kangaroo and would keep cuddling up to her. I loved it!

Noah opening his sock monkey. He is super attached to his other sock monkey and so I thought he would be so excited to get a bigger sock monkey too. He thought it was cool, but wasn't as attached as I thought he would be. Plus he was pretty excited that he was eating a candy cane for breakfast so he was a little distracted. 

Aben on the other hand was ecstatic! All he asked for from Santa was a big sock monkey and he was so happy to open it. He kept it close all day and slept with it the whole time we were there.

Lovin' on the kangaroo again

First time seeing his presents and stocking under the tree.

Aben loved carrying the big presents to all the family to open up.

The kiddo's (and our) stash

Frank

Meet Frank. Aben's best friend. Frank goes all sorts of places with Aben and always travels with him in his pockets. :)  It is frequently Frank's birthday and is needing us to sing him Happy Birthday. Frank likes to take a lot of naps too.

Aben one day found this gem on his dad's desk. It is a rubber holder for ear buds. He came up to me and said, "Mom, it is Frank's birthday." And then proceeded to sing to him. At first I was really confused and had to ask who he was singing to. He then showed me Frank, and said "Well, this is Frank. Of course. He is my friend!"

I just love the imagination of a 3 1/2 year old! He comes up with the cutest and silliest stories. But this one is one of my favorites. Frank has been a part of our family for over a month now. :) I'm curious to see how long Aben remembers Frank and continues to be his friend!

Noah: 18 months!!

I can't believe Noah is already 18 months old! He is a crazy kid and has definitely given us a run for our money. I remember when Aben was this age and thinking how grown up and big Aben was. Noah just seems so little still to me. But I guess that's because Aben is 3 1/2 and so Noah really is pretty little compared to Abe. I'm glad he still feels like my little baby because I am definitely not ready for a real little baby. With Aben, I was already 2 months pregnant. That just seems so overwhelming to me right now! I guess baby #3 will just have to wait a little longer. :)

Noah:

• Loves to sing "let it go"

• Really tries to repeat just about any word...he can usually get the sound about right with most words. He learns knew words everyday!
• Loves bath time still.
• Apparently really likes getting sick. He has been sick or teething pretty much since Halloween.
• One thing I love that he does is shrug his shoulders when he's trying to be cute. He also waves "hello" like they do on Little Rascals, with their hand under their chin. Cutest thing ever! 
• One of my, if not the absolute favorite thing Noah does is how he says "yeah". Whenever we ask if he wants to do this, or eat this, or that and he does, he says "yeah" will all the energy and happiness an 18 month old can offer. Every single time. He throws his arms up, yells "yeah", and usually jumps or turns in a circle. It is so cute and never gets old. My goal is to get his on video somehow! 
•  He loves playing and copying Aben. He especially loves sitting on Aben and wrestling with him.
• Is still a stink about sleeping. He started sleeping really good and all night, but then of course with getting sick all the time, he is off an on and now wakes up way too early and won't go back to sleep! (Unless you sleep with him....which is not something I enjoy). 
• I will admit...he has slept fairly well this last week. Knock on wood!!
• Is so picky about eating. The last week he has started to do better...but we'll see how long that lasts. I can usually get him to eat about 4 bites, and then he is done. 
• He loves loves loves milk. Likes water. And hates anything else, even juice or chocolate milk.
• He loves trying to jump. He's almost able to get off the ground now. :)
• Loves playing with cousins. We had so much fun over Christmas playing with everyone! He especially loves his grandmas and grandpas!
• He is really really shy. If he doesn't know you, don't talk to him. He will throw himself on the ground and cry. You know how when you go grocery shopping and you are checking out, the cashier will try to talk to you and your kids. Well, I hate it. Because the kids are usually pretty spent by then anyways, and then of course...Stranger danger! Noah starts crying and throws his head back, which then smacks into the cart so he cries harder. And I'm just sitting there amazed they are still trying to talk to him. Ha ha. I know they mean well, but man, it makes going out hard!
• He refuses to sit in a high chair, even when we go out to eat. He has to sit in a regular chair if we want him to eat at all. Plus, if forced into a high chair, he just screams the whole time and tries to climb out and usually just gets himself hurt or stuck. So we've given up on high chairs. Aben hated them, and Noah now hates them.
• Noah has definitely been a difficult kiddo in some aspects but he is just too dang cute to stay frustrated with. :) I guess we'll keep him! 

Here are some of my favorite pics since his birthday:

 I just love how Noah is layin' on his tummy propped up on his elbow like a big boy!

 Noah's favorite activity...getting into my fridge! (Sorry about how messy it was...I was just about to clean it out when this little guy took over the fridge).

 He absolutely loves playing with his brother at the park.

 We get a lot of snuggle time with daddy gone so much for school! I sure love my boys!

 We had so much fun at the pumpkin patch. The boys loved the train and Noah felt pretty cool and big sitting by himself next to Aben.

 You know how your kids never leave you alone when you want...like when you need to go to the bathroom. Well, this is Noah's favorite spot to sit and watch you use the restroom. He's too cute to kick out though, so I guess he can stay.

 Noah started walking in September and the big old knot on his head is from his first collision while walking on the sidewalk. Learning to walk is so hard! 

 He loves his apples but refuses to stay in the kitchen to eat them. He will just grab the whole apple and start eating it while he walks around the house. 

 This past fall, we went to a kids museum and the kiddos loved it! Noah loved sitting on these huge foam blocks. It was one of his favorite things to do. :)

This was probably his favorite though. They loved throwing the golf balls down this and watching them spin all the way down. I think we played at this spot for about 30 mins and then I had to pry the kids away from it. Good thing the foam blocks were close by! 

 This is Noah's 'snack' spot. Whenever he gets a snack...he wants to sit here. On our step stool. My silly boy!

 When daddy is home, they are both glued to his hip. They love reading stories and wrestling and just being crazy. They are always so happy to see him come home!