The Rutschke Family

The Rutschke Family

Friday, January 23, 2015

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!