The Rutschke Family: My sweet Aben!

So I feel like I've been a bad mom since I haven't been updating about Aben. Aben has grown and changed so much. So here are some of the highlights and some of my favorite things he does:

Aben's first full sentence he said all on his own was "Dadda, I share with Momma!". He was sharing his trail mix with me and was so proud of it. :) This happened the first week of June. Since then he doesn't really say anything that isn't in a full sentence. "Momma, I want a cookie." "Momma, I'm hungry.", "Dadda come home soon?"....and more, and more, and more!
He loves marching with his dad when dad gets home from medical school.
When he's walking with a purpose he swings his left arm high and hard :) (and only the left...never the right)
Loves taking pictures with my phone camera...especially when the sound is on. What I love most is when he tell us to say "Cheeseburger!" when taking pictures. He got that from Grandma Rutschke. Even cuter then saying cheeseburger is how he says it. It is in the cutest voice and pitch and sounds more like "cheese-burders!"
Loves singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "I am a Child of God", "ABC's", "Head-Shoulder-Knees-and Toes", "I love to see the Temple", and "Clean up". He actually knows the words pretty well in all of these songs, especially the first two.
Is such a good helper and loves to help clean up. He always sings the clean up song too!
Is starting to better understand his stomach and when it is hungry or full. The other day, we were saying we were "hungry as a hippo". A few days later he came up to me around lunch time and said, "Momma, Aben a hippo! I'm so hungry!". (He refers to himself as "Aben", and usually points to himself when he says it). It made my day...what a smart boy!
Always says, "Be right back, okay (he pronounces it 'tay')!" And while he says this he points with is pointer finger to add more emphasis. I love this!
Is such a good eater. He absolutely loves mac and cheese, cheese stuffed noodles, lasagna, tacos/burritos, fruit snacks, and of course cookies! But he also loves bell peppers, cucumbers, salad/lettuce, and a lot of other veggies. He has always loved food!
Aben's a lot like me when it comes to his drinks. :) He loves his drinks, and he always has to have one or he will be super grumpy if he gets thirsty. Anything that is juice or pop is "apple juice" and he loves his apple juice! But more than anything he loves milk....regular milk, chocolate milk, or strawberry. Every morning he still has to have a warm cup of milk with his breakfast.
Is so sweet and still loves to cuddle
Finally, Aben is doing so good in his big boy bed. He occasionally tries to climb in our bed in the middle of the night, but that only happens about once or twice a week now. Not 3 times a night! I'm so glad I stuck with it!
Even though he is so cute, sweet, and handsome, he still is a two year old and has a hard time when he doesn't get his way. He hates time-out and usually cries or screams the whole time he's in time-out and then refuses to leave time-out, which makes no sense, but he's learning and just trying to find ways to express his emotions.
With going to timeout and being told what is a "no no", he has started to imitate us. He says, "One, Two, One, room now!" (I count to three, giving him three chances to listen and if he is still not listening, he has to go to time out). He has started putting his toys in time out too. He will come tell us, "Mommy, Daddy, cup is naughty." Then he'll come back and say "Cup happy now" and go and get him out of time-out. Really funny, but it does show us that he really does listen and pick up on how we talk to him. I guess we have to start being careful of what we say! ;)

Two is a hard age, but so fun at the same time with how much he is growing. He is loving Missouri and has transitioned with all the changes-new baby, move, new bed, etc- really well. He loves his next door neighbor friend Emma who is his age and asks to play with her every day. He is loving how many kids and friends he has in our neighborhood and is loving being able to play more outside. He does miss his daddy so much though. He asks all day long "Daddy home soon?". He turns into a hyper-active crazy child the minute dad gets home :)! Even with the tantrums-screaming, hitting, crying- I am loving my time with my Aben. I am one lucky momma!