Ray is a goofy boy.

Ray turned 2 on the 13th! He is a cute 2 year old. I tried to let him do what he wanted throughout the day which is a little risky but low key. We played and stayed in pajama’s and ate junk food:

woke up Early with the big boys

eating on moms lap

potato head with his sisters

watching Tangled

help frost the cake

eating fun dip

playing balloons

Grandma and Grandpa Nettesheim stopped by in the afternoon with a gift for the birthday boy- It was his special pillow with a pillow case for every holiday that Grandma made!

In the evening when the kids and Dad were all home we opened presents. We decided to go with one big gift this time and got him the “Sports Climber”. It’s a slide but it also has a basketball hoop and a soccer and football goal built into it. He is such an active boy and it seems to be a perfect fit. He and his siblings have already had hours of fun:

And then we had cake and ice cream. For some reason Ray freaked out when it was time to blow out the candles. He had been pretend practicing all day but when it came down to it he was tired and something set him off.

Raymond is a busy boy. He is always looking for fun or trouble. He brings a lot of craziness and joy to our family. Bring on the TWO YEAR OLD.

Raymond is at that perfect age. I can sit and watch him for hours. He plays and laughs and explore’s. He mimics what he hears and tries to say new words everyday. He gives great hugs and smiles and has started saying BYE to everyone that comes over.

Uncle Brady is seeing if Ray is big enough for “flippees” – he was too scared.

He won’t use his booster seat anymore at the table.

Trying on Dad’s shoes 🙂

and he is still a great sleeper

the crazy boy deserves his own blog space 🙂  Raymond Thomas – 22 months (exactly)

Raymond is unlike our other children. Not only does he have a different look, he also has a mischievous personality. He can be so much FUN and he can be so much WORK. I love his serious face in this pic. He loves to figure things out and do it on his own.

Here is Ray with the BIG BOY cousins. He thinks he is just part of the crew and THEY are so good to cater to him and let him tag along. He is a tough little boy which makes for some fun.

We finally went to the WOOD PARK. My other boys went to this park all of the time – they were spoiled. This was Raymond’s first time since he is big enough to enjoy it. He had no fear and climbed all over the park. There was no keeping him in baby land. He is adventurous and fearless.

Ray Tom’s art work!! This kid has drawn on my walls more than… More than I thought was possible. This was the bathroom wall. He also tagged the bathroom door and floor and then I discovered a wall in the loft! I can only recall scrubbing crayon off the wall one time with all 4 older kids put together!! Of course this phase coincides with our brand new house (my angry face). Thankfully I am still well stocked with “magic Erasers” from an old roommate.

Look at that smiley laugh! SO ADORABLE

Playing with Christian and Rose. Ray is really good at playing but he is also in the “everything is mine and I want it my way” stage. He has no concept of sharing. His brothers and sisters are used to him getting his way but “older, youngest in their family” cousins struggle with his stubborn personality.

We love our little “Bubbas”. He is a great sleeper. Great with a spoon. He is a funny dancer. He tries to talk and actually tell me what he wants – LOVE when that happens. And he does the best “cheesy” smiles for the camera.

Our HAPPY Raymond is back!! and it make me so happy. All kids have to adjust to having a new sibling and all of our 18-22 month olds are the ones that have the hardest time adjusting but Raymond REALLY had a hard time with Millie. He would verbally tell me to put her down but it went beyond that. He was just a grumpy Gus for 7 weeks. He was OK but not HAPPY. This past week we had a break thru and he finally came to terms with being big Brother! He still tells me to put “baby down”, but he is happy. He wakes up happy, he runs around the house being crazy and funny and HAPPY. I am so glad that he is back!