The best things that happened this month were that the baby…

1)  has learned how to keep the binky in his mouth,
2)  really smiles…not just as a reflex…and expresses himself more,
3)  coos and tries to talk to you,
4)  was able to spend his first Mothers’ Day with his mom and his “Mr. Mom”,
5)  has begun to grab objects that are in front of him and hold them,
and last but definitely not least~
6)  SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!! 

Well, since he was born, at night he would always go every 4 hours
between feedings (you are supposed to count from the beginning of
feeding to beginning of next feeding).  His magical time to wake
up was at 3am.  Without fail, he would always wake up at 3am
whether we put him down last at 10pm or 1am.  The past month, he
extended that time to waking up at 4am when we’d put him down between
9-10pm. 
Anyhow, for the past few days, his final feeding has been at 9pm and we
put him down at 10pm and he wakes up at around 6:30am!!  God truly
hears and answers prayers!  I’m thinking that after a couple
weeks, we’ll try to ease his bedtime up to 8pm and his wake up time to
7am. 
IA has grown in more ways than one.  At our last doctor’s visit
(for his 2 month check-up), the baby weighed 15lbs 4oz and was 25.75
inches!  To give you an idea of how large that is, his weight is
in the 95th percentile and his height is in the 90th.  He has
grown a lot (as you can imagine) and he is getting stronger too. 
Anyway, here are some pictures of the baby.  He is changing so
much and it almost makes me sad when I think that I can never have my
newborn baby back! 

He smiles a lot…especially after he eats.  Go figure.

The baby sporting his truck sweatshirt.  His one and only time wearing it because it’s getting too small.

Wearing one of his many PJs and laying in his crib. 

Picture with his daddy.  (The baby is wishing his daddy would have shaved before holding him so close.)

Hope you all have a relaxing Memorial Day weekend! 

This past Sabbath was the baby’s first time in Cradle Roll
class.  Man, Sabbath School at Ann Arbor Church is so
awesome.  It’s so different from Sabbath School at DKAY, where all
I remember doing in Cradle Roll was ringing the little jingle
bells or waving the rainbow flag and singing the “Sah-keh-yo-yah”
song with motions.  (DKAY, you know what I’m talkin’ about.) 

Anyhow, it was a lot of fun learning about the farm and how we
“like to go to the farm where the cows moo
moo…”.  Apparently the entire quarter is about the
farm.  It’s great, though.  If any of you come and visit
on a weekend, you’re all more than welcome to come sit in
with us.  And now here are some pictures
from Imanuel Alexander’s first day of school!!  (Sabbath
School, that is.)

The baby was shy since it was his first day so he opted not to participate until next Sabbath.     

Between both of these pictures, Israel and I look half decent.  haha  

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to this
Sabbath.  We hope and pray that the baby will learn to love the
Sabbath, and even as he gets older, call it a delight.  Have a
happy Sabbath!  -jr

The Ramos Family just celebrated Judy’s (and Israel’s) first Mother’s Day.  The craziest thing of the day was the humility that Israel showed: he’s been Mr. Mom for a long time, yet he took a supporting role and allowed Judy to get all the credit of Motherhood.  Oh, that there were more Israelites (in the truest sense of the word) in this world. 
On top of that…
Daniel Mendez, Ramos Family Photographer of the Year (but he’s so busy that it takes a year to get the proofs) and close friend of the family came up with a great idea.  He calls me up and shoots out the idea of having a pre-Mother’s Day celebration.  Why hold off on something that you can do today, right?
So here’s what we did:

We made a special SURPRISE! dinner for them celebrating Judy and Kerri’s first Mother’s Day: Falafel, Salad, Split Pea Soup, and Cilantro & Sundried Tomato Pasta.
Imanuel is trying to pose like the people back in the James White days. 

On the actual MOTHER’S DAY, we had our own little thing going on at home.  Jen Song (but she likes to be called Moo-moo for short…it may be a Korean thing) was over and she’s a teacher.  And if teachers are parents, and she’s a teacher…hey, why not celebrate Mother’s Day also…

According to some sources, all women have a “Maternal Desire”–the crazy thing is that they had this interview with some women, Moo-moo being one of them, and the researcher said she had one deep down inside.  I don’t know, though.

Back to the story…
On Sunday, we celebrated MD with a special SURPRISE! pancake breakfast prepared by yours…true…ly.

We had pictures of that event but I can’t find the camera to download them.  But don’t worry, most of them are of Judy sleeping.  And Jen just waking up.  Maybe next time.

On a more serious note…
I am very grateful for the two mothers who’ve impacted my life the greatest: my mom and my jude.

Marriage is a funny thing.  When you get into it, you feel as though trying your best is the key to its success.  But after a short time of being in one, I’ve realized that no amount of human power can keep one together.  It’s been quite humbling trying to be the best husband/father I can be yet still fall short of what my family needs.  I thank God for His strength, and Judy for her patience, encouragement, and love.

Judy, you are better than all that I could ever have asked for or imagined!

Happy Mother’s Day.

Picture with our two boys…I think they’re beginning to like each other.

Here are some pics from when Kwame was dedicated at Campus Hope Fellowship at the University of Michigan.  “Kwame” is the Ghanian name for a boy born on “I am that I am’s day” aka Saturday.  Dr. Pipim performed the ceremony and in his message he explained that throughout the Bible, the purpose of child dedication is actually more for the mother.  So, I was dedicated as well.    It was also here where the baby officially received his African name, Kwame.  (It’s what Dr. Pipim calls him.)  This was on Sabbath, April 22nd, 2006, the last church service of the school year…so, here’s Kwame Ramos being dedicated to the Lord!

In the Pond Room (A,B,C) at the Michigan Union on campus.   www.campushope.com

I was sick with mastitis, so I was too weak to hold the baby, so Israel held him.

The wonderful photographer. 

PS:  After Kwame Brown’s wonderful performance in game 7, Israel is starting to doubt whether he likes that name or not…

PPS:  And for some comic relief: 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6742988194956129075