Life...Hey it is what it is...

It is amazing to me how sweet the boys can be and then at the blink of any eye...Boom, the screams, cries, hits and kicks. Hey, I must say Zachary and Nicholas are all boy and they know it. I think, no I know that their cuteness has let them get away with some things in the past and even now. Not that I am biased, but they are pretty cute. I was readin an article the other day which had the verse that said,(paraphrase) The rod and reproof are good for wisdom but a child left to his own is a shame to his mother. Just made me think, how much and how important it is to spend the time with each of the boys, even or especially during those times when they are more difficult to be around. I'm in no way a philosopher (Just ask Leanne) but I have noticed that the more time I spend with them, the less issues there are and when they are having more trouble is when they are just trying to get my attention. I guess this parenting thing is more than just spreading the seed, adding water, and watch them grow. Just kidding. I know that they are well worth my time. Just pray for me and Leanne's sanity and to be able spend enough of the quality time we need to to help raise these kiddos the way we should. Watching Zachary and Nicholas really does affirm that God has a sense of humor and prayers do come true when people said they hope I have children that were like me when I was a child. Don't know what they mean, I was a great kid. See I haven't lost my sense of humor yet.

Whiffle Ball

~Little action shot~
~Not really keepin' the eye on the ball~

~Yahhhhhh~

~See my intensity~

Today was such a nice day, so after dinner, me and boys decided to play outside for awhile. I took this opportunity to introduce the boys to tee/whiffle ball. Actually, just taking turns hitting the ball off of the tee. After a couple of technical difficulties with Sadie not wanting to return the ball after it was hit, the boys got the groove. Ofcourse we had to have a couple of safety rules which was when the batter was going to bat, the other person had to be behind a block that was on the ground. Nicholas had a little harder time with this whole process because he wanted to be by his brother when he was hitting. After figuring out that he wasn't going to be able to bat until he followed the rules, he quickly got with the program. It was pretty cool hearing them say whose turn it was when each had their time to bat. "Zackie's turn" "Nicka's turn". It does show they can be somewhat civil when they want to. Gotta love those boys.

Perspective....Choice words...

Since having children, many things have been put into perspective. The ever present "Why?" makes you have to wonder why we really have to do things this way or that way. The common parent answer, "Because I said so", sometimes works but doesn't always make the grade for an ever inquisitive 3 year old. Zachary is always wanting to know why things happen a certain way or are taking place. For instance, it was raining and he wanted to know why it was raining and why today and not tomorrow. After having worked a long day, my quick answer was because God decided that it was time for some rain. After that answer, Zachary said his ever popular "why". To my slight frustration, I answered him, "just because". Well to this 3 year old, that wasn't a good answer and decided that he didn't like God because he didn't want it to rain for whatever reason. Needless to say, for the next 20 to 30 minutes, I had a discussion about that he shouldn't be mad at God for letting it rain and that the rain was good for the grass, flowers, etc. Zachary and myself have had many such discussions making me have to really be more thoughtful about what comments I make. Zachary really does make life interesting and there is no doubt that his brain is always at work trying to figure things out or ofcourse thinking of new and clever ways of getting into mischief. I know that the now and future are going to hold many more conversations with not only Zachary, but also Nicholas and soon to be Lucas about who knows what. That not only scares me a little but also makes me have to laugh. It is true that you never know what might come out of the "mouths of babes". To be continued....

A boy and his dog...

Sadie, our family dog, is quite a loving animal although as mentioned earlier not the smartest. She puts up with a lot from the boys. There is something to be said about a dog and boys. Both Zachary and Nicholas love being outside and being quite rambunctious(?spelling) with each other and Sadie. Sadie enjoys it and is pretty good with them but does have a speed advantage which is a good thing when she has had enough. Today was pretty nice although a little cooler and some early morning rain. For those out west, rain is water that comes from the sky. Anyways, we are always trying to get the boys outside as much as possible. 1. To burn off energy. 2. To get fresh air. 3. Keep them from wanting to spend more time in front of the TV. Well as always, the boys enjoyed themselves and had a good time with Sadie.

Wonderful Days...

Today was just a great day weather wise, mid 70's and a nice breeze. Then Leanne told me that the boys had some difficulties at Daycare. It seems the Nicholas pushed a girl away from the window so he could see his brother and when Zachary saw it, he decided to encourage Nicholas by saying go ahead. Needless to say it was a little distressing that our two "angels" are being somewhat of a pair of pint size bullies. This is something we will have to try and nip in the bud. .....When Leanne got home with the boys we decided to make use of the beautiful day and try to also get some of the boy's energy reserves gone. Yeah right, but ya gotta try. So we put up new swings (ofcourse they had to be blue, Zachary's favorite color, and we had to have two) and also enjoy the slide. The boys did enjoy, but Zachary was again trying to asert his independence requiring some time outs. He is a handful, but some people say it is in the genes, specifically the fathers. No idea about that. Well here are some new pics. Enjoy.

Let's keep it coming.....

Two sweet boys taking a nap at Grandy and PopPops
Zachary and Nicholas in their Easter outfits

Zachary standing in front of his first bullseye on a milk carton,

Nicholas looking pretty cute/mischevious at the same time

Well here are some more pics for the viewing. Hope you enjoy.

Let's keep it coming.....

Time to try out and place some pics...

I thought I would place some pics on this thing so everyone can say, "Hey those are some cute kids." Actually so I will get somewhat out of the doghouse for not sending some earlier. So here it goes. Well these pictures are from our most recent trip to Leanne's family in Pennsylvania.

1. Nicholas and Zachary playing with blocks (Love those tunnels)

2. Zachary and Nicholas looking cute on Grandy and Poppop's couch

3. Zachary taking his first shots as a future hunter/maksman with Pa

....and so it begins!?!?

Well, I thought that I would give this bloggin thing a try and see what happens. Hmm...call it peer pressure or finding a way to get more info and pics out; of the family and kids to everyone. Here's a little update of what the Ramos family has been up to in the past decade. We live in Fairfield, Ohio (lil north of Cincinnati), have two boys, Zachary Matthaias (3), Nicholas Scott (2), and one slightly neurotic but loving dog named Sadie. Zachary is in the Spiderman craze and Nicholas has a somewhat obsessiveness with Thomas the train. They are both great boys and although Zachary torments his little brother to all ends most of the time, he does love Nicholas and can be very loving. The topic of interest right now is to try to get Nicholas potty trained before our latest arrival comes. We are expecting our third on July 14th and yes, it is going to be another boy. So far the name at the top of the list is Lucas Josiah. We will see if it still makes the cut in a couple of weeks. As for me and my wife Leanne of 13 years, yes 13 years, we both work in the health field. Leanne, is an occupational therapist and I just became a occupational therapy assistant this past December after 2 1/2 years of school. Well that was just a brief opener of the Ramos clan in Ohio. Now I just have to figure out how add pics...