We Miss U - LOTS!

We miss you guys... sorry we couldn't come out to see you this weekend! Here's a few photos taken over the summer... the last time we were ALL together! Seems like ages ago!!!

L to R: 'lil Nate, Megan, Ryan, Mo, Dani, Sabrina & Jared
Hangin' out at the Jacobs' home - celebrating Megan's 9th Birthday (Aug 2007)

Cousins - Megan, Ryan & Morgan

Dani, Sabrina, Megan & Ryan - just playing outside!

Hanging out together in Washington, DC - Summer of 2007

Spring Break & miles apart!

SABRINA & DANIELLA - Best Friends since birth!
Well, it's Spring Break 2008 and our plans were to go to Maryland and visit the Wooster & Jacobs family. With so much to do around the house before our BIG move to GUAM... we decided it was best to stay home and utilize our time wisely and get things done! (i.e: paint, dejunk, organize, etc) Problem is - we broke our little girls hearts! It was tough to see Daniella cry when I broke the news to her that we were staying home. Caryn said Sabrina did the same thing when she heard the news, too! Man, I wish we didn't live so far away from friends & family!


These are a few pictures taken this past summer at Family Camp in Camp Au Sable (Michigan)... the girls had such a blast just being together... swimming, reading, horseback riding or just taking a walk!


We're moving in about 5 months... and with tears in her eyes... Daniella's question to me was, "when will we see my friend again?" It's tough being a kid sometimes they don't understand why things have to be the way they are and the decisions that parents have to make. Part of me wishes that we just left everything here and drove off to Maryland. Yes, we're making progress here at the house... rooms are getting painted, walls are being retouched... and we met with 3 different realtors friday afternoon. Will the house sell sooner because we stayed home and did home improvements... who knows? All I know is that I'm so sad that I had to disappoint my kids with a cancelled trip for Spring Break!

Ice Cream for everyone!

A story worth sharing...
RYAN'S 8th Birthday in 2007

Ryan celebrated his 8th birthday last year at a place called Blackbeards Cove. A fun and very interactive play place for all the kids! They have moonbounces everywhere and Gem Mining for the kids. Here in South Carolina it gets so hot in the summer... and on June 17th, 2007 last year... it was a doozy!! HOT HOT HOT!

As parents we try to teach our kids how to be selfless and thoughtful of others... and this is a story about that. Pictured above is ROCCO COSTANZO with Mo, Dani & Ry. Ryan & Rocco were classmates in Kindergarten together and they became FAST friends!

These are Rocco's parents... Alexandra & Michael Costanzo... Alix is pregnant with her 3rd boy here - Guilio. Alex is one of those friends who has changed my outlook on life and made me appreciate life MORE! She's an incredible friend and I am so blessed to know her! More on our friendship in another blog....

As you can see in this photo... the kids were sweaty & hot during their "gem mining" session. It was lots of fun... but ooh, we were so ready to go inside into an AC environment!

These are Ryan's friends since Kindergarten... L to R: Rocco Costanzo, Ben Veloso, Ryan & Sarah Reilly (Ryan's 1st crush).

Ryan opened his gifts and was so happy to just be with his friends! He was very excited to get $20 in an envelope from his friend Austin! When it was time for the cake... Ryan decided he didn't want any so the girl who was helping run our party said, "well, then you can have ice cream because you're the birthday boy" Ryan was so excited because it was so hot and ice cream sounded so good on a day like today! When the cake was served, Rocco saw that Ryan had ice cream and asked the lady if he could have some too... and the girl responded, "Oh, I'm sorry - the ice cream is only for the birthday boy because he didn't want cake". Rocco looked disappointed and immediately after she said that Ryan reached for his birthday card... took out the $20 he got from Austin and handed the money to the lady and said, "here's some money, can you please give my friend some ice cream". Ryan's thoughtfullness on that day touched my heart and all the parents there, too. We lined up all the kids and they all got ice cream.

I was reminded of that story because Alex gave me a writing composition written by her son Rocco. His assignment was to write about someone who was UNSELFISH... and he wrote about Ryan and when he bought him Ice Cream. That was almost 9 months ago... and he still remembered Ryan's kindness. Way to go Ryan! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

DANIELLA & SARAH...

next door neighbors & friends!

... the girls LOVE playing dress up and having fun together!

Sarah is in 3rd grade and Dani is in 1st grade...and I just love how well they get along and play together! Maybe it's because they are both from a family of 4 kids. Sarah has an older brother & 2 younger twin sisters. Aren't these photos of them too sweet!?

footwear & more hair

Ready for our Morning Walk...

My friend Darcy found these cute little running shoes on sale and she said, "These are too cute, if you don't buy them, I will"... so I bought them! Mia loves the velcro on them and always tries to pull them off... she's not too fond of footwear - but on those crisp morning walks it's good for her to have something on her feet.

Look at me GO....
Little Miss Mia LOVES cruising around the house... especially the front door where she has windows low enough to look out. As you can see... she prefers the barefoot look! I LOVE LOVE LOVE her little toes!

Crazy Wild Hair!
Ohh, WHY do you do these things to me? Our neighbor Sarah came over and put this wig on Mia... we all had a good laugh seeing her looking like Albert Einstein! Can you tell she's annoyed?

Yonder Come Day arr. by Judith Cook Tucker

Friday, March 14th -

ELEMENTARY CHORAL FESTIVAL

at the Fort Dorchester High School

The 11 elementary schools in our district had the opportunity to work with a special guest conductor - Dr Martha Shaw. She is a Professor of Music Education at Shorter College in Rome, GA & the founder/director of the Spivey Hall Children's Choir at Clayton College & State University. With over 1000 kids at our school - there were only 15 students selected to participate - and our Morgan was one of the kids selected!

YEAH, MO!

PEACE SIGN! Mo patiently waiting for the performance to begin.

Ryan took this picture right before the show... great job, Ry!

Here is the whole group on stage... all 11 Dorchester School District Two Schools. It was such a treat to hear them all sing! Morgan even commented to me, "Mommy, I never sang ALL DAY before! That was fun!"

Can you see Morgan's smiling face in the crowd?

GREAT JOB, MO! We're so proud of you!

... on the GO ................................

** be sure to scroll all the way down to pause or turn off the MUSIC for this blog in order to watch this video clip with sound.

Yes... can you believe - #4 is walking! Mia LOVES her VTech Walker! It's a whole new world for this little one! She's definitely on the GO and always testing her balance!

... she's 7 years old!

*slideshow of Dani's 7th birthday celebration is on the top of the page!

DANIELLA is 7 years old

SISTERS!

Our sweet four!

family photo... on Dani's birthday

time to eat... yummmmy!!

GROUP Photo with the Chick-Fil-A COW!

... changes

Here is the current update on what the kids are up to...
. . . MORGAN has new glasses! He's looking more & more like Daddy Dale every day! It's so cute, the night he had his eyes checked and picked out his glasses he said to me, "Mommy, first I got braces, then nose spray for my allergies... and NOW GLASSES! What's next?" Ahhhh, the joys of growing and how things continually change! Doesn't he look so handsome in his new eyewear? Mo is still doing wonderful in school... he's still on the HONOR ROLL, sings in the school choir & even was selected to be a part of the Choral Clinic at the High School. He also just tried out for the school SPRING TALENT SHOW for 4th & 5th graders and was very excited to be announced on the morning news the HE MADE IT IN THE SHOW! He came home and THANKED ME for signing him up for the auditions. I've learned with Morgan, sometimes he's not ready to do something on his time (we tease him and call him SLO-MO)... and when the moment passes - he's ready to do it... often times it's too late! So, Momma nudges a little and so far it's been working out!
. . . MIA has 2 teeth and LOVES LOVES LOVES her bath time! OOh, and last friday (03.07.08) she started walking around all over the house with her new VTech Walker! She's so cute! She's a funny little girl with lots of funny little expressions. I'll have to post the "one-eye scowl" for you to see... it's hilarious! I can't believe my baby girl is going to be ONE year old the end of this month! Her favorite book right now is GOODNIGHT MOON... when I read, "... and the quiet old lady who is whispering HUSSSHHHh" she will put her pointer finger on my lips as if to say Shhh! It's very cute!
. . . RYAN is still our little comedian & little athlete! Things seems to come pretty easy for Ryan. He's likeable, easy-going & always fun to be around! At night he hops around from bed to bed just to lay next to someone... trouble is - he moves around so much that everyone gets mad when they find him next to them! Usually with a foot in their face or his arms wrapped around you! Poor little guy... he's just so huggy feely! Ryan LOVES the JABAWAKIES (sp?) - so his new thing is coming home and dancing! He's still writing music with his friends and loves to sing his songs to whoever will listen to him. Yesterday, Ryan & Morgan started taking their weekly GOLF LESSSONS at the Golf Club in our neighborhood. The instructor said, "Ryan did pretty good for just his first day golfing". I'll have to take some pictures of them next week!
. . . DANIELLA is turning 7 years old TOMORROW (03.14.08)... Where did the time go? She was the baby of the family for so long... it's hard to see her grow up so fast! She LOVES all things POKEMON & WEBKINS. Did you know that there were clothes for webkins now? I'm so out of it! Dani & her friend & next door neighbor - SARAH are pictured above at Wanamaker Park sliding down the big hill. These two LOVE playing together... they make up different cheers, always doing handstands or cartwheels, playing school, dress-up, making friendship bracelets, dancing to music or just putting out beach towels & beach chairs while pretending to be on the beach listening to their radio... I LOVE THAT DANI HAS A GOOD FRIEND LIKE SARAH! I'm sad just thinking of our move to Guam... knowing that they won't have each other anymore! Friendships are one of lifes greatest gifts! . . . & then there is our sweet ole' BELLA GIRL - she is still so very patient and loving to ALL our kids! As you can see here, not even her bed is her own anymore... especially with Mia on the move all the time! Bella continues to be very tolerant and loving! I often wonder what goes on in her head... I think the look on this photo says it all!

Why all the drool?

Mia has her 1st tooth! It's slowly breaking through the gums... definitely one... but maybe two are coming in... it's hard to tell because her tongue is always in the way. If you look close - you'll see the white on her lower gums. Out of the blue she'll just cry and chew on her hand... it's tough being a baby! It's amazing how fast she is growing right before our eyes! Next month she will be a year old! CRAZY thought! I'm really enjoying this time with Mia and watching her grow and watching her little personality emerge! We are so blessed that she is a good baby! She sleeps well, eats well and is right on track developmentally!

Our LOVE is complete!

Mia's 1st Valentines & learning all about LOVE

Happy Valentines Day ! ! !

a quick photo shoot at home...

Mia grabs Mo's letter "L"

Making The Band

HOLLY . RYAN . DANIELLA - BEST FRIENDS!

The guys in THE BAND... Mo, Rocco, Jeff & Ryan

Adding Daniella & Holly as the back up singers...

BETTER DAYS
When I was small I had some melt downs
But now I'm growing I have better days
I have a lot and I know that
A special girl just changed my way.

I know that all my problems seem to melt away
when I see her face I know that she will never
leave my mind

(repeat 1st verse)

In this video RYAN is sharing his 1st song that he wrote with his little sister - Daniella. It's called: BETTER DAYS (original title: "A Special Girl"). Ryan is singing this song to my friend - Alexandra Constanzo. Her son Rocco walks in and they talk about forming a BAND. It's all too cute!!! Rocco actually plays the drums for the Praise Team at his church... he's really good! Rocco & Ryan have been friends since they were in kindergarten together.

The song is about Ryan's best friend - HOLLY... and her little sister Jenna is seen on the clip at the very end. This all takes place at the Boykins Chinese New Year Party in Summerville, SC!

ahh... young love!

Some of the kids from the BOYKINS Chinese New Year Party

Our little man RYAN has a very special friend & her name is HOLLY! Holly is such a smart little girl that she is in 1st grade with Daniella and part of the day she is in 2nd grade classes with Ryan. Holly is Daniella's BFF and Ryan's BFF! Needless to say - Holly is very popular in the Ramirez household!

Last week I caught Ryan & Dani working on some "songs"... apparently, Ryan wrote a song about Holly (originally titled, "A Special Girl" but now it's called, "Better Days"). As Ryan was singing & creating - Dani was writing the words down! Morgan decided to join in by helping out with the tune and the flow of the song. It was quite a site! Since then, Ryan continues to write songs in a little black book that he found and his 2nd song is turning out pretty good too - something about.... " I'd walk a mile to see your pretty smile...."

It's the little things that I see Ryan doing that shows how much he cares... like at lunch I see him take her trash and throw it away for her, he gives her his extra chocolate, planned ahead and bought with his own $2 in his wallet a VALENTINE GRAM that the school was doing for a fund-raiser... what's up with this? Have I been replaced already? Am I not supposed to be his valentine for the next couple years? One day we'll look back at this post and say, "Wow Ryan, even in 2nd grade you were pretty smooth with the moves!!"

1/16th Chinese...

2008 - Celebrating the YEAR of the RAT -

The kids are excited to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Feb 7th! Their great-grandpa is Chinese and so they are embracing their culture!!! A group of us are all getting together at a friends house to celebrate the New Chinese Year... it should be a great time!