Merry Christmas- our online newsletter!

Okay, so I have failed miserably at keeping this updated. SORRY! I will try and do a quick update of the past 2 months. Morgan- she is walking and jabbering nonstop. She has become quite the singer with such hits as "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Happy Birthday" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" being among her favorites. I think we counted 5 or 6 different songs that she sings. I am going to try and get a video- it is so funny. She has gotten so much taller and her hair is slowly but surely coming in. She smiles all the time and is just the sweetest little thing. She also had to give us a little scare as we spent the day before Thanksgiving in the hospital. The Dr. thought she might have a bacterial infection but with a quick round of meds and some monitoring we quickly realized she was fine. Carter- wow that kid has grown! I think Riley is going to have a run for his money! He loves to draw and is my quiet one. He also is the one who wants to climb in my lap. He loves preschool and everyone loves him. I sometimes joke that Carter seems like "an old soul"- he just goes with everything, but DO NOT interrupt his Sesame Street! Riley- is always FULL of energy. He bounces everywhere he goes and I don't know how many times a day I tell him to sit or slow down! He is my instigator and my biggest challenge but he has so much heart. He is the first to ask if everything is okay. He is a thinker and always trying to figure things out- this is good and bad! His greatest joy is being outside especially at my parent's farm and taking care of the cows. He loves it. As for Keith and I, we are doing okay. Keith has been busy with work but not as busy as last year- thank goodness! He played softball in the spring with the church league and leads singing at both the Battle Creek and Midland churches. He has really found his place here and enjoys it. The kids love having daddy time and look forward to his coming home everyday. Morgan wraps herself around his legs when he walks through the door- it is precious! I am working hard to take care of the family. I am a room parent and am in charge of the parties for Riley's classroom. So far, so good. I have also gotten into making jewelry and have had a very good response to it. It has been fun. I have had my excitement with an emergency appendectomy in April and asthma issues. Two weeks ago I went in for what I thought was a "no big deal" asthma attack. Well, they let me out 5 days later. Apparently, my lungs were 1/2 closed on one side and 1/4 on the other. They pretty much said it was a good thing I went in. Needless to say my perspective on a few things has changed. My husband, family and friends have been wonderful support and we feel so blessed this holiday season. We have added a beautiful niece to our extended family and see so many blessings around us. God is truly amazing. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and love you all dearly.

The Baker's

Fall is here

I apologize that I haven't updated recently. It has been very busy around here with school in full swing and Morgan walking everywhere! Actually, we have gone right to running! As for my sister and brother-in-law, they are home with my niece! She is beautiful and all the cousins seem to bond well. In regard to Keith's family, all is almost well. We had a great time with all the cousins and they really enjoy being together. Jodi, our sister-in-law, took these AMAZING photos of the kids and some of just Morgan. The bummer thing is that Keith's mom broke her hip and had to go through a partial hip replacement. I am happy to say she is home and doing a little better everyday. We love you grandma! More to come!

GREAT NEWS!

Okay for all of you who have kept up with the Baker Blog you know that my sister , Marcie, and her husband, Josh, have been trying to adopt a baby from Vietnam. Wellllll, God has blessed our family and next week, yes next Thursday, they will be traveling to Vietnam to get their baby girl. Maeley is now 7 months old and ready for her mommy and daddy. I cannot even begin to explain how hard this whole process has been for them ! We are SO excited to welcome Maeley Bao Hydrick to the family. We love her so much already!

Morgan turns one!

I can't believe that I am saying this... Morgan wil be one on Sunday. What an amazing blessing she has been to us and I thank God every day for my amazing and beautful family. Morgan's arrival was one of anticipation and one of new hope. God called grandma home 2 days (a year ago today) before Morgan was born. This was all God's plan, but trust me when I say it was FAR from easy. Grandma was our teacher, our mentor and, for myself personally, a true friend. Morgan Margaret Suzanne Baker brought a smile to many faces during this very tough time. She is a tiny tot (unlike her brothers) who loves baby dolls and is proving to be a girly girl. She ADORES her brothers and looks out the window every day calling for "dada". She is also a TALKER! Anyone who has called knows how that girl can talk (aka-babble)! She is hysterical! The boys are VERY protective of her and love on her all the time. She is wonderful. Here are few pictures from this year so you can see how much she's changed.

Happy Birthday my little Suzie-Q!

Baker Vacation #2

We have been all over the state in the past week! It has been so much fun seeing new places and visiting family and friends. We started at the Detroit Zoo (the boys absolutely LOVE zoo's as many of you know) and went from there to my Uncle Terry and Aunt Peg's condo in Lexington. It was gorgeous! We were right on lake Huron and work up every morning to God's magnificant sunrises. What a creator he truly is! The weather wasn't exactlt on our side, but we had fun and made due. The kids got very creative with things, especially because we had no media sources. Morgan wasn't so sure about the sand but she loved the freezing cold water. The boys, as you can imagine, loved the sand and I was cleaning up sand the entire time! I know the pictures don't do it justice, it was so pretty.

Baker Family Vacation 2008

We decided that we would go to Frankenmuth and stay at Zehnder's "Splash Village" with the whole indoor water park. We had a GREAT time. All 3 of the kids now permanently smell like chlorine they were in the water so much. Morgan is not afraid of the water at all. She was getting splashed on, including her face, and just wiped her eyes and kept going. She really enjoyed going on the lazy river with her daddy and almost fell asleep. Carter was hysterical. He was so timid around the water, but no more. They have 2 large water slides that you go on with while in an inner tube. I don't know how many times we went down it! He just giggled all the way down and it was pitch black! Riley became independant and went down all by himself over and over again. It was hard to get a picture of his because he wouldn't stay still for a second. He had such a good time and proves to be just like Keith, he LOVES the water. To finish our trip we went to a small zoo nearby. It was amazing to see this beautiful lion so close. This picture just doesn't do justice. So, we all survived as a family of 5 and had a great time.

Class Reunion

Keith went to his 20 year class reunion. He had a great time and was really glad to see some friends from the past. In this picture is John Baker, Tim Hayes, Keith and Kim (?). Keith was Tim Hayes' best man and Tim was Keith's. Tim now resides in Chicago and John is in Idaho. They all had a great time.

I should be up to date now!

As you can see Morgan is loved by all, actually all of the kids are loved by all. We are so lucky to have the support and love shown to our family by so many. I can't thank our families and friends enough for all they do and all the love they share. We are so fortunate to be blessed in so many ways.

Ahh.. Carter

I can't belive my little 7 lb infant is a big 4 year old! Carter has always been my most laid back child and a little lover. He and that smile can melt anyone! Carter turned 4 on July 16th and boy did he have a good time. We had 3 parties for him- my family, Keith's family and a little party with our immediate family. Carter seems to get the short end of the stick a lot so he was SO excited with everything. He didn't care about gifts. I know that will change, but wanted to have a party at the zoo. He just LOVES it there and always has. We even had to make a snake cake for him- thanks for the help Marcie! I think that Riley enjoyed the festivities as much as Carter- he kept asking if we could have another b-day party for him- no more! Thanks to all who attended and all the fun we had!

Update #1

This summer seems to be flying by so quickly and I have been very bad at updating- sorry. We enjoyed time with cousins during the fourth of July and really had a good time. Morgan and Lincoln (my cousin Andrew's little boy) are 13 days apart and seemed to really hit it off. Morgan tried to give Lincoln a hug and he was not so sure about that. We also got to see Shawna and meet her little girl, Ana. She is a cutie and Morgan really liked Ana's big brother, Gaines. She was all about him in the pool. Speaking of, Morgan is not at all afraid of water. It was cold and she loved it. She is going to be a little fish just like Riley. Carter prefers to lounge- he's too cool for the pool! We are all doing well- just a couple of medical issues (Riley had roseolla!) but other than that the kids are growing way too fast and I rarely have a moment to sit down. That would be why I haven't updated in so long! Please continue to pray for Marcie, Josh and Maeley. They just found out they need to prove Maeley is an orphan which will be very hard considering she was abandoned. Pray hard!

Please Pray

I am asking for a favor from everyone. Please say an extra prayer for my sister,Marcie, and her husband, Josh. As most of you have read time and time again Keith and I have wonderful families. Marcie and Josh are a HUGE part of this. They have been working so hard to bring a baby girl home from Vietnam. Maeley is 5 months old and beautiful! (as you can see!)Today they had some unsettling news that may deter her from coming home. Please pray that Maeley is approved to come home and Marcie and Josh can be the parents that God intended them to be. They are wonderful people and deserve only the best. We should know the outcome in the next 10 days and I will keep you posted. PRAY HARD!!!!!!

Crawling

I had to show you how this little one can move. I really do sound like a dork on the video so pay no attention to the voice in the background! We now have a mobile Morgan!

Summer time is here!

I am glad we survived the long winter! We have been very busy enjoying the weather and adjusting to a very mobile baby girl. She is full of it! Riley is officially a first grader--ahhhhh-- and really enjoyed his year with Mrs. McCummons, his kindergarten teacher. He is beginning to read and have grown so much in so many ways. Carter FINALLY got to go to the zoo. He is the biggest animal lover you will ever find and he light sup at the zoo. He took Morgan's hand so he could show her the animals. Morgan warmed up very quickly to all of the animals, especially the giraffes. She was so funny with them- no fear at all! We also were able to go to the sprinkler park and they all had a great time. Morgan, again, had no fear. (I think I'm in trouble) This is her first and last (according to her daddy) swimsuit shot. She is getting cuter and cuter! She had her 9 months appointment and she is 19lbs 4oz (60%) and 28 1/2 inches (75%) with a big head. (still) The dr said that she would be around 18lbs if she didn't have such a big head!!! I told him it was beacuse she is so smart she needed the big head! She is now crawling and finding out she can get into a lot of things. She seems to always find me no matter where I am at!

Soccer

We had our last soccer game on Saturday and Riley did GREAT! He has really improved over the season. He almost scored 2 goals! We are so proud of him and we had to put a picture of his coach giving him his trophy.

I also included a photo of all three of the rugrats. It was a challenge getting them to sit for a photo at the same time- not easy! Also you will see that Morgan is assuming the position to crawl. We will be running after her very soon.

Take me out to the ball game...

Okay, our friend Christi reminded me that we have not updated since the beginning of May- sorry. As you can imagine it is busy with 3 little ones. Not much to report here. We are all fine, although Morgan is on meds for her first ear infection. The boys are busy in the dirt, the water, looking for bugs, etc. They have both grown SOO much and I have had to get all new summer clothes for Riley and Carter. (Carter is soon going to catch up to Riley in height!) Morgan is 19lbs now and thinking about crawling. She is saying"dada" and "nana" and she knows what she wants! I can't believe she is almost 9 months old!!!! I am adding a few photos of the kids at the zoo and in their favorite outfit (Riley). I also got a picture of Keith's family when we went to to the baseball game on Sunday. It wa a BEAUTIFUL day and everyone had a good time (the team didn't do so good though). On another note please keep my sister Marcie and her hubby Josh in your prayers as they are trying to adopt from Vietnam. She will be the BEST mommy and deserves only the best!