Christmas time

Here at Baker Monkeys we've been having a fantastic time celebrating the holidays. We just got back from Saint Louis visiting my grandparents and will have another gigantic picture post from the trip up soon. In the meantime, enjoy this video of our monkeys (plus an extra, the Baker Monkey cousin Abby) sing their favorite Christmas song.

Pedway Tag

Last night Tom took Maggie to a basketball game. As usual around here the fans were obnoxious and stupid. They left at half time and did some exploring downtown. Tom showed Maggie how all the buildings with pedways were connected and that one could get completely around without going outside.

Tonight the whole family went. We scouted out the whole thing with the intention of playing pedway tag tomorrow night. We are going to make up some guidelines and set up teams tomorrow and the fun starts at dusk.

Having absolutely no money really gets the creative juices flowing. If anyone has any other free family fun ideas, send them on.

Inspired to Write

Josh hates it when we make him write. It's okay if he does it on his own terms, but I really want to encourage writing more than just the bare minimum to get through school. Tonight we were at praise band practice with Tom and he was acting kinda, well, eight. I offered to pay him a dollar to write me a story that was front and back of a page (he writes big and on every other line).

I started him off with a line and he responded with very little and went off again to play. I didn't want to give up so I wrote another line and asked him to alternate with me. This is what we came up with:

The day my mom was turned into a toad...

We kicked her out of the house. She was gone for good. She was on her own. (tres harsh)

Then there was no one to wash clothes or dishes.

So daddy did it. Nothing was in place. (hehe)

I couldn't find my underwear and there were plates in my dresser drawers.
Then mama's drawers made out of chocolate. I ate them all up. There was nothing left.

I had a tummy ache. I really missed my mom. I decided to go find the witch that turned her into a toad.

But it was too scare [sic] that I never went. The next day I was too busy playing game cube that I never went.

Then my brother, who is much braver then me, went and found the witch and had my mom restored to her proper form. She found my underwear!!!

Then she turned back into a toad.

The end!

Ripped!!!

Maggie got her first rip on Monday. In gymnastics, this is inevitable. Rips are painful, yet the first one is important to a gymnast. Everyone at the gym makes a big deal out of it. It is a rite of passage. You are one of us now. That doesn't mean everyone is happy that you are in pain, it is what it is and you have reached a point where you are serious. You ask yourself if what you are doing to your body is worth it. Do you love the sport enough to endure pain for the joy it brings you. Maggie said yes.

At any point, if she wants to change sports, it is okay with us. I do not enjoy seeing her push her body to exhaustion by holding a chin up on a bar till she falls off just to build upper body strength. I live in fear of her first major injury. Gymnastics is dangerous and physically taxing. That crazy child loves it!

Look at the smile on her face as she shows it off to the camera!
BTW...she's not the only one.

I found Maggie's kindred spirit as I was doing research on minimizing Maggie's soreness and first aid for rips. I don't know those people and haven't read anything else from their blog. I did find some really good info though. For those who are curious about rips, go here and here.

Also, if you just don't get why... here.

Big Picture Post Holden Beach Edition

Special thanks to Sami Baker for taking all these pictures. I realized the camera I brought was dead after everyone had left for the beach.

Maggie's logo

We're all geeking out a little right now

Giant Picture Post... Dominican Edition

It has been a long time since we posted. Along with baseball keeping the monkeys busy from dawn till dusk, we have peeked into the life of the rich jet setting folks. So here it is, in pictures, our trip to Punta Cana.



















More coming soon!

Caleb's new favorite game

Who has the coolest mom? Maggie, of course!

In our desperate attempts to spoil our poor pitiful injured daughter I have proven my supreme coolness.

Maggie is disappointed that while in a cast (for insurance reasons) she cannot work out with the hotshots group at her gym. This very reasonable ban from the gym is in effect until May 30 (when the term ends). Her coach did a really good job working with me to create a workout that she can do at home. It just isn't the same. There must be something in the chalk that creates intense longing to punish your body. She has been a season ticket holder for UK Gymnastics since the 2004 season. She loves the "UK Gymnastic girls." During her first week in the cast she was particularly dejected, so on a lark I e-mailed the Coach of the UK Gymnastics team. I asked if the team could sign Maggie's cast.

This is Emilie Rymer (well, the back of her head) Maggie was able to watch her work on her floor routine while we were at the practice facility.

This is my favorite UK gymnast, Kristen O'Shields. She spoke with Maggie for about 10 minutes. How many college students do you know that prolong conversations with 6 yr olds?

Heather Hite, one of Maggie's top fav's from the team, made sure to find out what Maggie's favorite event was. Maggie asked her why she stopped using the Pirate's of the Caribbean theme music for her floor routine.

Hillary Ferguson, the most dynamic on floor I've seen since Michelle Gales competed for the Cats, seems really shy. It was surprising because how sassy she is during competition.

This is Coach Mo Mitchell. I am thankful he let us interrupt their workout to make my girl happy. The team had the last regular season meet to get ready for. YOU ROCK MO!!!!!!

Recovering

Maggie is back home from the hospital. She had surgery this morning and is now resting comfortably. She has a new movie to watch that her mother bought for her, and as you can see it made her very happy.

She'll be fine in a couple of months and will be able to resume gymnastics, but she's obviously feeling a little down about having to take a couple of months off. Any well wishes for her a greatly appreciated and can be left either in the comments section or they can be e-mailed to me at tom@tombakerguitar.com. I'll pass them on to her.

Sleep well, princess.

I didn't mean that literally...

This just in from the "Spring Break" irony department...

Maggie broke her arm sledding today. This "break" thing is getting a little out of hand.

Spring? Give Me a Break!

Shannon and I have both gone back to college this semester, which may help to explain why my postings have been even more sporadic than usual of late (read: nonexistent). Anyway, this week is our Spring Break. We still have to work, so we're not going to go off to the beach and get blitzed like more traditional college students. I think we'll just stay home and PLAY IN THE SNOW! Maybe Spring Break should actually take place in, I don't know, the Spring. That's just a thought. Anyway, enjoy the pictures Maggie and I took this morning.