Just because

Here are a couple of pitures of Saxon right before his bath the other day, because he's just so darn cute. He'll hate these when he's about 13.

The 2006 Balloon Fiesta!

In October every year, Albuquerque has a Balloon fiesta spanning 9 days. Hot air balloonists from all over the world come and show off their mad ballooning skillz to a crowd of adoring fans. It's actually pretty cool -- very colorful and inspiring and all. And plus, you can buy pork chop on a stick.
This year we went with Saxon's godparents, Courtney and Haden. Some of the balloons were pretty amazing, with wierd shapes and humorous slogans. I kid you not, there was a balloon shaped like a can of Alpo dog food. Seriously. They also had an octopus, and eagle, a stagecoach, cars, animals, etc etc etc.
Saxon really enjoyed himself. Here he is posing by his favorite balloon:

Here is a picture of some of the balloons, taken one morning from our balcony. (I confess, we were too lazy to get up and go to the fiesta at 0'dark thirty).

And, in a total non-sequitur (except that it was taken at balloon fiesta park), here is a picture of the giant baby that ate Tokyo...

Another soul saved...

On October the 8th, Saxon was baptized at First United Methodist church here in Albuquerque. It took Shawn and I a little while to find a church in which we were comfortable, and we really like this one. Our friends Courtney and Haden agreed to be godparents and flew out from Texas for the ceremony, and Shawn's colleague Jake and his family also came to support us. We have gotten to be quite good friends with Jake and his wife Amber, and their children Mitchell, Nedra and Clara, who are a riot! Mom and Dad came too of course, and Saxon was on his best behavior all through the ceremony. All the old church ladies just loved him.
We dressed him in this super cute christening outfit made out of silk shantung. Yes, that's right, I knowingly put a 6 month old baby in a dry-clean only silk shantung outfit. And he was in it for a whole 4 hours, and did not irrevocably soil said outfit. Call it the first miracle of Saxon's Christian life.
Afterward we went to brunch at a restaurant in old town, where Saxon decided he was hungry. I hadn't brought any food with me, but that didn't stop him. He decided he needed more fiber in his diet and the wooden table was as good a place as any to get it. Apparently the varnish was quite tasty -- we had a hard time keeping him away from it.


Coming up next post -- the balloon fiesta!!!

Dinner is served

After Saxon passed his 6 month checkup with flying colors, it was time to start him on solid foods (if you count rice cereal and mushed up bananas as "solid"). He took to the spoon idea pretty easily, and has been happily downing sweet potatoes and prunes as well. We tried avocado, which elicited dramatic protestations (think gagging, crying etc). He is not a fan of the avocado. Bananas are definitely the favorite right now. Here is a little picture of his first attempt at anything other than milk. He's got his dad's appetite.
I have been trying to make all of his baby food (since I have time right now), which so far has been relatively easy. We'll see what happens once I go back to work.

Sports Week

It's sports week here in the Baker household, after many a week without a post. (Sorry to the Saxon addicts out there.) So, without further adieu, here is Saxon modeling a few of the must haves for this season's sports fanatics:

First up is an homage to Saxon's former home team, the home team of his Grandma June and Aunt Denise, and former national league champions, the good ol' Houston Astros. He's not been that happy with their playing of late, hence the lack of enthusiasm:

Next we have the St. Louis Cardianals. Now the cardinals connection may not be as easy to discern -- when I was in my fellowship there was a big rivalry in the heart rooms over St Louis and Houston (one attending being from St. Louis and everyone else going for Houston). In an effort to win over yet another Cardinal's fan in his formative years (before he can actually make informed decisions), my boss sent this as a welcoming present for Saxon. And also, they're having a pretty good year:

Finally, there is the Ohio State tribute. Ohio state is Grandpa Phillips alma mater. University of Texas is Daddy's alma mater. Remember that little UT vs Ohio state game a few weeks ago? Big doings in our family. So we walk in the door to greet our child and he is wearing this:

Consorting with the enemy at such a young age. At least he picked the winning team.

Anyway, lots of other stuff is going on, about which I will post soon. For now, bask in the cuteness.