Merry Christmas!!

Just wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas. I hope the holiday finds you and yours happy and healthy! May all be well and enjoy our family Christmas picture and Christopher's Santa shot this year.

At the Toastmaster yearly Christmas Party. 2009


Christopher and Santa 2009 (Christopher walked right up to Santa and climbed in his lap. He was so excited to see him, big smile on his face the second he saw him. He asked Santa for a turtle in a box... we'll just have to see how that got interpreted.)

A trip to Minnesota

At the beginning of last month we went on a car trip... driving from our home to the mid-west to visit with family and friends. This gave Adam the opportunity to go deer hunting with his dad, for Chris to meet many relatives he hadn't yet and for us to spend many many hours in the car.

It was actually quite fun, we stayed in Bozeman MT where I ate some of the best gluten free meals I've had out in a long time. Montana Ale Works, thank you so much for being an awesome place stop at. Christopher was great in the car, but he always has been and even got to sit forward facing for the last leg of the trip, which in itself made for a great ride... watching him react to all he could see had us laughing for hours.

We had an early Thanksgiving with Adam's family which was a great time. Adam's family is HUGE so even though a very small number of them were there it was still more than my ENTIRE family when we gather. Pretty crazy.

Christopher loved being outside, there was no snow yet so even though it was cold he was able to enjoy the weather. Leaves were the activity of choice on a couple of days.

Here he is helping Grandma Lee rake.

and here he is helping to "unrake" the pile.

Adam went hunting a few of the days we were in Minnesota. He did manage to put some venison in the freezer for which I'm grateful. I even got to go out and sit in the stand one evening for a bit. Nothing like sitting in a tree stand with a bow, but sitting in a little house with a heater isn't a bad way to go.

Here is the landscape Adam had to deal with. There is a deer in this picture, can you spot it?


Adam even got put to work taking down the satellite!

We spent our quite time in the evening sitting in the living room gabbing and listening to crazy Baldwin tales. Christopher would sometimes even sit quietly although most of the time he was running around like crazy trying to burn off some of his ample two year old energy.

Grandma read Christopher his bedtime story while grandpa sleeps soundly close by.


Christopher shows off his running form. This was a nightly ritual!

All in all it was a great trip. Adam's parents will be coming through in the spring and we'll make sure we get out and about around town, try to wear out the child and maybe taste some wine should be fun!!

Trick or Treat

Halloween was super fun this year. We had our annual party on the 30th, with great friends and family in attendance. Very kid friendly this year! Ah, there were many little ones running around, all very cute in their costumes. Christopher was Superman (he kept yelling "Superfast, superpowers!!" Josh was a dragon, Sam was Batman, Eileen was an adorable kitten and Emily was a cat.

On the big day Christopher woke up and the first thing out of his mouth was "Trick or Treat!" loudly over the monitor... then, "MAMA, let me out!!" He was excited all day long because he knew we were going over to see his friends Beckett and Grason and trick or treat with them. His costume was that of a skeleton and he wanted to wear makeup so I tried... but little boys don't sit very still. We had a great night and lots of fun with the Mitchell's and Stanley's.

Here are a few pics of Christopher.

Checking out his makeup in the mirror. He kept going "rawr" and trying to be scary. It was cute.


Chris being "scary" for the camera.


Christopher's costume meets Adam's costume. He was a hillbilly skeleton. Chris loves wearing those dang teeth.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We've been busy here, running a business, being run by a 2 year old (yes the fun has begun) getting the homestead winter ready and tying up some loose ends. We can't wait for Halloween! Christopher has been practicing saying "Trick or Treat" and is excited to go out with his buddies Beckett and Grason to grab some candy.

We had another fun day at the pumpkin patch this year... and what a difference a year makes. Christopher was much more able to enjoy what the Pasco Country Mercantile at 2 and 1/2 than he was last year; hay maze, corn maze, tractor ride, pumpkin picking, bounce house, hay towers (these were fun) and petting zoo.

We ran around, tasted many yummy goods, bought some cider and fudge, Christopher fell into a couple of rotten pumpkins... stinky, very stinky, hah. Here are some pictures of the fun. Hope you all are enjoying fall as much as we are.

Climbing the tower of hay, as unaided as possible.


Sitting with daddy in the barn.


Smile!


Super fun tractor ride!! Don't you wish you were there.


Taking our bounty to the car.


The corn is so tall!!

A sick little man.

Christopher is finally getting better after having a very serious fever for five days and a cold/cough and runny nose for many more days than that. I relented and took him to the Dr. on the 6th and sure enough the night before we went in his fever broke. He has a borderline ear infection, meaning he doesn't have one yet but is working on it if his congestion doesn't clear up. So Mucinex is our friend right now. Everyday he's getting better and better, he's not giving any indication that there is an impending ear infection (ear pulling, crying, acting like he can't hear me) so I think we're in the clear and get to avoid antibiotics. I've yet to give him any and I certainly don't want to start now if I don't have to.

Thank you to everybody who was concerned and wishing him well. All that positive energy flowing his way really helped. Lots of love to all of you.

Wisdom from Christopher

Adam: Where does food go?
Christopher: In my mouth.
Adam: Then where does it go?
Christopher: In my tummy.
Adam: Where does it go after that?
Christopher: In my shorts.

Me: What do brothers do?
Christopher: They walk.
Me: What else do brothers do?
Christopher: They talk.
Me: Do they do anything else?
Christopher: Play with toys.
Me: What do sisters do?
Christopher: They in kitchen.

I love the things he comes up with sometimes, Christopher really makes us laugh. His answers are all unprompted and completely derived on his own, most of the time amazing us with what he comes up with. We can see his little mind working away as he comes up with some of the greatest things. Can't wait to share a little more wisdom from Christopher with you.

What can I say...

Christopher is 2 1/2 now. I can hardly believe it, time has gone by so darn fast. His wit amazes me along with his understanding of the world around him. Most days I can ask him a question that I'm sure he won't have the answer for and low and behold he gives me the cutest right on the nose answer almost every time. We really are blessed to have such a smart, funny, loving little man in our lives.

This summer we went through a lot of stickers. Most of which were stuck to Chris at one point or another.

Christopher enjoyed many an ice cream sandwich with his daddy after dinner. This always results in quite a mess and lots of smiles.

Another breakthrough we've had is that Christopher now "smiles" for the camera. I laugh my butt off every time we try to take a picture of him now as he does it without us asking.

We're off to the Fair!

We headed to the fairgrounds Ssaturday, bright and early at 9:00 a.m. in order to beat the heat. Our goals were simple; take Chris to see the animals, get some food, see some booths, and send the little guy down Big Pink. Adam was volunteering in the Elephant Ear booth the rotary club runs at noon so we had three hours which was plenty of time.

I'd forgotten how active the animals are earlier in the day during fair week we always seem to go in the evening and by then they are hot and tired. As we walked through the pig barn more than a couple of pigs were eager to check us out, sniffing and talking as we let Christopher take it all in. He got a little scared when one big snout touched his leg but was enjoying it otherwise. He pet quite a few bunnies, but was much more excited about the chickens. He kept saying we were at the circus. He had fun in Old McDonald's Barn and loved running on the hay barrels that surrounded the duck pond.

After the animals we went through the booths and non-living exhibits rather quickly. I even purchased my first duck ever. The next stop was funnel cake, Christopher's very fist taste of one. It was cute we pretty much had to tear it away from him. He found it very very tasty and was trying to finish it off by himself.

Then we headed over to Big Pink. Christopher loves slides so we had to get him on this one. Adam volunteered to go down with him. Chris loved it and was beaming by the time he got to the bottom of the slide. He even tried to walk back up it, silly boy. Next year we'll try to get him on more rides, he saw the strawberries and really wanted to get in one, however he's a bit short to get on most of them and we were pressed for time.

We meant to get turkey legs however they somehow were forgotten at the end of the day. Twitter saved us however. You see a friend of Adam's was still at the fair, we knew this because of her tweet and she graciously delivered turkey legs to the house, saving the day.

August, come and gone...

Not much new going on in the Baldwin household. Christopher is 2, and acting every minute of it. While he's exploring his environment and figuring out the workings of his world I'm trying very hard not to scream and hide in my room. It's hard to stay upset at him for all the naughty things; painting my desk with lotion, writing all over the couch, bending a beater beyond recognition, pouring flour all over the floor, and wreaking general havok... when you've got this looking back at you during most of it.

He's very charming when he wants to be and for every bad thing he does he also does something extraordinarily darling or smart. The time out step/corner is getting a lot of extra use right now, which I hope will slow down one of these days.

Adam is very very busy with nGenuity. He was featured as a young professional in the Tri-Cities Journal of Business this month which was a great achievement, here's the article. If you can get the actual print it has a very nice picture of him in it. Our friends Jennifer Mitchell (Account Sense) and Adam Brault (&yet) also were chosen, kudos to you!!

He went to Defcon at the beginning of the month and hacked his way through some fun with the mystery challenge. There are talks and things to learn... but I'm not sure he did any of that. Beer was drank, codes were broken, friends were made.

He's been talking to realtors and is looking to expand into some office space. This is a big and positive step forward. We'll see how this pans out over the next couple of months.

In between those things he's working very hard, he's out and about networking and making sure that he's doing all he can to have nGenuity be successful. While we miss his presence at home sometimes were hoping all the hard work now will enable him to be home/present more later.

July... whooosh!!!!!

Well ladies and gentleman, July is almost gone and it feels like it just started. The Baldwin household has been a bustle this last month and barely have had time to breath. Here are some highlights:

Adam: Was asked to speak at Toorcamp at the beginning of the month. Getting things to a roaring start for him. Camping in the desert for a few nights left him dirty and a little worse for wear but he had a great time and made plenty of new contacts.

Adam is even now, as I type, driving down to Vegas with his business partner and friend Aaron and another friend to play at Defcon for the weekend. He goes every year (for the last few at least) and has a blast. They participate in the mystery challenge and really enjoy all the fun stuff that gets thrown at them, lock-picking, coding, social engineering and more, they thrive in it.

Rachel: I just got back from cheerleadership camp, doing my thing in Ellensburg the 18th through the 24th. I had 28 girls this week and had a lot of fun. It was hot, there was no AC, and I got pretty dang sick on the 22nd which I'm just now pretty much over. It's hard to be a "mommy" to that many girls when you're running a fever and can't keep your meals down, but I did it. Yay me. Now I'm dealing with allergies which are leaving me sleepy beyond comprehension. So, I'm napping every time the little guy does.

On Monday I started a three month chiropractic treatment that will hopefully restore the curve in my neck and halt the degeneration taking place (starting to fuse), correct the twist in my spine, and maybe (it would be a miracle but I still have hope) relieve some of my many other ailments. So for now it's three days a week in the Dr.'s office for treatment and daily stretches at home with lots and lots of water. I'll keep my progress posted.

I'm addicted to my Kindle, I'm now reading no less than three books a week and I don't see myself slowing down. It's just so easy to pick it up and start reading, and I have a endless library at my disposal. Definitely one of the best gifts Adam has ever given me.

Christopher: This little man is so great, he's growing well, talking and conversing and showing signs of just what an awesome little guy he's going to be. He has his days where I wonder just how I'm going to handle his very stubborn slightly OCD tendencies, but for the most part is just a normal, fun two year old. He laughs at all the appropriate times, like when you've discovered the grossest diaper ever is the one you get to change and when he's completely fooled you into thinking he's asleep in the back seat, a large boisterous "AH HAHAHAHAHA!!!" laugh usually accompanies these feats. I love that he thinks if he moves slow enough I can't see him being sneaky either, always makes me laugh.

He's going potty on the potty for me at least once a day now if not more, I lost a little ground being gone during camp but I'm sure we'll make it up again very quickly.

I love how conversational Christopher has gotten, he's such a smarty (most of the time not a smarty pants). He's also a little particular (we joke that he's OCD), everything has to be in it's place and he'll let you know if he doesn't like where you've moved it. If you ask him what color something is he'll tell you it's green and give you "the eye," even though he knows what color it really is. He's gonna be a handful.

The Animals: Dart managed to bore a pretty nice sized hole in our pocket when he got loose in our bedroom and decided to eat everything he could get his maw on. We discovered over the course of two (almost three weeks) that he had eaten, not chewed, just swallowed, four pairs of underwear out of my drawer, a pair of Christopher's knee high socks, and two or three hair ties. Ended up taking him to the vet as he tried to pass the last of it as he was getting very dehydrated and couldn't keep any meals down. The vet suggests a cage muzzle to prevent further incidences until he's gets the idea. At least he's not eating rocks anymore.

Mmmm Mmmmm Good

Thank you Banta's!! Those were some yummy cupcakes.

Being cute.

So, my friend Brandi recently gave Christopher this really cute clothes hamper. It's a frog and matches his room decor perfectly.

But it came with a suprise....

I thought it was cute and wanted to share. Chris is just into everything right now. I love how his little mind works. We didn't help him with this one, he did it on his own.

Hide and Seek

Christopher has really picked up on the concept of hide and seek lately. It's one of his favorite games to play... it actually a combination of peek-a-boo and hide and seek and very cute. I was making an apple pie a couple of weeks ago when he dissapeared on me. I figured he was playing hide and seek, however I couldn't find him no matter how hard I looked. Low and behold he'd been closer than I would have ever thought.

This little guy found the best hiding place ever, right next to me. I wonder where he'll come up with next.

Happy Birthday Christopher

Happy Birthday Christopher! Today you turn 2!!!

I took this picture this morning first thing when you woke up. You were all smiles as you looked out the window and pointed at the trees, and the "fast" cars you could see in the distance. I love seeing you smile in wonderment at the little things. Seeing the world through your eyes helps me appreciate it more. I hope you

We threw you a birthday party last night. You had so much fun with the family, a blast with the birthday cake and even tore into your presents without much help from me.

I sure hope you had a fun night. I know we enjoyed watching you giggle and enjoy yourself. Here's to another year that will pass too fast, where you'll grow and learn and giggle yourself silly.


We love you Christopher.

My new favorite picture.

Christopher is always cute as far as I'm concerned, however Adam got snap happy with our new camera and really captured my little man. I'm completely in love with this picture of him.

Adam also took this picture which is the complete opposite emotion from my son and just as adorable.

All I can say is I love this little man with all my heart. It's hard to believe he's almost 2. Just a little over a month away in fact. He's been super cuddly these last few days and I admit to indulging myself. I've just been lounging around with him in my lap, the housework is suffering but who can resist a request to cuddle with such a handsome little guy. These days pass so fast so I'm taking in as much of them as I can and appreciating all the special moments. I know there will come a day when life is moving so fast it won't be as easy, but this week... I'm slowing down.

Meat!

Meat! from Adam Baldwin on Vimeo.

Video conversion turned out a bit weird.

He didn't have a chance.

Poor little Christopher. He didn't have a chance, what with my side of the family being completely allergy ridden. It started small, he reacted to cinnamon... getting a little red around his mouth and his face just a tad splotchy. Then it carried on to strawberries, citrus and egg whites. All these foods we avoid as well as we can. No life threatening reactions to them, simply a very red and bumpy goatee with some mild splotchyness of his face.

Well the other night I was eating a peanut butter and honey rice cake. I broke off a tiny little piece, maybe a pea size worth of peanut butter on it, the first time I'd be giving any to Chris. Within two minutes of eating it his lips were swollen and blistered and his face had red angry looking bumps wherever he touched it with his little peanut butter hands. It was the worst reaction he's had. I was scared and I watched him very closely the rest of the evening. It slowly cleared up but I'm keeping it as far away from his as I can now.

I feel so bad, there are so many foods he can't eat, yummy foods. He CAN eat wheat.... as far as I know. I won't be able to start deducing if he's got a wheat issue until he can tell me how he feels when he's eaten it and he becomes more "regular." Hopefully he'll grow out of them and will someday be able to eat cinnamon, eggs, strawberries, citrus and peanut butter. For now though, they are off the menu.

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman

Halloween was fun this year. Christopher is still a little young for the run of the mill trick-or-treating so we headed to the mall with him. We met up with Jen, Joel, Matt, Ashley and Brandi... with all the kids so we had quite the little group going. Christopher is such an observer that with all the commotion he barely said a word the whole time we were out, was to busy watching everything. It was a fun day, spent with friends.

Helping mommy carve the pumpkin.

My handy dandy work.

Christopher was rather upset that Geoffrey the Toys R Us girrafe walked away.

Walking on daddy's feet... think he was trying to fly.

The boys, waiting on the girls.

Good times...

Today was a great day for Christopher. His friend Katie came over and played for a while. They ran around and giggled their little heads off. I told Katie to tell me when she was ready to go home, she never did. Her mom ended up coming back over to get her. Guess she was having a good time.

Adam has started doing a lot of business and so has been using a lot of minutes on our cell phone plan, so we went to the AT&T store today to change our plan to fit our new needs. While Adam talked shop with a salesperson I ran around the store after Christopher. He ended up running into a display... was to busy looking the other way while he was walking and now he has a nice little scratch to show for it. The highlight of the cell phone outing however was the discovery of a little girl in the store... she was 13, maybe 14 months old. This little girl wanted to say hello to Christopher so she slowly tottered over to him, he of course just stood there with his usual look of discernment. When she was maybe a half a foot away from him she started to lean in, she was trying not to touch him.... it was clear she was hesitating just a tad, but she took another step, grabbed his shoulder and planted one on him. That's right, Christopher got his first kiss today at the AT&T store, and it was from a younger woman! He didn't even have to do anything, his charm is that powerful. She then proceeded to pine after him and chase him around the store. Christopher being the big softy that he is was unsure how to handle such brazen advances and wanted his mommy.

I'm sure you've all experienced it, the wondrous feeling of a new piece of equipment... the kind with the plastic over the delicate parts to keep it from scratching... Oh the joy there is to be felt when you first peel the plastic off. Ok, so Adam and I really enjoy new stuff where we get to do that. Well, Christopher pulled his first piece of protective plastic today, from Adam's new phone. He had a big grin on his face so he thought it was fun too. Christopher had a great day!

The last couple of weeks.

The last couple of weeks have been busy, and stressful to say the least. We had a couple of birthday parties on Saturday the 20th. One for the neighbor's little girl and one for Olivia's "babies." It was great getting to see Olivia and her family, Amanda and Dom, and seeing Lisa and her kids was a pleasant surprise. That was a whirlwind day and by the end of it Christopher had a fever of 102. Which has only just yesterday decided go away. (Started writing this last week or the week before.... so the dates are off.) Still no new teeth.

My grandmother underwent a Carotid Endarterectomy which went well. She was home a couple of days and started feeling poorly, dizzy and tired. So off to the hospital she went and the last couple of weeks have been spent mostly having her and my grandfather in my thoughts as they went through the trials of major surgery and the ICU. We had a few touch and go nights. I won't put all the details here, but thank you to all of those who contacted me and asked after her. It meant a lot. She's at home now and will continue the process of recovery where she is loved and hopefully more comfortable that at the hospital.

Halloween is coming up, I'm really excited. While I want to throw a party, I just don't know if I can pull it off this year. With Adam not working for Symantec anymore, and the multitude of unforeseen things being thrown into my lap I just don't know if I'll have the energy. If I do have a party it will be on the 24th or 25th so tentatively pencil in those dates. I'll let you know in the next couple of days. It'll be a costume party, however I won't be such a stickler due to the late notice.