last thursdays on alberta

ari is so hip - he has gone to 3 last thursdays (a festive, bohemian neighborhood artwalk w/ various performers, artists, musicians, etc.) so far! he tends to get a little out of control, so sometimes the police have to show up in riot gear to settle him down. or he just gets kicked to the curb with his dad.

telling time, first steps, & comparing head size

lots of discoveries for ari last weekend:

1. he learned how to tell time & like it, too

2. he took his first steps (while wearing hip robeez baby shoes, of course)

3. he realized how big his head really is when we had a picnic with the couples and their new babies from our birthing class

addicted to blogging

ari just can't stop! he insists on blogging ALL the time

bubble tea deck dates

ari loves hanging out on our new deck, so we now have weekly bubble tea on the deck dates with our friend pam. sometimes pam and ari have contests to see who can fit his/her whole fist into his/her own mouth. (ari always wins)

early literacy rocks

ari has decided to do some community service to better himself, so we've begun spending our friday mornings reading to the other little babies in the neighborhood. he loves reading 'your personal penguin' to everyone. he's so smart...

happy moose & strawberry pickin'

ari loves a good chocolate moose - thanks to aunt julie ann.

he's not, however, so into picking the berries to go with the mousse.

a dapper dad's day

tom relished in his new fatherhood status. he was especially thrilled when he and ari both received matching carhartt bibs. they proceeded to do manly things in them...like posing for pictures

ari's tree planting

we've been working on the backyard all week, building a deck and cleaning up random projects. we finally had space to plant ari's cherry tree that was given to him the day after he was born. we had a little ceremony where we read a couple poems and wished ari happiness, health, love, and a beautiful future. we tied our blessingway bracelets that we have each been wearing in honor of ari's birth since march to the two branches of the tiny tree. here is a poem that tom shared:

SPLIT

You felt safe

I know

In that little space

Laced with love.

Your cocoon

You called it

Warm

Warm.

I cried with you

When it split.

Oh, safe

Cannot compare with sky.

I like you so much better

As a butterfly.

ari's stats - big head baby

yesterday ari had a weigh-in at dr. joel's. here are the results:

weight: 11 lbs. 9.5 oz. (45%)

height: 23 3/4 in. (75%)

head: 41 1/2 in. (85%)

so apparently, all his weight gain is going to his head. joel confirmed that head size directly correlates with intelligence! which confuses me b/c he seems pretty helpless and needy. maybe he's so smart he's faking...

hippie baby

ari camped at the breitenbush hot springs for his 2 month birthday. he really got in touch with his inner being and experienced many moments of being 'blissed out' while in the water. he was also very tolerant of the all organic, vegetarian fare that was served!

boxing pose while on a neighborhood stroll

growing up in the ghetto can be a challenge, but ari is prepared. his aunt kathleen likes to take him on strolls around the neighborhood, but really you can never be too careful...especially when you're wearing a plaid sun hat.

bathtime collage