ari spends his free time disc golfing...naturally

ari and the number two

2009-04-12T19:06:00.001-07:00

oh, and tomorrow is ari's second birthday...unbelievable to me.

i will be celebrating by reading the 8 page birth story that i wrote 2 years ago. his birthday present from me will come later, since it is a book documenting his second year (including his b-day party, which will be next weekend). his second present from me is a stick horse that i made him & will post a picture of because, well, i'm a little proud of it

so...ari does still exist AND is still adorable, per usual

2009-04-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

sadly (for whom, i'm not sure, i am simply assuming that we have some blog-followers), ari's blog has been neglected for a few months. honestly, it would be a little too overwhleming to try & catch up on all of ari's adventures so i will refer anyone who is interested, to look at his more recent pics on picasa...

so, some general updates on ari for those dying to know:

ari loves the color pink & sees it everywhere. sometimes orange gets tricky, but it's his second fave, so it's cool
he continues to love music, play music, and dance often. he receives a variety of music lessons on a regular basis from wonderful friends
ari is an avid & talented disc golfer. he loves throwing the discs into the "hoopie" and is actually decent at it. for a kid.
he is missing his rat tail now. it has been severed, so no more dreads in the back. but he doesn't really look like he's had a haircut yet, so don't get too excited.
narrating EVERYTHING that he does is apparently really cool & fun. fortunately, i'm around him often enough that i can interpret for others who are not down with his lingo
ari is the only household member thrilled about having ants in the house. now he can "push buggies" (squash ants) anytime he wants.
"i draw. i draw" is a well-used phrase. and if he asks you to draw something for him, it will likely be an apple. or a ball.
if you do something cool, he says "nice!"
dogs continue to fascinate him to no end
he loves his friend, tallulah, deeply - they are kinda like twins

enow! enow!

2008-12-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

what a perfect morning! after enjoying a late night party with the appropriate theme 'white out,' i woke up to ari repeating 'enow, enow' (snow) with mary and jake, who had spent the night, along with chuck and jared (and, of course, our roomie, aiyana). it was snowing for the first time in portland this year and it was quite cold. consequently, it became evident that it was a perfect morning for a banana pancake breakfast with friends and playing in the snow. ari asked for a ride in his wagon, so mary and his dad walked around the yard in circles continuously until he was finally cold enough to come back in for warm food. we tolerated the snowy wagon ride since it could almost pass as a sled.

white out (with a dash of silver & grey)

who needs mittens, really?

thanx thanx thanx

2008-12-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

i have so much and so much more to be thankful for: i am thankful everyday to wake up and see little ari's smile, so thankful to have loving family and many generous, beautiful friends who ARE my family (and occasionally room mates, too!); i am thankful EVERY night to have a warm, safe home and food for my family. i am especially grateful for my health and the privilege to be going to school - working toward my own personal goals. i recognize everyday that i have been given many more privileges than others and i hope to never take that for granted, to always strive to promote respect and equality and humanity. i am grateful beyond belief (literally, belief) that i have so many caring people in my life that have gracefully eased into the role of ari's caregiver at one time (or many) or another when i have needed help. i couldn't imagine that, without every single influence, ari could have a more enriched or blessed life. he has so many bff's! i know that it is because of everyone's strength and support that i am able to be present each day and enjoy life with my beautiful, funny, charismatic ari mateo. happy (late) thanxgiving.

matching boots with pam

roomie jennifer is back again!
oops...whip cream before turkey
just doing what i do best...

mary and i!
i want to be like chuck!

democracy in action

2008-11-03T15:54:00.000-08:00

step 1: get excited to vote

step 2: get outside, walk down the street with ballot in hand

(smiling contentedly or whistling encouraged)

step 3: locate the nearest ballot drop-off site

(anticipatory dance optional)

step 4: mindfully slip sealed, signed ballot envelope into secured box

step 5: give some dap to the person nearest you

bonus tip: choose a site that hands out candy, even to toddlers

halloween is for losers...psych!

2008-11-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

how we prepare for & celebrate halloween:

gutting the pumpkins

putting the extracted seeds back into the pumpkins

peeking around pam's pumpkin

spooky ari on halloween night

we like to dress up in junk

autumn ari is awesome

2008-10-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

i always forget how much i love autumn until it arrives: the abundant harvest (translation: delicious soups & hearty meals), the brisk mornings and cold evenings, the colorful outdoors, and fun sweaters (& hats). ari makes autumn even more wonderful and so i thought i would share a few pictures that really make me smile:

see? smiling already - even though the picture is blurry

sharing free pizza on an afternoon walk feels so nice

who wouldn't want to wake up to this every morning?!

how is he so cool?

sweet birthday morning hugs from my favorite little person

fun with quince and ari

2008-10-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

p.s. when ari was 'peeling' the quince, he was not under my supervision, but i thought these pictures were pretty cute...

a couple months ago, i found a woman on craigslist with a quince tree who didn't know what to do with the quince, but didn't want it to go to waste. so, never having heard of quince myself, i researched the fruit and discovered that they are apparently quite magical. ari and i went and picked 2 large boxes of quince, and slowly have been making things with them. they are a bit tricky, since you cannot eat them raw, but they have a great flavor and don't require any pectin when you can them for jelly. here are a few things we've made so far:

membrillo (quince paste) - it begins this color & magically turns into this:

it is delicious eaten with manchego (a spanish) cheese

baking/poaching the quince with cinnamon and cloves

then making them pretty with rosemary (from our garden) and star anise

pumpkin patch for realz

2008-10-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

we took ari to his first real pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago. of course, we rode the hay ride, visited the animals in the barn, grocery shopped in the market, and picked out the biggest pumpkins we could find. ari did a pretty great job spotting likely candidates and since the pumpkin trip, he must point and investigate each pumpkin we come across.

spooky ari

2008-10-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

not really spooky, just cute actually. ari loves his poncho, pumpkins, and rain boots. and he loves buying 5o lbs. of tomatoes to can with.

inappropriate bathroom pics

2008-10-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

......................

that last post & kathleen's comment inspired me to exploit my siblings' and my childhood toilet times. you're welcome, siblings.

potty? new table is cooler

2008-10-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

a moment of excitement...over the book...

sweeping attire

2008-10-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

this is how ari likes to do his weekend chores...

knit beanie and adios pantalones.

new breakdance move

2008-09-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

ari's been working on this one for awhile...

ari montage short

2008-09-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

here's a little something for the eyes, ears, and patience of only the hardcore ari fans. enjoy.

ari update

2008-09-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have been quite neglectful over the past few months of the blogging world. My apologies to those who like to read up on Ari adventures.

So, I will do my best to update you with the latest in Ari world, including his infatuation with music, sounds, and imitating big people things. I seriously catch him singing into a wooden stick, as if it were a microphone. And when he sings, he gives it his all by scrunching his face as if he were in pain. All the while, his 'singing' is fairly quiet and melodic. Anywhere we go that has a small chair or table, he is fixated by and insists on using them. So, last weekend, I caved and bought him an IKEA table and chairs. He chooses to take his meals there now. We must ALWAYS greet animals, especially dogs. He refers to cats as 'mow.' He is a superb interpretive dancer - slowly takes his time to raise his one leg, in sync with his arms, and often forms his mouth into an 'o' shape, while his body sways from one direction to another. If he hears music or a beat that is not groove worthy, then he will instinctively begin throwing his arm out (fist or open-hand, it doesn't matter) to the beat. This is often accompanied by some head-nodding. Ari loves giving hugs from behind, especially if you're sitting. He also enjoys receiving hugs from behind. The past couple days, he's been saying "words" that sound like yellow. He just started to want to sit on his potty, although he has no clue what to do yet. He LOVES books and will ferociously sign 'book' over and over when he wants early literacy time. Pretty much, Ari could live outside forever and be happy. It is always sad when the door closes, especially if there is a dog outside to look at. And, we often must go water the garden - not because it needs it, but because Ari practically beats his face when signing 'water' because he wants so badly to hold the water hose. We have been canning and drying foods lately, so when Ari wants a dried pineapple or peach, he asks for 'num nums' (and i swear, i did not teach him that - he made it up himself). Ari laughs everytime he sees a picture of his friend, Pam. I guess she tells good jokes. One last tidbit, Ari recently made up a new sign for 'hold me' - it is really cute.

**Couple more things I forgot to mention: Ari makes a really great fish face, loves to say cheese, keys, and (oh) geez (thanks to Aunt Julie)!

So, that's Ari these days. I'll try to continue with adding posts on a more frequent basis. Oh, and click on the link below to view Ari's library of photos from this past summer!
Check out what Ari's been up to the past 4 months!

2008-05-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

ari rocks out with his friends

2008-05-24T13:48:00.002-07:00

ari is quite the musician - he's already formed a band. he often plays the egg shakers, kazoo, drums...basically, he is the rhythm-keeper.

this short clip was recorded at aiyana's going away party. aiyana has been one of ari's primary co-parents this past year. ari and aiyana even had a few slumber parties while i worked on big school projects and finals. ari and i never could have made it without her. aiyana is leaving for the summer and then moving to eugene for school. we are so sad and will miss her sooooo much!

ari visits alaska

2008-05-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

ari turns ONE

2008-05-24T13:47:00.001-07:00

ari celebrated his 1st birthday with lots of friends (mostly big people friends) and sushi! he loved playing in our backyard, with it's newly constructed fence, entertaining our friends and making killer sushi rolls. he did have a few little people over, including his book babies 'twin,' talulah! they humored all of us and sat for a photo shoot - they compliment each other's cuteness so well!

ari loves using instruments: spoons for eating, scoops for digging, chopsticks for banging on things to make music, etc. (note: all of these instruments are interchangeable and able to used for various purposes). so, it was no surprise that when given his portion of his birthday cake (in the shape of an 'A' for ari), he began using his #1 candle to dig into his cake and eat the icing and cake off of the candle.

little ari fish

2008-05-03T23:13:00.000-07:00

easter morning, day, and night

2008-05-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

ari woke up to find a lovely basket of items that the easter bunny found in our house - books, socks, soap, snacks. he was so stoked! his favorite was the rice husk treat - baby mum mums. what a sucker.
later in the day, he enjoyed playing around in the yard in his snow suit since it was freezing! sticks, apparently, are quite tasty. a nice easter dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, and asparagus (his newest favorite vegetable) was enjoyed by little ari.

ari swims!

2008-03-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

here's a little video of last week's swim adventures. ari goes to his infant aquatics class every week and loves it! he has perfected his 'yoga pose' since this video and can stand and balance for a pretty long time. he loves to hang onto the side of the pool (and can climb out by himself), float on his back...so relaxing, and play with his little swim friends.

d.c. or bust!!!

2008-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

ari had some pretty important business to attend to in our nation's capital so i went along with him to document his travels. he did some pretty impressive lobbying at the capitol, after observing some of our national memorials and plethora of Smithsonian museums. he also took time to eat out, enjoying sticky rice and the famous burgers and fries at five guys. his trip almost turned nasty when brad and angelina tried to kidnap him in his sleep for their 5th child. luckily, he woke up in time and decided that settling for me as his mom wasn't such a bad thing. after all, i do let him drink as much soda as he wants with his burger and fries... all in all, it was a good trip. he and paula had some great bonding time and decided to become pen pals.

how much does ari weigh, you ask?

2008-03-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

well...it all depends on which planet he is on (he is quite the traveller)

jupiter: 53.5 lbs
mars: 49.32
earth: 21.4 lbs
moon: 25.6 lbs

ari comes home!

2008-02-17T00:28:00.000-08:00

who would have thought sending your 9 (& 1/2) month old kid away for a week would be so hard?! weird. i couldn't wait to see ari on monday when i picked him up from the airport. i dare say he was a wee bit excited as well. he kept hugging me, looking up at me, smiling really big, and then hugging me, and cycling through that routine all the way to the baggage claim... i don't think we'll be doing that again for awhile. maybe i'll make him wait until he's 10 before he can sleep over at his friends' houses, like my parents made me!

ari, where areyou?

2008-02-03T00:14:00.001-08:00

as if ari actually sleeps in his crib...
ari is down in texas for the week, visiting his great-grandma moore and grandmommy & grandad. he flew on the plane from portland to slc and then to san antonio like an old pro. apparently, he found that he is quite talented with opening and closing the window shades. such a genius. i will be working and studying this week, ari-less. it will be very sad and lonely, but perhaps productive. i miss his tight little hugs and sharp kisses (even though they hurt) already!

ari's hair in the morning

2008-01-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

just a little taste of what i wake up to in the morning. no use for combs or brushes in this house.

no such thing as too much free child labor

2008-01-26T23:34:00.000-08:00

ari is so employable these days. for example, he worked all night cleaning out the fridge to make room for all the new groceries. we were only out a couple potatoes, fruit, and a little milk for it, which he fed himself. awesome.

gettin' the hang of it...

2008-01-26T23:29:00.001-08:00

ari's finally taking advantage of the ballet bar and working on mastering balance. sometimes he even lets go of the bar to wave at you! other than that, he just looks hip in his new pants... while also showing off his new front teeth.

another sunday morning...

2008-01-20T19:43:00.001-08:00

bananas and puffy treats for breakfast...no big deal

new play things!

2008-01-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

so, in order to encourage ari's development and keep him occupied while i study and work in the office, we have begun to create a little play area for him. it will soon include a couple of interactive, sensory boards (made from household items), but for now there is only one component - ari's ballet bar! he's already using it to learn the splits...

ari's room mate returns

2008-01-15T22:42:00.002-08:00

finally, jennifer has returned! ari has missed having a room mate for so long - he almost forgot what it was like. lots of walks down alberta to the coffee shop (extracto, of course), eating tofu, staying up late watching movies, eating caramel corn...

we hope she never leaves!

unfortunately, austin, tx reclaimed her today so her stint in portland is over for now. she promises to return when little loechel is born. she will be such a great nanny! please come back, jennifer!

christmas in p-town

2008-01-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

lucky ari! he went from one christmas celebration to another (perhaps bigger) celebration at home. we came back to portland to be greeted by aunt macey and elsa! although our tree was smaller, it held lots of loot for little ari elf - lots of books, blocks, a mobile!, cute clothes, wrapping paper, etc. ari is one lucky nephew/grandson!

bonifay christmas 2007

2008-01-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

so, ari had quite an eventful christmas in utah with his cousin lincoln and lots of family. he met his great-grandparents, aunt mimi, and candice (one of my fabulous college room mates). he also got to play with crystal (another former roomie) and her two kiddos - bryn and gavin.

it was all fun and games until he woke up with a fever the day after christmas. no other signs - just a fever and sleepiness. poor thing had been suffering from an ear infection. who knew?!

still no hands & knees crawling for this kid. he gets around just fine using his arms, abs, and toes (specifically the big toe). he looks like a fish when he crawls. sometimes when he's really in a hurry to get somewhere, his legs start flailing up behind him and he looks like a break dancer. he's pretty hip.

since there were a ridiculous number of pictures taken at christmas, i have just added a link to view some of them. please know that the number of pictures at this link account only for about 5% of the pictures taken by all the bonifay aunts and grandma (you know what i'm talking about).

http://picasaweb.google.com/arirocksportland/ChristmasInUtahSnow

we're goin' for a walk!

2007-11-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

halloween party

2007-10-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

ari loves reggae and halloween and being a hotdog.

peek-a-boo ari

2007-10-27T23:48:00.000-07:00

i think ari likes this game

ari's knit one-piece

2007-10-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

my birthday present - buying ari this outfit that i've been OBSESSED with! (it was finally on sale).

birthday pool party

2007-10-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

ari celebrates my 28th and his 1/2 birthday swimming and eating chocolate raspberry torte ... or rice cereal.

m. ward rocks ari!

2007-10-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

here's a clip from the concert that we went to last night. this is beautiful m. ward playing his guitar for ari. although it sounds as though at least 2 other guitars are playing with him, it really is just him because he is magical.

c'mon, ari, where's your sense of humor?

2007-09-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

so, now that i should be doing other, more productive things like, oh maybe that take-home exam for school, i have chosen to use my progeny for my amusement.

don't worry, he gets used to it after awhile.

ari begins to learn personal hygeine lessons

2007-09-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

ari's hair is determined to create dreadlocks, so each time he goes to aunt aiyana's house, she works tirelessly to remove them. so, in an effort to support her hard work i decided to break out the comb and try a little grooming myself. ari reacted appropriately, always looking at the camera when it turned on and posing with his neatly combed hair and toothbrush.

what ari paparazzi?

2007-09-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

ari's tongue makes its debut

2007-09-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

ari's musical career begins

2007-09-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

ari shows doug martsch his new trick - sticking out his tongue!

bumbershoot festival

2007-09-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

ari rocked with gogol bordello, devotchka, the avett brothers, menomena, and julie ann at bumbershoot festival in seattle.

julie ann disappeared the next day - we haven't found her yet.

treasure island music festival

2007-09-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

ari rocked with isaac brock
(of modest mouse) and doug martsch (of built to spill) in
san francisco.

addicted to texting

2007-08-12T23:58:00.001-07:00

sweater vest sunday

2007-08-12T23:53:00.001-07:00

what big blue eyes?!?

a little ari fish!

2007-08-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

playtime rocks!

2007-08-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

fredenberg family fun!

2007-08-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

ahh...family

2007-08-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

visit from cousin lincoln

2007-08-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

quality floor time with cousin lincoln. who would want to go kayaking when you could lie on the floor and eat stuffed animals?

radio flyer parade!

2007-08-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

ari shared his new radio flyer with cousin lincoln in the mississippi street fair parade. unfortunately, we don't have a great picture of that, so here's one of ari lounging in his sweet ride.

ari rolled over!...kind of

2007-07-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

so, the other morning, ari and i were hanging out in bed still, chatting about the new day and he was lying on his side. he was really trying to get his fist in his mouth. his stomach muscles were really working hard, so i just sat back and watched this action take place. a few side crunches later, he was lying on his stomach. while i was telling him what a smart baby he was, he just looked at me with this confused look, wondering why he was in his most unfavorite position without a fist in his mouth.

bbq time!

2007-07-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

ari loves grillin' meat and veggies over the firepit! luckily, nici was there to chop more firewood. little eden, noah, and jonah joined us, too & helped make wire sculptures for ari's wagon. (he'll be in a parade next weekend)

p.s. ari also likes hamburgers with faces

i have HANDS!

2007-07-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

ari's latest discovery is attached to his wrists. they are so exciting & never get old to look at!

4th of July - NE PDX style

2007-07-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

so, ari's first 4th of july was not disappointing. our neighborhood fireworks committee made sure of that. pretty much, he's been wearing his headphones since 9:30 p.m. since ALL the fireworks are set off on our corner (we're the second house from the corner!) he watched some from the upstairs window and eventually fell asleep while rocking on the porch. i swear, i have got to market these headphone things!

weekend in downtown pdx & public nudity

2007-07-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

storytime at the downtown library turns out to be super hip - they sing songs about loving your toes and one that includes the lyrics 'bananas unite!' ari didn't seem to mind attending 2 book babies groups this week so that tom could join in on the fun.
we rode the streetcar over to jamison square park and eventually tom talked me into stripping ari down and putting on his swim diaper so he could show off his water playing skills.

last thursdays on alberta

2007-06-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

bubble tea deck dates

2007-06-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

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'

2007-06-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-09T12:43:00.001-07:00