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?

bathtime collage

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

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.

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!

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...

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.

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

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.

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...

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)

addicted to blogging

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

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

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

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.

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.

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?

ahh...family

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

fredenberg family fun!

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

playtime rocks!

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