ari comes home!

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?

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

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

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...

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...

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

new play things!

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...