Grossman family west

Uncle Dave and Dara were in the cake-making mood when they woke up this morning, so they decided to celebrate Avi’s 6-week Birthday with a cake. No slackers, these two: they frosted it, topped it with candles, wrote on it, and even sang to Avi (who can’t yet eat the cake, of course). All was going according to plan until we realized that Avi’s 6-week birthday was yesterday (Saturday), not Sunday. Easily remedied, though: the cake just said “Happy Belated 6 Week B-Day Avi” Uncle Dave even helped Avi blow out the candles… Thanks, Uncle Dave and Dara!

Avi blows out the candles with some help from Uncle Dave

If I’ve done my math correctly (not trivial because of the stupid lbs/oz system we use), Avi has increased his body mass by 61% in under 6 weeks (with a lot of help from mom). As I buy plane tickets to attend my college reunion in May, it certainly makes me feel better about the mere 20 lbs (maybe 10% of my body mass) that I’ve gained in the many years since I graduated college.

At his current pace, Avi will double his birth weight in another 19 days, at about 8.5 weeks of life. During college I was (sort of) active. I was even on the ski team. After that, though, I adopted more of an Avi-esque lifestyle. More sitting around. Massages. Hanging out with Friends. Going to Movies. Computing. Hence, my newfound 20 lbs. However, let’s put it into perspective… if I had gained weight at Avi’s pace, I’d weigh about one sextillion pounds (that’s 1*10^21). For those of you whom I haven’t seen in a while, I don’t.

I’ve cancelled my appointment to meet with a gym membership salesperson. I’m doing just fine. Please pass the Cool Ranch Doritos.

We had another pediatrician appointment today and Avi continues to do well. He now weighs in at an impressive 10 lbs 14 oz and his head circumference is increasing, too, creating more room for his thought-maker. Technically, his length is the same as last time, which is probably due to the fact that it’s difficult to measure (can’t quite tell him to stand up straight). Dr didn’t seem concerned and, empirically, he seems to be outgrowing his infant clothes, now pretty solidly into the “0 – 3 month” size.

Avi has started to get a little grumpy during the day, though that’s accompanied by longer stretches of sleep at night. I’d say it’s a fair a tradeoff (though I’m at work during the day, so I’m not sure I’m the one who should get to make that call).

That’s all the news from here. We’re excited to have Uncle Dave and Dara visiting this weekend; even more thrilling is that D^2 even volunteered to babysit for a night! We’ve been setting up nannycams all over the house so we’ll have plenty of great content to splice into a hilarious video. Just the thought of Dave changing a diaper has me laughing right now.

Avi had a fantastic week with Gigi and Grandpa. They entertained him with trips to the Academy of Sciences, long walks around Noe Valley and Union Square, dinner at Little Star Pizza, and plenty of laughing at play time. Grandpa read Avi a book about trucks to help him settle down for bedtime, and Gigi delighted him with sweet melodies to soothe him to sleep. We all went to the Academy of Sciences to celebrate Grandpa’s birthday. Avi loved the aquarium portion where he could look at bright colors and swimming fish. He also experienced his first planetarium digital picture show. Wow, this kid has really explored some interesting things in his 5 weeks of life! Thanks so much for visiting us Gigi and Grandpa–we created a slideshow of your visit. Avi is so lucky to have received all that love and affection from two of his biggest fans. We can’t wait to see you again in April!

Dolores Park

Avi enjoyed the spa so much we decided to try our hands at massage on our little youngster. Not to our surprise, he LOVED it. A woman in my Mama’s Group coordinated an infant massage class with a local instructor and I volunteered to host the event. Little Avi settled right in for his massage session and basked in the pleasures of his mommy’s touch for a full 2.5 hours. Avi was one of five babies in the group and he outlasted all the others. Many had to stop for feedings, some needed to be cuddled, and others just didn’t like the whole idea of being massaged. But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and Avi, like his mother and father, just soaked it up! Tummy Time is an important part of infanthood and Avi usually only lasts about 45 seconds on a good day on his tummy. But, this little guy relaxed right into his Tummy Time for a good 20 minutes when it meant a full shoulder, neck, and back massage. It was a wonderful time for Mommy and Avi, and Daddy is learning how to massage his son, too. Ahhh, the joys of being a San Franciscan!

Belly Rub

Back Rub

Massage Mania

It’s a Sunny Saturday in San Francisco today, so mom and Avi hopped in their cool new stroller (thanks, Nanny!) and went for a walk…

Mommy, Avi, and their new Stroller

One of the challenges of living in San Francisco is that most of our family lives far away: San Diego, Seattle, Boston, etc. We’ve been lucky enough to have some wonderful visits and, of course, we talk on the phone regularly. However, as Avi grows up, we fear that the phone doesn’t quite capture the spirit of our most colorful loved ones. How on earth can you do all of the really important things over the phone? You know: singing, making funny faces, and turning yourself upside down?

Problem solved. Check out the newest video in the Photo Gallery, destined to become a Grossman Family West classic.

It’s tricky to count when you’re born on the 31st and the next month only has 28 days, so Holly and I decided that Avi turned one month old yesterday! Happy birthday to him! To celebrate, we took a photoshoot and ate burritos with our friends Kelly, Matt, and their daughter Dahlia (who is four days older than Avi). Video and Photos in the Photo Gallery!

Avi turns One Month

Current wisdom suggests that, if you are breastfeeding a newborn, you should wait 3 weeks or so before introducing a bottle to ensure that that the baby doesn’t get confused. Avi seems to be content to suck on just about anything (fingers, pacifiers, his own fist, etc), so when his one month birthday came around, we weren’t too worried about him being confused. Sure enough, Dad won some mad points with the Little One when he came bearing food for the very first time yesterday. Avi took down 2 oz of the tasty stuff in no time. Look how happy we both are at Daddy’s new talent!

Daddy is useful!