Grossman family west

Mimi and Zayda just came back from a fantastic trip to China and they brought back a cool kite! Lucky timing for us—because we were visiting them, we got to take the kite on its maiden voyage in Needham. It wasn’t a very windy day, but Daddy and Avi worked their kite-flying magic and we had a great time. Mommy even caught much of it on video, now posted in the Photo Gallery.

Inspired by the movie Spellbound (a fantastic movie, btw), which documents seven whiz kids competing in the National Spelling Bee, we have decided to start training Avi early. And what better word to start practicing with than the name of his very own little brother? Now in the Photo Gallery, a video of Avi spelling Ezra’s name.

Avi Spelling Ezra

BOOM! I'm Three Months Old!

Although things have been busy at the Grossman Family West household, they haven’t been too busy for a monthly photoshoot! In this month’s edition, Ezra turns three months old and tries on some new poses more typically reserved for a more experienced model. As an added bonus, we also caught some video of him trying to read. Both are now posted in the Photo Gallery.

Readers of US Weekly will surely recognize the column “Who Wore It Best“, in which the magazine places images side-by-side of two celebrities wearing the same outfit and asks readers to vote “who wore it best?”

Well, avid readers of GrossmanFamilyWest, our papparazzi have caught some shocking photos of local celebrities wearing–OMG–the SAME outfit!! And so we’ll ask you: Who Wore It Best?? Also, can you name each celebrity?!?! Tell us both WHO EACH PICTURE IS and WHO WORE IT BEST in the comments!

Guess Who is Who and Vote for Who Wore It Best in the Comments!

In April, GFW, including Auntie Debbie and her friend, drove a couple of hours south to Monterey, CA. Some of you may remember Monterey (and Pacific Grove) as the location in which Joel and Holly got engaged (or click here for a reminder), but it it is also a wonderful seaside town that is quite family friendly. We visited the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, the 5-star rated “Dennis the Menace Park”, walked along the beach, visited the “proposal spot” (featured in the video above from nearly five years ago!), and even had a very tasty fresh seafood dinner. To memorialize the weekend, Mommy, Daddy, Avi, and Ezra even hopped into a photo booth–and the resulting photo strip now adorns a number of pages on our GFW site (including the home page and blog page).

To see some photos from our trip, check out the new album now posted in the photo gallery!

Weee!! Why is Auntie Debbie such a scaredy-cat?

Young Ezra (now 11 weeks old) continues to learn new tricks every day. He is smiling at people, he is growing stronger, and he’s becoming an expert at grabbing dangly soft animals from his activity gym. A couple of weeks ago, though, he learned his best trick yet: Monkey See, Monkey Do. Watch in this new video how he can make Auntie Debbie stick out her tongue repeatedly!

Monkey See Monkey Do

Last April (one year ago), we wrote a post called “Puzzle Master” that linked to a video of Avi assembling his first wooden puzzles. After that, he graduated to iPad puzzles. More recently, we’ve switched him back to the analog stuff with some puzzles we thought might be a bit more challenging.

When presented with these new challenges, Avi laughed in our general direction. Indeed, he almost seems to mock us by speaking his thinking aloud (whether we are in the room or not) as he effortlessly assembles the fire truck or barn. We have published both a (short) slideshow and 3 (longer) videos of the Puzzle Master at Age 2.

C'mon, you got something CHALLENGING?

Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Beckham. The names of some of the greatest footballers of all time may someday be joined by another: Grossman. At one point in time, our family pinned our hopes for international soccer greatness on Uncle David. And while he certainly made quite a name for himself throughout the Eastern US competitive leagues (and certainly much more than Daddy Joel), he ultimately chose a different path in life. Therefore, the new athletic hopes for this family now rest with Avi Grossman. Begining this month his talent is on display every Sunday in Noe Valley as part of Soccer Tots—and the international scouts battle the strollers all along the sideline to catch a glimpse of this someday-phenom. You can catch your own glimpse from the comfort of your computer. Scouting photos and videos now in the Photo Gallery.

Daddy was no match! Who's next?!?

Earlier this month, “Baby Brother” turned two months old and, of course, we have his Two Month Photo Shoot, now in the Photo Gallery!

I wonder what the next two months will bring...

Daddy’s travel schedule has been hectic for work, so Mommy, Avi, and Ezra decided to seize the opportunity to have some friends come and visit. First, while Daddy was in Orlando, Mommy’s friend Rachael came to visit with her daughter Elsa. Then, the following week, while Daddy was in Europe, Aunt Liz and Cousin Henry came to visit. Everyone had so much fun—music classes, painting, school, and even the zoo! We have uploaded a new video (actually, 3 videos) AND a photo album to the photo gallery! Enjoy!

SF Zoo with Aunts Liz and Debbie and Cousin Henry