Grossman family west

Last week, Auntie Debbie, Dad, Mom, and I flew all the way across the country on an airplane to New York City to help Uncle Dave marry Dara. Now, we really love Dara and Uncle Dave didn’t need any help at all—but we were there to help him celebrate!

We stayed at a great hotel down in Battery Park with Mimi and Zayda and enjoyed fun events all weekend: the rehearsal dinner Friday night, the ceremony on Saturday, and Brunch on Sunday morning. It was really great to see everyone and Uncle Dave looked handsome and Aunt Dara was very beautiful. The highlight of the weekend, though, was probably the speech that my Dad gave with Uncle Jake (…Dad made me write that…)

My dad, mom, and Aunt Debbie took a lot of pictures from the wedding weekend–the best 170 of them are in a new photo album now in the gallery!

Welcome of the family, AUNT Dara!

Lookin' good, Uncle Dave--almost as good as I look!

This past week we got a fantastic gift from Uncle Dave and Aunt Dara–an Avi-sized basketball hoop! Avi is already a star on the court (aka our den), dribbling through his legs, dunking, and making shots from downtown (which is important since, given his genealogy, he’s more likely to be shooting guard than a center). Thanks, Uncle Dave and soon-to-be Aunt Dara!

Dunking is NO PROBLEM for Air Avi!

It was another beautiful Halloween in Noe Valley and while the San Francisco Giants were busy winning the World Series, GFW spent the week celebrating the holiday: the Noe Valley Halloween festival (Avi got to sit in a fire truck!), costume day at Avi’s pre-school, reunion tour of our world-famous Neighbor Rock Band band, and, of course, Halloween night which, as always, includes our fire-juggling neighbor, pizza with our neighbors, and a ton of trick-or-treaters (we went through FIVE large bags of candy this year–giving each trick-or-treater only one piece!)

Mommy showed off her artistic talent again, creating costumes for the entire family: per his request, Avi was an “Itsy Bitsy”–inspired, no doubt, by one of his favorite (online) books (beautifully sung by Mimi). To complement his hand-made costume, Mommy and Daddy were flies, all caught up in Avi’s web.

We posted a new Halloween 2010 album in the Photo Gallery. Enjoy!

GFW Celebrates Halloween in SF, 2010

Just a quickie from the west coast: we wanted to welcome Avi’s cousin, Henry, who arrived today and congratulate Uncle Jake and Aunt Liz! We can’t wait to see you soon and meet Henry in person!! Love you all!

Last month, we took another trip to Las Vegas, this time for a Persinger Family Reunion! Though the crowd was a little smaller than we would have liked, we had a blast with the relatives who WERE there. We spent lots of time with Gigi and Grandpa, met a brand-new cousin, and tried things in Vegas that, believe it or not, we’d never done!

Beyond seeing everyone, which is always fun, the highlight of the trip was probably the Tournament of Kings that Gigi and Grandpa treated us to. Avi loved the horses, jousting, pyrotechnics and had a blast watching everyone eat with their hands, just like he always does. Thanks again, Gigi and Grandpa!

We have posted eight photos in the Photo Gallery.

Avi and Grandpa pose with our king, the King of Ireland

Earlier this week, the Big Man had minor surgery (a Frenuloplasty to address his Ankylyglossia or, “a little snip-snip to fix his tongue-tie”). However, when you are 21 months old, no surgery is minor. The Big Man handled it like a champ though and, when he woke up, he was thrilled to see his three best pals–mommy, daddy, and his iPad. (If you’re not familiar with the iPad, it is like a giant iPhone, without the phone).

This gives a good occasion to show off the 3rd skill that Avi has mastered (first puzzles, then flashcards): we present, at 20 months old, Avi, the iPad pro, a short film now in the Photo Gallery!

Master of the iPad, even after surgery!

Well, it has been quite some time since our last post and all is well in San Francisco. Unfortunately, our cameras both broke themselves, as if by magic, which explains the dearth of postings and Photo Gallery updates. Fortunately, we managed to get one of the cameras working before we went to Oregon and Seattle this summer. We had blast–sand-swimming, bbq’ing, and visiting friends and family! We’ve posted a new photo album up in the Gallery for you to enjoy!

It's just like real swimming, but you don't get wet!

For everyone who has been patiently waiting for the news, wait no longer… If you guessed a BOY, you’re correct! If you guessed girl, but then said “i really knew all along that it was a boy!” then you are also correct, too! (you know who you are, Nanny…)

For those keeping score of the various prediction mechanisms:
-Patti Grossman “face changing test” correctly predicted boy since Holly’s face didn’t change
-Turkish silverware sitting test failed.
-Greek ring spinning test (performed under dubious circumstances) correctly predicted a boy

For those who may be shocked or skeptical of the results of their test, here is the evidence:

It's a boy!

Much love and Happy New Year!

…new baby! For those of you who don’t frequent the home page (and based on our web analytics, that’s most of you), we’ve updated it with pictures of Avi’s forthcoming sibling! Check out: http://www.grossmanfamilywest.com!

We hope everyone is having an enjoyable Labor Day weekend… We sure are!

Much Love,
Grossman Family West

Mommy, Daddy, and Avi wishing you a Happy Labor Day!