Grossman family west

Well, eight days ago, I got a new cousin–Mikah Jin. Today, I got to meet him at his bris, and see lots of family whom I don’t get to see very often. Because it was a special occasion, I also got to wear a special sweater that my great-grandmother, Nanny, made for me when I was born. I’ve been drinking milk and eating all my food, trying to get big enough for the sweater, and today I did it!

A brand new cousin AND a new sweater! What a great day! Here’s a picture of me in the sweater. If you want to see my new cousin, check out the Photo Gallery!

Love,
Avi

Don't I look great in this sweater from Nanny?

OK, we may be overselling here a little. That said, you may not have been impressed by the Big Man chasing bubbles. I mean, you’ve certainly seen better (like the Flash Card Ninja). Well, maybe he can impress you here: as he starts to learn more words, the Big Man shows off some of his “reading” (or at least “recognizing”) skills. Next book? War and Peace! Check out the new video posted in the Photo Gallery, we think you’ll agree it’s more impressive than bubble-chasing…

The Big Man turned 18 months old this past weekend and so, as was tradition, we tried to have a photo shoot. The trouble is that, unlike the good old days, the Big Man now has a mind of his own and that mind was not at all interested in posing for pictures. We went out for lunch and tried to pose him “around town” but boy, was it a struggle. In the end, we just gave up and brought him back home to the sandbox at our house.
The 13 photos that we were able to snap are now posted in the photo gallery.

As you have seen in videos (a while ago), Avi is a talented gymnast. This video, taken at The Little Gym, does not show that skill. Instead, it’s a quick little video revealing only the fascination that little ones have with bubbles. It is difficult to imagine Mary Lou Retton chasing bubbles around the gym, I must admit (I checked her website and found nothing similar).

Video posted in the photo gallery.

Well, it’s summer in San Francisco and, as any native will tell you, that means that it’s a bit chilly here as we wait for the warm part of the summer: September/October. We’re making the most of it, though, and have added a new photo album that captures some of our June adventures: gym class, playing in the park, and, of course, Red Sox games! Check it out in the Photo Gallery!

We watched the Sox beat the SF Giants!

At the end of May, our good friends Kate and Seth got married in the Berkshires and, after discussing it with Mom and Dad, we decided that we were ready for a vacation, so we made a trip out of it. We flew into Boston and saw the entire family, including Nanny!, then went to New York and visited some friends, and finally drove to the Berkshires for Seth and Kate’s beautiful wedding. We had so much fun seeing everyone! And, of course, we just posted a photo album to share the fun with you. Enjoy!

Hey, I needed a break!

We recently read that scientists think that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to truly master a skill. And, of course, we want Avi to be a Rock Star. Put those two facts together and it didn’t take us long to decide that we should spend the drive from NYC to the Berkshires practicing singing. Of course, all Rock Stars will have a “Before They Were Stars” TV show, so we recorded part of the rehearsal for future licensing.

You can watch part of the Singing Session here, also linked from the Photo Gallery.

9,997 hours to go.

We consider Avi a “talker” as, much like his grandmother, he always seems to have a word to offer. That said, at this stage his words are better characterized as “sounds” or “noises”, though he is getting quite good at repeating words like “Nanny.” I assumed that he wasn’t really sure what he was saying—instead just realizing that Mom and Dad seemed excited when he made the same noise that we made, so he repeated it.

Then, the other day, Mommy asked him to put some of his toys back in the bin and, much to Daddy’s amazement, he did exactly that. Shooting a surprised look at Daddy, Mom said “that’s nothing. Watch this!” and suggested I grab the camera…

About halfway through the video, I started to have the feeling that my home wasn’t the complete “safe conversation space” that it used to be…

I present to you, with much pride, Avi Aaron, the Flashcard Ninja.

The safari hat helps contain my giant brain!

Swinging on a swing? Check.
Animal Noises? Check.
Crawling? Check.
Walking? Check.

For Avi’s next feat, he masters complicated puzzle sets with amazing deftness: circles, rectangles, and squares are no match for the Puzzle Master. Next week, we shall start on advanced cryptography and more complicated puzzles.

Check out the video here.