Grossman family west

At 10 months old, the Big Man is much more curious and a bit more mobile, which can make a photo shoot a bit tricky. We started his birthday in music class (learning to smack the drums like Aunt Debbie does on Rock Band), but quickly moved into other more interesting venues. At 10 months, Avi crawls a bit and stands with assistance. This latter talent allowed him to pose under a tree–just like Mom’s high school pictures (she won’t let us show them here). He can “cruise” around his Leap Frog table, and plays games with mom and dad.
Don’t worry, though, his innocence and curiosity are not yet completely lost: the Big Man still sticks a leaf in his mouth if the opportunity should strike.

We’ve added 19 photos from Avi’s Ten Month Photo Shoot into his Monthly Birthday Photoshoots Slideshow for your enjoyment.

Do I look like Mom's high school yearbook photo?

Why do people put toys just out of reach, then bang the toy on the floor and encourage in a high-pitched voice “here, boy! come and get your toy!” to their pets?
Because it works.
With even more love and pride, I present my wife encouraging my son in the exact same way.

Don’t worry, I thought about it: It’s OK that I made the analogy.

Check out Avi’s scoot-style crawl video.

"Come and Get Your Toy!"

This past weekend was Avi’s first Thanksgiving ever and, to celebrate, Grammy and Zayda came to visit for five days. We all had a wonderful time: visiting Aunt Debbie in her classroom, visiting with Cousins Josh, Jamie, and Sam, eating at Saul’s Deli (Avi’s first Matzoh Ball Soup!), and even playing Rock Band (both Grammy and Avi sang for the first time!) Of course, the highlight of the weekend was Holly’s DELICIOUS Thanksgiving Meal, including a perfectly cooked turkey (with Grammy’s help, sort of!), sweet potatoes, stuffing, curry lentil soup, and even pumpkin cheesecake.

While we were sorry for the weekend to end, we captured many of the memories in a photo album, now posted in the Photo Gallery! Also, we’re excited to see everyone again soon!

Mmmm. I LOVE Thanksgiving!

Avi’s first Halloween was a great time in Noe Valley, with many dozens of Trick-Or-Treaters cleaning us out of our four large bags of candy. We sat outside on the steps with our neighbors for most of the night, welcoming young and old and enjoying all of the costumes and entertainment. Our next door neighbor even performed a fire eating and fire juggling show!

Earlier in the day, Grammy and Zayda sent us a fun Halloween package with a dancing bear (which was a hit all night), candy, and other cool Halloween treats. Then, Aunt Debbie came over, dressed as an 80’s tennis star, and we headed down to 24th street, which was packed with families as all of the shops were handing out candy–City trick-or-treat style. There, we saw our pal Henry, looking like a true hero in his Superman costume, before heading back to our house. For Avi’s first Halloween, he insisted on getting dressed up as a not-so-scary moster: Wally, the Green Monster, the mascot of the Boston Red Sox. Mom and Dad played supporting roles as Fenway candy vendors…

Finally, after the night was over and the little ones were in bed, 22nd St rocked out to Rock Band, complete with wigs, until the wee hours of the morning. We hope everyone else had as much fun as we did! Happy Halloween!

Oh, of course, (especially since it was Avi’s 9 month birthday!), we added both pictures and some videos to the Photo Gallery!

Happy Halloween!

We couldn’t have been happier at the cozy Grossman Family West this weekend as we all gathered ’round the ol’ tube to watch our Patriots return to their form of yesteryear, beating the Tennessee Titans 59-0 on a cold and snowy Sunday in New England. Indeed, so excited were these fans, that Holly (sporting a Wes Welker jersey) grabbed the closest thing she could find (which happened to be wearing a Tedy Bruschi jersey) and threw a perfect spiral to Joel (also in a Bruschi jersey–albeit a slightly larger one). But then–out of nowhere–Debbie (wearing a Brady jersey) dove into the passing lane and made a phenomenal interception!

We may not have had the jersey roles quite right, but this was one football scene you had to see to believe…

An eye-popping interception by Debbie!

Last weekend, we drove with our friends and neighbors to a farm to pick out pumpkins in preparation for Avi’s first Halloween. The farm boasted some fun rides and a haunted house for the kids, as well as hot apple cider and pumpkin pies for the adults. With Little Ones ranging from 8 months to 16 months, we stuck to the pumpkin patch, a train ride through “scary town” and the apple cider. Of course, we couldn’t leave without taking home some pumpkins, too, to decorate our home for Halloween, so we set Avi out into the pumpkin patch to find one he liked. Not yet being very mobile, he picked the one we sat him down next to. Always the mischievous one, we suspect he was drawn to the size of the pumpkin—perfect for hiding in come bed time… Pumpkin Picking Pictures now in the Photo Gallery!

Found it! GFW Pumpkin 2009.

Those of you who are good with details noticed that Avi turned three quarters of a year old last week and, indeed, we honored the day with another photoshoot. As is traditional, we have added nearly a dozen new pictures to the ever-growing slideshow of Avi’s Monthly Birthday Photo Shoots. Enjoy!

That's right: 8 Months Old

So it turns out that My Uncle Jake is getting married to his awesome fiancee Liz soon, and the invitation said it was going to be a Black Tie affair—my first one! Of course, I had absolutely nothing to wear, so I took Mommy shopping and picked up some fine threads. Then I told Dad to take some pictures in black-and-white mode, to make it look “classic” and “refined.” I think you’ll agree that I’m all ready for this exciting event! Thanks Jake and Liz!

Love,
Avi

Looking good, huh?

For the past couple of weeks (since Avi turned six months old), we’ve been slowly trying different “real food” (I use that term loosely). First, there was rice cereal mixed with breast milk. We opted not to post that video–he almost instantly regurgitated it. Honestly, we tasted the rice cereal concoction and can’t really blame the Little Man…

After we gave up on rice cereal, we moved to Avocado, a California favorite. Much to our surprise, Avi was not much of a fan of the avocado, either. We decided to set it aside and try chips and guacamole again in a few weeks (when the football season starts).

This morning, Zayda suggested lobster. It is soft and squishy, but seemed unwise. Additionally, we all know that the best lobster is in the Northeast, so we decided to wait until our next trip to Boston. California has delicious fruits and vegetables…

Today, attempt #3: sweet potatoes. Mommy prepared a delicious mixture and the Little Man LOVED IT! Indeed, he wasn’t satisfied with the pace that he was being fed, so he grabbed the spoon and took charge himself. It reminded this proud father of champion eater Kobayashi (to get a true sense of the man’s greatness, here’s a video)…

Anyway, we had so much fun that we’ve posted BOTH a long video and a short photo album for your enjoyment: both in the photo gallery.

What should he have for dessert?

Avi Kobayashi?

Well, Avi is a half-year old today and so, with the memory of last month’s e-lashing still fresh in our mind, we quickly dressed the little man up for his monthly birthday photoshoot. 8 new pictures are now posted to his birthday photoshoot album, the day after his 6-month birthday. Is that better, Nanny?

It’s been a wonderful half-year and the Little Man would like to thank everyone who has showered him in Love (and gifts!) from across the country. We’re sure the next six months will bring more blog-, photo-, and video-worthy events, so stay tuned. Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel.

I'm one-half year old today!