Grossman family west

Avi is a big guy, weighing in at more than 20 lbs. That means that he’s naturally gifted for certain physical challenges. We’ve been practicing football plays for months, for example, and he throws a phenominal fullback-style lead block on the goalline run. No problem there. But agile moves are a bit trickier and so we’ve been practicing The Roll for about a month now. We’re thrilled to announce that Avi now rolls with the lithe agility of a ninja and we’ve captured his month of training in 3 short video clips, now posted to the photo gallery. There, you’ll see the early days, lessons with Grammy in Boston, followed by intense practice at home, and concluding with an effortless “I’m done with Tummy Time” spin in his Pack and Play. Avi has truly mastered The Roll.

Next up, the Triple Lindy.

I'm DONE with this Tummy Time stuff

Yesterday was Wild West Day at Music Class, so Avi cowboy’d up!

Saddle Up!

Avi made his maiden voyage to mom’s hometown of Seattle last week and experienced a few more Firsts. Here’s what he has to say:

My new friends Massimo and Vivi decided I might like to sit in a highchair and play with some toys. Mommy was worried I was too little, but I sat right up in the highchair and learned that if I push, shove, or toss toys they will land on the floor with a satisfying clunk! The real prize is that people pick the toys up for me and allow me to repeat this fun game over and over again!

A few weeks earlier than planned I had my first Cheerio! Mommy will never know how many (if any) I really ingested because she wasn’t paying attention when my good friend Vivi was playing “mommy/baby” with me and offered me a tasty morsel. I, of course, opened wide and grabbed at it with my tongue. Just when I was ready to really get a good idea of solid food I felt an adult finger swipe in and rob me of the experience. Darn! Guess I will have to wait for my sixth month birthday.

We got to go to gymnastics with William and Carson which, unfortunately, I slept through a good portion of. But while I was awake I did a log roll down the cheese wedge! Mommy put me on my tummy sideways and next thing I knew I was on my back! I guess Mommy liked it because I got a lot of kisses and praise afterwards.

My cousin Carson was in serious training to do a “hand-stand” on Uncle Mark’s hands, and accomplished this seemingly impossible task about a month ago. Well, as soon as Uncle Mark got his hands on me he tried to help me stand on his hand, too. Mommy almost lost it (she’s such a worry-wort!), but Uncle Mark and I were a great team!

I FINALLY got to go to the zoo! I think it will be more fun when I’m big like Soren and William because they got to run around and go right up to the glass where the animals were. Someday, someday, I too will taunt jaguars.

I met some great friends: Soren, Elsa, William, Vivi, Massimo, and Tre are all children of my mommy’s good friends. She said we’ll get to see them many, many more times throughout the years. Hooray!

As a finale I got my first spider bites. That little bugger crawled right up on my forehead while I was sleeping and left two blister-like bumps on my head. The pediatrician said certain bug bites sometimes fill with water for some reason. Mommy felt sad about it but they didn’t bother me one bit. No pesky little spider is going to make me fret!

Thanks for the fun trip, Mommy. Can’t wait to go back in September with Gigi! Maybe we’ll try skydiving then… Oh, and thanks for posting pictures of our trip in the Photo Gallery for everyone else to see!

This Standing Thing Ain't So Tough

The other day an exciting package arrived from the East Coast. Inside was a cool new bib that read “Four Seas Cape Cod,” and it had a picture of a big ice-cream cone on it. Now, I’ve never tasted ice-cream, but just the sight of it made my mouth water. Uncle Dave said Daddy and his brothers and sister went to Four Seas when they were younger with their dad and his dad, too! Wow, I can’t wait to keep the tradition alive next time I’m in Cape Cod. By then I’ll be eating solid foods, but for now the bib is ideal for catching my drool as I teethe on my toys. Thanks to all my Aunties and Uncles for the great gift!

All ready for Ice Cream!

Last weekend brought another Life Cycle event: my first Father’s Day. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it, but Mom and Avi made sure that it was one I won’t soon forget. I got THREE Father’s Day gifts (a panini maker, a BBQ cleaner, and the coolest T-Shirt EVER, pictured below). Plus, we hosted a BBQ for our friends and neighbors–lots of Dads and kids–where Avi and Mom and the other moms planned all kinds of games ranging from “identify your child’s handprint in the Play-Doh” to a challenging dad-focused quiz. Winners were awarded prizes (I won a gift certificate to Mitchell’s, a delicious neighborhood ice creamery). Plus, as I’m sure you all know, the Red Sox were on TV so we watched a walk-off home run victrory to kick off the BBQ. Poor Mom and Avi–they’ve set the bar pretty high for Father’s Day 2010! Pictures in the photo gallery.

Father's Day Gift: BEST T-SHIRT EVER!

You may be petite, Shawn Johnson, but you’ve still got to move your butt over to make some room on the Balance Beam for the BLUE ZEBRA (code name for the most fashionable young gymnast of the year). And, like your teammate Nastia, the BLUE ZEBRA has a trademark move that bears his name: the Avi Side Shuffle (“ASS”). You had better watch out for Avi’s ASS, Shawn, and enjoy that Balance Beam Gold while you still have it, because the BLUE ZEBRA is going to be a force in 2010! Once again, some hidden-camera footage of a training session in the Photo Gallery…

The Blue Zebra is coming for you

Another weekend for us Grossmans in San Francisco which meant Auntie Debbie was coming over to play with me.  Dad was back East for some party for my Uncle Jake to celebrate the end of his bachelorhood (Uncle Jake is giving me another Aunt Liz at the end of summer!), so it was just me and Mom at home.  My Great Aunt Amy and Great Uncle Rick were also in town because they were babysitting their grandson, Samuel (my 2nd cousin, he’s super cool!).  The six of us had made plans on Sunday to go to the park and have a picnic.  It was a gorgeous day in SF and so good to see my family!  As I hadn’t seen Auntie Debbie in a while, I decided to call her and ask her to come over and play with me before GAA, GUR and Sam came over. 

I was very excited when I woke up from my nap and saw Auntie Debbie’s dog, Scout, with her.  I had seen Scout a few times before, and we even doggysat Scout one weekend but now, being 4.5 months old and weighing Chai pounds, I was more aware of the pup.  I’m really into sounds and noises now so I was excited to hear what Scout had to say.  Scout and I were hanging in my room with Mom and Auntie Debbie when she started lifting her leash so it wouldn’t drag behind her and playing tug-of-war with it.  Her various playful growls and barking were so funny, I couldn’t get enough!  Mom and Auntie Debbie thought my laughing was so adorable (I don’t blame them, I’m pretty cute!) that they caught some of the action for all of you to enjoy–the video is now posted in the photo gallery!

–Avi

PS – Thanks Auntie Debbie for helping me write this post!

I think that this video falls under the category of “dad is still giddy about the speedy new web server” (and answers the question from Dad’s friends “how on earth have you already burned through 100GB of hard drive space??”)

Avi enjoys his Exersaucer while Mom seems to be learning Avi’s language. Now in the photo gallery.

Avi’s music career has begun and the focus that he exhibits is impressive. While the other kids are walking or crawling around during practice time, not our Little Man. He’s focused on mastering his instrument. He knows how to get to Carnegie Hall: PRACTICE. Laser-like focus and intense practice. No wandering around for this guy while there is music to be created. Maybe occasionally his hunger gets the best of him so he goes in for a little nibble, sure. But that’s really just an artist becoming One with his instrument. We’ve got an intense practice session on video so you can witness a musical maestro in the making.

Carnegie Hall, here I come!

This weekend, we headed to Petaluma (about an hour north of San Francisco, in Sonoma county) to our friend Heather’s housewarming party. After four months of life, Avi is starting to recognize a pattern here, so he immediately knew what he’d find at the housewarming: cute single ladies. He dressed in his Sunday Best, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and napped on the ride so he’d be in top form. And, sure enough, you can see that the Little Man got right to work, wooing both Dahlia (4 months) and Kaylee (2 months). There’s also a short video in the photo gallery.

"I LOOOOVE these housewarming parties"