Grossman family west

Avi and I had a fun outing on Tuesday. We went to the Vogue Theatre where Avi had his first movie theater experience! We did it up right witnessing Kate Winslet’s Academy Award winning performance in The Reader. Why did we rush out of bed and drive all the way across town on a Tuesday morning for this showing? To my surprise and delight the Vogue Theatre has a special Mommy’s Matinee on the first and third Tuesday of every month, and we had to check out the scene. Additionally, I promised to meet four other women and their babies from my Mammas’ Group, and as any other mother knows — social time is imperative. Mommy’s Matinee is so called because, well, there were mommies, nannies, and babies EVERYWHERE. Other perks include brighter lights so mum can properly watch over and care for her little one, and they also turn the sound down a bit so babes don’t get spooked by thundering noises coming from the movie. This showing is definitely not for the average movie-goer. You must be a mom with baby in tow to appreciate aisles lined with strollers, and car-seats, nursing ladies, and crying babies in every direction. I can’t wait to go back!

If you look closely you can see other moms and babies in the background.

Although we’re late in writing about it, we had a great 9 day visit from Grammy and Zayda last week. We had lots of quality time and tasty meals at home, and a couple of trips to hip restaurants in The Mission so we could start sculpting Avi’s public image. We were sad to see them go, but Grammy left behind plenty of delicious home cooking for freezer storage that we’ve been enjoying all week!

Shish Kabob at home with Grammy, Zayda, and Aunt Debbie

We had Avi’s one-month checkup with the pediatrician today. Avi’s latest stats:

• 9 lbs 8 oz
• 21 1/4 inches
• 15 cm cranial circumference (space for his giant brian)

In case you’re curious, these measurements put him in about the 50th percentile for boys his age. We’ll keep working on it.

What a spectacular 9 days we had with Avi (and his parents and aunt). He has grown, pushing 8 lbs, eyes are wide open (navy blue at this point in time) and he is a happy and brilliant baby. He knows how to find his fingers and fist to calm himself, and he enjoys his activity gym, looking and touching the hanging animals and viewing himself in the mirror.

A joyous visit for us. So sad to depart tomorrow.

XO,
Zayda and Grammy

What an adorable Punim!! (face in Yiddish!)

It’s been a while since we’ve posted a new video, so we just added one to the Photo Gallery. As you can clearly see, at 3 weeks old, our son Avi not only has a full grasp of the animals and other entertainment in the Activity Gym (buy it with this link and 10 cents goes into Avi’s college fund!) but he can rattle off the entire Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species of each animal (you have to listen closely–Holly and I are pretty sure we heard it). See the photo gallery.

After two and a half weeks in this exhausting world, we decided to treat Avi to a day at the spa, complete with a special towel from his aunts and uncles and hand-knitted booties from Gigi. As you can see, he loves the spa and immediately inquired about a Lifetime Membership… Pictures in the Photo Gallery.

Avi at the Spa, with his new booties from Gigi

When Tom came by to visit Avi over the weekend, we decided that we had enough pictures to create a new photo album: Avi and Friends. It’s only a half dozen pictures or so at this point, but we’ll keep adding to it…

Danielle, Tom's wife, Visiting Avi

Holly’s sister Robin visted us from San Francsico, and we all had a blast! In addition to spending some quality time with her new nephew, Robin really helped out Joel and Holly–cleaning up a bit, cooking some delicious meals (which included her fiancee Eric’s world-famous twice-baked potatoes), and bringing her creative cheerful demeanor. Pictures of Robin and Avi have been added to the Avi and Family Slideshow.

Avi Waving with Aunt Robin

Cousins Rebecca and Dan just sent us some great pictures of the bris. We’ve added them to the Bris slideshow and the Avi and Family slideshow. Thanks again for coming south for the Bris, cousins!

Avi’s third pediatrician appointment was this morning. New official weight: 7 lbs, 9 oz. Big Man! Everything else looks great, too. Avi and mom make a great team!