Grossman family west

For those of you keeping track (and there were an impressive number of you!), Avi turned 1 year old on Sunday. To celebrate, Grandpa, Gigi, and Auntie Robin came to visit—and we had so much fun! Then, on Saturday, we had nearly 35 of our pals over to celebrate. Mommy did a great job organizing everything, the food was delicious, and the weather held out. The day was a blast! Pictures and a video are now posted in the photo gallery!

Avi Turns One

As you read in an earlier post, we enjoyed Boston weather, friends, and family, for about a week over the holidays. We had a great time and were lucky enough to spend a lot of time with Nanny, Avi’s Great-Grandmother. Avi decided that he liked her style and, as soon as he got back to San Francisco, set about teaching himself to move like Nanny. She does a great job of getting herself around for a lady with a number of years of wisdom under her belt…

We’ve captured his latest milestone in a video (actually, 2 clips) now posted in the Photo Gallery!

Honk Honk!! Outta my way!

We are finally back in San Francisco after a whirlwind of holiday travel. We started off in San Diego for Hanukah and had a blast with Gigi, Grandpa, Aunt Robin, and Uncle Eric. A short plane ride to San Diego (land of wonderful weather) didn’t pose enough of a packing challenge for us, so we decided to spend two weeks away from mild San Francisco in some more extreme climates. We flew to Boston on December 17 and were promptly treated to twelve inches of fresh snow and temperatures that ensured that it stuck around. We saw lots of friends and family before getting on a plane to fly to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the day after Christmas. We worked hard on our tans, played in the sand, and swam in the ocean and pool. What a fantastic trip!

It was great to see Grammy, Zayda, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Dave, and Dara. We missed Uncle Jake and Aunt Liz, who were in Viet Nam on their Honeymoon. That sounded like it was a ton of fun, too–maybe they’ll take us with them next time!

Lucky for you, we’ve captured both trips in a Photo Album that is now posted in the Photo Gallery. Happy New Year to everyone!

The Cold part of our Fire and Ice trip

Last weekend, we flew down to San Diego and had an awesome weekend with Gigi, Grandpa, Aunt Robin, and Uncle Eric. The weekend was jam-packed with fun events and tons of “firsts” for the Big Man. On Friday, we went to Disneyland and California Adventure (thanks, Uncle Brian!), Avi’s first theme park, and he loved most of the rides (including his first Merry-Go-Round). Later in the day, Avi met Mickey Mouse and Goofy—Avi seemed a little stumped by the five foot tall mouse (not sure why that seems so normal to the rest of us). That night, Avi lit Hanukkah candles for the first time and received his first wrapped gift (and new favorite toy) from Gigi and Grandpa (thank you!!)

On Saturday, we stayed in and celebrated Aunt Robin’s birthday with delicious dinner and desserts. And finally, on Sunday, we went to the San Diego Zoo, which Avi loved. We saw beautiful birds, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, and even some swimming hippos.

We’ve added a slideshow to the Photo Gallery so you can re-live our fun weekend in San Diego with us! Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Avi, Gigi, Grandpa, and Mickey

We have to admit that our unlucky Big Man may have it a bit tougher than some others: he has a professional educator for a mother and a father-nerd who occasionally spends time programming on the weekend. While others his age are learning to “make a cat sound” (“meow”) or even that of a lion (“roar”), Holly decided to start Avi off with an elephant sound. What sound DOES an elephant make? Think about it for a moment. If you’re stuck, Avi has the answer… Check out his new video in the photo gallery.

Animal Sounds in the Bath

With Mom directing, Avi showed us a new skill–intense drama acting. In this scene, our 10-month-old Hero is stuck on one side of a gaping chasm, deperately trying to reach the treasure on the other side. I will remind you that he has had NO acting lessons. I think you’ll agree, though, that he does an amazing job of conveying such raw emotion: desire, frustration, angst… I won’t give way the ending, you’ll have to watch it for yourself. Now posted in the video gallery.

Cameras Rolling?

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!

So I was poking around the InterWeb the other day and I found a brief history of the Grossman Family Lumber business, incorporated in 1919.

I thought that the entire thing was pretty cool and decided that Avi might want to read it some day, so I copied it onto the GFW site (with proper attribution, of course). As “bonus history”, I even added a little paragraph from my father at the end that explains the move into Real Estate, the current Family Business.

History, now on GFW: http://www.grossmanfamilywest.com/about/grossmansIncHistory.html

Also, I found a company selling some sort of “accessory piece” that depicts the Grossmans Lumber Truck, complete with catch phrase: http://www.abigailscrossinggifts.com/online_store.cfm?categoryid=7&ic=28

Enjoy!

Here Comes Grossmans