Grossman family west

san francisco


Archive for March, 2009

We’re twittering!

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

For now, I’m just making an announcement that we’re twittering. Maybe later, I’ll embed the tweets here. We’ll see.

You can follow us (well, Joel) here: http://twitter.com/kivieg

Breaking the infamous 12 lbs barrier

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Avi had another pediatrician appointment yesterday and he weighed in at 12 lbs, 1 oz. Now, Avi has been saying for a while that he was SURE he was over 12 lbs, but mom and dad were a little skeptical. Well, sure enough, when he stepped to the scale yesterday, his official weight was 12 lbs, 1 oz. Avi immediately popped into the air, flexed, and screamed “That’s RIGHT! Who wants some of THIS?!?!” Fortunately, we had our camera handy…

Weighing in at 12 lbs, 1 oz.... Avi Grossman!

Weighing in at 12 lbs, 1 oz.... Avi Grossman!

Avi Loves Rock Band

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

We’ve been experimenting with different types of music with Avi, trying to figure out what he likes. We hadn’t yet revealed to our son, though, that his family is full of rock stars in-the-making. Well, this past weekend we decided that he was ready. Holly captured the entire thing on this short video, featuring the entire Grossman Family West! For those of you not familiar with Rock Band, there is some real talent here: Aunt Debbie is playing the drum and singing at the same time and Joel jams on the guitar while maintaining a consistent pace on a very special “foot pedal.”


Grossman Family West Rocks out

Grossman Family West Rocks out

Avi and Dahlia’s Second Date

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Kelly came by the house last week with Dahlia, Avi’s lady friend who is four days older than Avi. We all witnessed their first date, which, admittedly, may have lacked a little spark. Well, after that date, Joel had a little man-to-man talk with Avi and Joel taught Avi some of his smoother moves to impress the ladies. Because they’re still not old enough to drive away from the prying eyes of their parents, we caught the entire second date on video. Check out Avi’s arm around Dahlia! That’s my boy!

Avi and Dahlia on the their Second Date

Avi and Dahlia on the their Second Date

Great Visit with Uncle Dave and Dara

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

We’re a little tardy in posting a summary, but we had a fantastic visit from Uncle Dave and Dara last weekend as they stopped in San Francisco for the first part of their vacation which ended with some skiing in Jackson Hole. We’ve aready posted about the 6-week birthday cake that they made, Holly and Joel’s first night out (to celebrate our friend Vlada’s 30th), during which Dave and Dara babysat, and Avi’s latest spa visit, so all we really have left to post is a video of a few short video clips of Uncle Dave and Avi, now available in the Photo Gallery! Thanks for a fun visit, Uncle Dave and Dara, and we hope to see you again soon!

We had a great visit with Uncle Dave and Dara

We had a great visit with Uncle Dave and Dara

BBQ and a New Friend

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

It was another nice day in San Francisco, so we invited Puja, Nimesh, Danielle, Tom, and Henry over for a small BBQ at our house. It was some great catch-up time–the last time we saw Puja and Nimesh, Holly was still pregnant. Henry, Tom and Danielle’s son, is a fun and friendly little spirit, so he and Avi became friends quickly…

Avi's new friend, Henry (18 mo)

Avi's new friend, Henry (18 mo)

Avi’s First March Madness

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

On Friday afternoon, Maya and Oliver stopped by for a final visit before they headed back to New York on Saturday, just as we had turned on some March Madness at Avi’s request. Because Dad had already proven his college hoops ignorance with a totally busted bracket so early in the Tournament, we decided that we should look to Uncle Oliver for hoops education instead. He happily obliged and even though he only had a short lesson, Avi has picked every game correctly since then. We’re impressed with both the teacher and the pupil. More pictures of Avi with Oliver and Maya in the Avi and Friends album.

Oliver drops some hoops knowledge on Avi

Oliver drops some hoops knowledge on Avi

Shabbat Shalom!

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

About the time we became pregnant, Holly and I joined the huge local reform synagogue in San Francisco. They’re very nice folks but, truth be told, we haven’t attended very many (any) events there yet beyond High Holy Day Services on account of the fact that the tunes were different than the ones I learned growing up, which I found very disconcerting.

Always turning the other cheek, though, the shul has not written us off and, much to our surprise, they stopped by yesterday with a very nice “Welcome to the World” Shabbat gift pack for Avi. With the Temple top of mind, it being Friday (Shabbat) afternoon, and we being good Jews (who just don’t attend temple), we promptly dressed up Avi with all of the gift pack accessories and started furiously snapping pictures—ensuring we completed the task before sundown. Then, as the sun set on the Friday afternoon, with Avi sporting a Yarmulke and sitting next to the Shabbat candles and wine and freshly baked Challah, we knew exactly what to do… Holly and I ordered Chinese food delivery and watched this week’s episode of The Office on our TiVo. It was really a wonderful night for three Jews in Noe Valley. And we’ll celebrate Shabbat next week.

Avi preparing for Shabbat

Avi preparing for Shabbat

Another Spa Visit

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Avi liked the Spa in Week 3 so much that he requested another visit in Week seven, when Uncle Dave and Dara were here to join in the fun. Since he had been so well behaved, we agreed and took him (and even threw in a rubber duckie!). And we took pictures, which we’ve added to the original Avi At The Spa photo album.

Another Visit to the Spa

Another Visit to the Spa

Vlada’s 30th

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

This past weekend we celebrated our friend Vlada’s 30th birthday with a pair of surprise events coordinated by Michal, her husband. Lucky for you, both events produced some fun pictures. First, we surprised Vlada just outside the Bi-Rite creamery, about a dozen of her friends from all over the country (including Seattle and New York). We grabbed some deliciousness at Tartine and strolled up to Dolores Park for some eatin’. Avi came, and posed for some pictures with some new friends, which we’ve added to the Avi and Friends Photo Album.

Buddy, Vlada, Jasmine, and Avi at Dolores Park

Buddy, Vlada, Jasmine, and Avi at Dolores Park

Then, later that night, Uncle Dave and Dara babysat our man Avi so that Holly and Joel could have our first night out (!) for a fun time at Fandorin, a Russian restaurant that served up a banquet of deliciousness, dancing, and, according to Michal “enough vodka to make you feel Russian.” We had a blast and posted some of our pictures on Flickr (slideshow). Happy Birthday, Vlada!