Likes: See-saw rides at the playground (still), using the (closed) toilet cover as a drum, learning about how gravity works
Dislikes: teething, having his teeth brushed, wearing a bib until finished eating

What a year it has been! As Johan graduates out of infanthood and into toddlerhood, we are reflecting not only on the changes of the past month, but also of the past year. And we are excited for what the future will bring!

The biggest change in Johan’s life this past month (even bigger than the fact that as of today, he’s allowed to eat honey) was that he moved into his own room. It did take him a couple of days to adjust and start enjoying the new space. Now, he’ll sometimes crawl into the new room ahead of mommy or daddy, giggling as he goes, which we are interpreting as a sign that he is enjoying having his own space. He can spread books and toys all over the floor as much as we wants! (You know, as though he didn’t already do that in the living room, kitchen, etc…) His parents are also excited to have their room to themselves again so that they can…fold laundry and put it away slightly more promptly.

Speaking of spreading toys all around the house, one of his current favorite activities is dropping toys out of his pack and play or crib and then wondering where they went (this also extends to food on his high chair tray, which makes a bigger mess than plastic rings do). Another new favorite is putting toys on the kitchen counter, which is barely within reach of the pack and play, and then taking them down again. A third favorite “game” is taking any two toys and banging them together to see what noise they make.

Johan is gaining confidence in his standing and cruising abilities as well. Last week, he climbed up four stairs (with very close spotting by mommy,) but then realized he wasn’t confident enough to get down and therefore has yet to replicate the feat. Yesterday, he climbed up one stair and then succesfully got himself back down again too! He has also been participating in an outdoor music class in Arlington with his cousin Ella. His favorite music class activities are shaking his shakers and playing peek-a-boo with the scarves, but he also likes to try to eat sticks and acorns, steal Ella’s instruments, poke her face, and crawl around.

Just like his daddy did in 1987, Johan is celebrating his first birthday on Shavuot. As a result of this calendar confluence and in order to accommodate the schedules of Johan’s grandparents and other relatives, the birthday celebration is being extended in to June! This will likely include some additional posts with our perspectives on our first year of parenting that we hope to make in the coming days, after the holiday.

Johan’s bris was not what we had imagined in most respects.  Some things were as we expected, such as having a large gathering, adapting the ceremony script from that of friends and family, and giving our child a name.  The fact we would be doing it via Zoom with just us and the mohel in our home was not something we had ever imagined prior to the onset of the pandemic.

Because it was about two months in to the pandemic at that time, doing Jewish ritual online was a pretty new experience for everyone.   Fortunately, we weren’t the absolute first people to try it, and we had seen some articles online with tips on how to make things run smoothly.  Another advantage of being among the first to do ritual via Zoom is that Johan got some media attention quite early on in his life.

Johan’s first media appearance was fairly conventional for an eight day old.  A writer for the Atlanta Jewish Times was looking for stories of how life cycle events were impacted by the onset of the pandemic, and Allison’s mother responded to the writer’s call.  Emails were exchanged and Allison gave a phone interview as well.  Our story was written up, along with several others, in mid-June for an edition of the AJT that appeared both in print and online.  

The less conventional media attention for Johan’s bris came via The Tony Kornheiser Show.  Oren has been a regular listener to the program for over 10 years when it was broadcast on various radio stations in the DC area (it is now exclusively a podcast).  Each show ends with Tony reading emails submitted by listeners, and for many years, people have sent in wedding invitations, birth announcements, and the like to be read in this segment.

About a week after Johan’s bris, Tony and his son Michael (who is a regular on the program) were discussing being invited to a Zoom Bar Mitzvah and were wondering how such an event might work.  Oren decided this discussion created an opportunity to write the type of “smart and funny” email that usually gets read on the show, and on June 10th, the email was read.  (You can hear a recording of how it was read on the podcast with some ad-libbing by Tony, or read the original email text below.)

In reference to Michael’s wondering about how a Zoom Bar Mitzvah might work, we did a Zoom bris for my son last week.  Think about that one for a moment…

 

OK, the truth is we let the mohel into our home and he, my wife, and I all wore masks, but the rest of our guests all had to join via Zoom.  Definitely not how we were expecting to welcome our little one to the covenant to say the least.

 

I look forward to introducing Johan (7 lbs 9.5 oz and a sneaky long 21 inches at birth) to the pod, though I must admit, his mother AKA the person to whom I am related by marriage would probably prefer otherwise.  

 

Oren Hirsch

Washington, DC

At this point, one might think that would be the end of the discussion of Johan’s bris on this particular podcast, but that turned out not to be the case.  On July 1st, this email was read during the Mailbag segment:

When Oren played the clip for Allison, the shared reaction was that although the circumstances were far from ideal, we were thrilled that the story of Johan’s bris made a priest in Texas laugh and tell his congregation about it!   Presumably, we also gave joy to countless people far beyond those who actually logged in to the Zoom event as a result of the story being read on this popular podcast.  Again, it is not what we expected by any means, but looking back on it one year later, we feel pretty good about what we managed to do despite the circumstances.  

Likes: The see-saw at the playground, eating non-acidic food, spending time with visiting family from out of town
Dislikes: Acidic food, being told not to eat grass and dirt at the park
Unsure: The swings at the playground

Special correspondent Beary is here with the 11 month report! I was told I needed to submit my story to the editorial board before Shabbat, so even though I’m supposed to be packing for our big move on Sunday, I’m taking a break to write.

This has been a very busy month! First, Johan’s great-grandmother Ria came to visit both him and Cousin Ella for a few days from New York. Seeing four generations of Grusses standing next to each other was exciting. Ria was impressed with how much Johan had grown and how he can now babble and crawl (we went to visit her in November when Johan was 5 months old, so a lot has changed since then). I hope we get to see her again soon.

Then during Passover, Johan’s Savta Fran and Aunt Lisa came to visit. They were also impressed with how much Johan has grown since they last saw him. I think Johan recognizes his Savta’s voice when he hears it on the phone or Facetime, which I find impressive. Johan often makes “na-na-na” sounds, so his parents tried getting him to say Ma NishtaNA (with some help), but that project will need to be reattempted next year, when presumably he has a larger vocabulary. I’m also not sure when we’ll next see them in person, but I think it could be relatively soon.

I can also report that Johan continues crawling, has started cruising, and is making more sounds, but we’re still waiting on his first words. He’s gone to the playground near our house a few times and enjoys crawling around the park. He also prefers the see-saw over the swing, he often has a skeptical look while riding on the latter. However, this isn’t too surprising, he’s always preferred jumping and bouncing over swinging. Johan also likes to try eating the grass and dirt, even though he isn’t supposed to eat those things.

However, there are many things that Johan is allowed to eat. In fact, his Mommy says that it often feels like she feeds him a meal, puts him down for a nap, and then it is time to prepare his next meal again! Johan especially likes Cheerios, challah, carrots, but he’ll eat just about anything that we put in front of him that is not overly acidic (homemade hummus didn’t go over so well, too much lemon juice).

I started off by saying Johan and I are moving on Sunday. Last week, Daddy moved his desk to the sunroom in the basement, and this week, Johan’s crib is moving to what was the study. All the moving plans are quite complicated. Mommy’s desk and Daddy’s bike also have to move, and everything is happening in phases. Johan and I have never had our own room before. Oren and Allison’s animals told me that it is a lot of fun to have our own room, and that they and Johan’s parents will still visit or that we can visit them in the master bedroom. However, I’ve promised not to sleep in Johan’s crib until it is safe to do so, even if Johan is fussy as he gets used to the new space. Anyway, I need to finish packing, so bye-bye until next time!

Likes: Eating solids, playing with Daddy’s office chair, pulling up at the front window, watching Mommy and Daddy brush their teeth
Dislikes: Wearing a bib for eating, being strapped in to the high chair for eating, having his own teeth brushed

Believe it or not, Johan’s age is now and for the next seven and a half years measured in double digit months! He is venturing further into solid foods, and greatly enjoyed the tofu that mommy gave him for lunch a few days ago. He might even be starting to realize that singing prayers at the Shabbat table means he’s getting challah! Yum!

He’s continuing to explore his environment, and we are definitely noticing more inklings of object permanence. He enjoys crawling up to the front window in our living room and banging on it, so if any local friends want to stop by our front porch and have a 10 month old bang on the window at you, Johan would be very excited. Johan has also gotten much better at letting himself down to the ground gently after pulling himself up to stand, and has developed a “running crawl” when he wants to get somewhere (often to play with the levers under Daddy’s office chair while Daddy is working) quickly.

Johan is someone who loves to bounce and he laughs frequently when being carried up or down stairs. He enjoys the new vantage point of his forward-facing stroller and has had fun crawling around in the park near our house on some recent nice days. His parents weren’t sure that the grass and dirt were the best place to try out his downward-dog yoga pose, but we suppose that once you’re getting rice and avocado in your hair sometimes, the dirt mixes in nicely.

At the encouragement of Aunt Lisa, Johan dressed up as a hot dog for Purim, with his parents accompanying him as ketchup and mustard. He is looking forward to visits from some vaccinated relatives in the coming weeks, and hopes his parents join the ever increasing ranks of vaccinated people soon.

Likes: When mommy jumps with him, being tickled on his tummy, being worn facing outward
Dislikes: This week’s stomach bug! Yuck!
Undecided:  Snow

After nine months of getting ready and nine months out in the world, Johan is engaging with what’s around him in lots of new ways. He has honed his crawling skills and crawled the length of our narrow house to get to a parent or his other toys. This skill also enables him to expand on one of his favorite activities: feeling interesting surfaces! Now, in addition to the wall next to his crib, he can feel the mesh retractable baby gate by the storage area or the tile floor of the bathroom. It’s very exciting! He’s sitting up with confidence and can sometimes pull up to standing, which means he can retrieve some light toys from his toy bin on his own. In addition to the JCC music class, he also enjoys a free online music class from a Jewish school in New York.

This was also a month of good transition in our house: Daddy started a new job! We went for a hike nearby to have some quality family time before that, and Daddy wore Johan facing outward for the start of the hike. Johan enjoyed the new perspective so much, he giggled for what seemed like 5 minutes straight at the beginning of the hike. Forward facing hiking was more exciting than our other exciting foray in to nature this month; we took Johan to a park two blocks from our home to play in the snow after the season’s first snowfall, and he didn’t seem to enjoy that nearly as much as our hike. 

Mommy also has a new full time job of sorts since she is now the “primary parent” on duty most of the time during the week. Everyone is adjusting and getting used to the new routines. Now that Johan can crawl further distances, he can also knock on the door where Daddy’s working. But he’s going to be careful not to interrupt at inopportune times, and can’t wait to show off his singing cuddle bus to Daddy’s new coworkers!

Likes: Jolly Jumper, being able to crawl, playing with solid food on his high chair tray
Dislikes: Antibiotic medicine, ear infections, actually eating all the solid food on his high chair tray

Johan is eight months old, and it has been a month of several exciting milestones, plus one milestone we all would would have preferred to skip: his first ear infection. But he took his antibiotics like a champ and, as predicted, was back to his normal self not long after that.  

As always, there are photos of his adventures being posted here.

Likes: Whispers, jumping, getting dressed and undressed, watching my parents eat
Dislikes: Being left to go sleep, being told it is naptime, being told not to fight off sleep

Today, I am 5 months old! This month has had some good adventures! I celebrated my first high holidays and got to hear my daddy lead a Yom Kippur Neliah service from our living room. I’ve been a star traveler on our family vacation, and I’ve now been to more states than months that I’ve been alive: Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan (parent/editor’s note:  he’d have one more if DC were a state…). I don’t expect to get to all 50 states by the time I am 50 months old (which is also the day my cousin Ella turns 4). My parents told me that Beary couldn’t come with us on our trip because they are likely to spend many future years making sure that my loveys come with us on trips and so he should save up for those times by staying home this time. I hope he is having as good a time with all the other animals on his “vacation” as I am having on mine!

My mommy thinks that I’m going to be a foodie and a fashionista, because I think that getting dressed and watching grown ups eat food are hilarious! I also laugh when mommy whispers, so maybe she should try shouting if she wants to calm me down sometimes.

My parents think that I rolled from back to front once, but as is my custom, I did so when neither one of them was looking, so they haven’t seen me do it. I still enjoy eating my toes and surprising my parents when they discover that my socks are wet from doing that.

I hear that tomorrow we might go see some birds. Maybe mommy and daddy can decide then which birds I sound like when I practice using my voice. Or maybe I can sing along with the birds! I guess you’ll have to wait until I turn 6 months to hear more about that though.

Length: 25 inches
Weight: 12 pounds, 10 ounces
Likes: Eating my fingers, eating my toes, eating my arms, car keys, traveling in the car, laughing at crying adults
Dislikes: Being left to go to sleep upstairs while my parents have dinner, clean the kitchen, and get our home ready for me to play in the next day

My parents have been so busy over the past month, Daddy still hasn’t downloaded the photos from my visit to cousin Ella from last month from his camera.  Then today, they told me *I* had to do the writeup for month four. Can you believe it?

(In case you’re wondering how I’m able to do this at my age, Beary, who you see with me in all these photos, seems to be the only being that can communicate effectively with both me and my parents, so I’m dictating to him and he’s translating in to English.)

Just after my 3 month birthday, I rolled over from front to back for the first time. It was exciting, but in typical infant fashion, I waited for Daddy to turn away before doing it, so he missed it the first time. I hear that I’m supposed to figure out how to roll from back to front next. This house better be babyproofed before I become mobile because I’m going to start crawling about at some point, don’t say Mommy and Daddy weren’t warned!

Shortly after that, my parents started to say that I sound like a pterodactyl, but I’m not sure this is a fair accusation.  After all, I don’t know what that is, because Daddy never includes it when he sings me Old McDonald’s Farm and neither parent showed one to me when we were at the zoo.  How can they say that I sound like something I’ve never seen or heard in my life?  What nerve…

At the end of August, we went to the beach in Delaware with my paternal grandparents. Mommy and Daddy praised me for being such a great passenger in the car, though it was a bit disorienting to wake up in the middle of a huge downpour on the way home. Those were some loud raindrops, but they weren’t as big as some of the waves we saw on the beach itself. The sand felt funny to me when I was able to put my feet on it, and I’m not used to the way the water goes in and out on the beach, even when being tightly held by a parent, but I think I liked it somewhat by our last day. My grandparents also put me to sleep one night all on their own while Mommy and Daddy went to celebrate their anniversary. I hope they do that again sometime, I hear they have another anniversary in about a year.

I also helped my Aunt Lisa pack up her apartment before she moved to Brookline. I was given two very important jobs. The first was supervisor, and I think I did that very well. I was always watching to see what the adults were doing, except when I took breaks to nap.  The second job was to cheer Lisa and Mommy up when they were sad, so I laughed at them, but Beary says that may have not been the best approach to the task. He also said that while everyone appreciated my age appropriate efforts, it is a job I’ll learn to do better over time. I also had my first night at home alone with only one of my parents when Daddy drove Lisa to Boston, which went well, especially since my Savta is still here and helped Mommy take care of me. I even woke up Mommy so she could greet Daddy when he came home at 1:30 AM, wasn’t that nice of me? I’ll miss having Lisa close by, but I expect she will try to Facetime me and I will avoid looking at the camera or smiling on demand because that’s just how I roll these days.

Finally, I’ve discovered I have a whole range of amusements whenever I get bored. I just open my mouth and try to force in as many body parts as I can at once. One finger, three fingers, a fist, my entire foot, my arm, etc. I literally put my foot in my mouth, and I don’t understand why my parents talk about it with a negative connotation. Adults are so strange sometimes. In the past few days, for example, they say I’m going through sleep regression because they want to leave me alone in the bassinet at night. Why would they want to do things like clean the kitchen or order groceries online at night when I’m not around to distract them? Wouldn’t they rather hold me while I fall asleep on their tummies and then admire my cute face while I sleep? I really don’t see the problem here…

Anyway, I need to sign off now. There are lots of holidays to prepare for, and since I did such a good job on the trip to Delaware, my parents are now talking about going on a trip that’s shorter than the one they had originally planned to take me on this fall to Israel, but much longer than the one to Delaware. I wonder how many states I’ll have visited by the time I’m 5 months old. Oh, and Daddy needs his computer back.  Maybe he will finally upload those photos now…