Idle Hands

Sometimes, developmental changes happen gradually -- so incremental that, if you see a kid every day, you might barely notice them. 

And sometimes, they blossom practically overnight. Such is the case today. 

We had been sweating the fact that Ezra seemed to show remarkably little interest in toys. Yeah, he'd take the odd swipe at a hanging plush elephant or maybe chomp on the snail-shaped rattle here and there. But not much that you could really characterize as "play." 

We got inklings that he was posied for a leap yesterday, when he began grabbing onto a piece of one of his hanging toys. He'd hold it for a minute, maybe thrash around a touch, then his attention would wander off. This was progress. 

Then today, all of the sudden, Ez threw himself headlong into the world of play. Out of nowhere, he's now fascinated with his toys. He grabs them and bats them and watches them swing around ... he brings them to his little drooly pie-hole in a very intentional way, and he entertains himself for long stretches. 

It was such a big jump for him -- I was just dumbfounded this morning. It served as a happy reminder that we should not sweat so much about the milestones. We knew that before, but it's easy to forget. Another lesson learned. 

Much love, 

Gabe, Ash and Ez

Fairy

Some early Season's Greetings from the Spitzer/Gross family: 

As himself: Ezra James Spitzer

Assistant to Mr. Spitzer: Gabriel Spitzer

Cinematography: Ashley Gross

Editing: Gabriel Spitzer

Key Grip: Ashley Gross

Gaffer: Gabriel Spitzer

Best Boy: You Know Who

Very happy holidays from Gabe, Ash and Ez!

Other People's Babies

Yeah, we down with OPB.

Ezra got to meet a few of his colleagues over the last couple of days. One was the ghost of Christmas past, the other,the ghost of Christmas future. Or Festivus, if you prefer.

On Friday we met our friend Alexandra's charming and angelic baby girl, Isabella. Isa was born last week at 5lbs, 11oz -- nearly a half-pound

heavier than Ezra's birth weight. And yet, she looked ever so itty-bitty next to present-day Ez. They didn't show all that much interest in one another. But it was a reminder of how much Ezra has expanded in his 3.5 months. As of the latest weigh-in, he was up to 12lbs, 5oz. And believe me, the kid feels dense. Holding, bouncing and lifting him is getting strenuous. My shoulder and Ashley's back are exhibits A and B.

Then a few days later, on Monday, our friend Mara and I (Gabe) went back to the Aquarium with our little ones. Mikalea is just about 8 months old now, and cuts an impressive figure. She ate a three-course meal, served in about 7 courses (bottle-apple sauce-cheerios-bottle-cheerios-apple sauce-bottle), can sort of "walk" with Mara holding her arms, and is extraordinarily dexterous with her hands. It was a delight seeing her latest developmental leaps, and we're looking forward to Ezra catching up.

Ez, meanwhile, seems to be going through kind of a chaotic period. He's certainly not as fussy as he once was, but his sleep and eating seem to be getting even less organized, if such a thing is possible. He had been conforming to a rough pattern of three naps a day, in increasing duration, culminating in a 1.5-2 hour nap after lunch. Monday, he barely napped at all until 4:00pm, and his sleep the night before was less than restful. His eating has also tended toward the erratic. He'll act super hungry -- hands, blankets, parents' clothing all go right into his

ever-drooling mouth -- then he'll reject actual food. Try again, another rejection. Then 10 minutes later he'll act like a crazed starving person, and eat with voracity. Weird kid.

At the same time, he continues to delight. He's rolled over a few more times, and he grins so big and bright it makes your teeth hurt. It's a terrible cliche to be so heartwarmed by a smiling baby, but my God. It's a whole new emotion.

He's also taken to grunting a lot, which is a bit less sublime. It sounds for the world like he's trying to squeeze out a load, but that doesn't seem to be his aim. Anyway, it's half-cute, half-disturbing -- like so much of parenthood.

As always,

Gabe, Ash and Ez

Shift Change

AG: Well, now it's Mama's turn to bring home the bacon. My first day back at work started at 5:00 a.m., when Ezra woke up wanting "num nums." I nursed him and tried to get a couple more minutes of shuteye.... to no avail. Then I passed off a squirming, very awake baby to a nearly catatonic daddy and rushed around getting all my breast pump gear together. By 6:30 a.m. I had a couple of spare minutes to nurse the little guy again before I had to rush out the door. I got a little tear in my eye saying goodbye to him, especially when he flashed me a big grin in the dark bedroom.

At work, people were incredibly sweet - everyone wanted to know how Ezra's doing. I felt a little fuzzy-headed - kind of like deja vu - a flashback to my pre-baby life. I propped up a couple of pictures on my desk and made it till about 9:15 a.m. before calling Gabe. I heard a screaming baby in the background, but he reassured me all was well. I was a little worried, but I know Gabe hasn't met a baby tantrum he couldn't handle. So I settled in, got a bit of work done and managed to pump 13 ounces of "liquid gold" to take home to our sweet guy.

Luckily I commute with a guy who rushes out of work to walk his dog. Before Ezra was born, I often wasn't ready to leave when he was. But today I was tapping my foot for half an hour. 4:15 p.m. was a happy reunion! Ezra was sound asleep in the Weego, looking even more angelic than I remembered him. Okay, that sounds nauseatingly cheesy, I know. But it's the truth.

Oh, and we had a wonderful weekend with my aunt Nicky, who left her own cute daughters at home in Nyack, NY, to come here and meet Ezra. I even managed to take her to Second City - Gabe graciously stayed home to babysit. Here are a couple of pics of us on the 96th floor of the John Hancock tower. Now we'll hear from Gabe:

GS: Well, the day has arrived at last. Time to man up, marshal all your grit and fortitude, and dive into women's work. So to speak.

I was a touch nervous going into today, as we'd done a short dry run Sunday night. Ash and Aunt Nicky went off to a show and I stuck around with the kiddo. I'd thought we were past the days of maddening, inconsolable, ear-splitting, psychosis-inducing, hourslong screamfests. I was wrong. I was very proud of my patience all night, until the last hour, at which point I literally stopped thinking straight and began to think like a wild-eyed caged animal. We did make it through the evening with no permanent damage. I have no idea what was wrong with the little dude, but it was a bit traumatic for both of us.

Anyway, after that evening, I was skittish about my new daddy duties. I'm pleased to report that it wound up going splendidly. Ez took his bottles eagerly. We slept a lot, read, sang songs, and listened to public radio. It was like slacker yuppie summer camp. There were, however, a few things we did not manage to do today, such as: leave the house, eat lunch, shower. I have much to learn.

Although we sort of did a whole lot of nothing, it went by pretty quickly and it felt like we kept busy. Part of that may have had to do with the approximately 700 diapers we changed today. My god, it was like a Playdoh Fun Factory down there.

So all in all, a pretty auspcious start to our new arrangement. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

And I'll throw in a quick recap of our last week or so: Nicky joined us from New York for three days, and we enjoyed a wonderful and relaxing weekend. Nicky is a mother of two and is extremely adept at this baby business. It was fun and instructive to watch her with Ezra -- he turned to butter in her hands. We all went up in the Hancock Tower yesterday morning before Nicky flew back, and Ezra enjoyed a high-altitude feeding.

Also, Ash brought the kid in to work a couple of weeks ago, and passed him around once again. The picture here is our co-worker Heidi, who seemed quite smitten. She even barged into a meeting to show him to our CEO and General Manager -- the one and only Torey Malatia. He was also charmed. He later told me that all babies cry when they see him -- but Ezra grinned. Good lad. Learning to kiss up already.

So tomorrow's another day and another opportunity for disaster, I suppose ... but for now, there is reason for optimism.

Very much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

Vocalizin'

As I (Gabe) write this, I am embarking on a new, if short-lived career: stay-at-home papa. I wrapped up my last day of work yesterday, which consisted mostly of clearing off my desk and discovering various unwashed dishes hidden around my cubicle. I'll be on leave until a few days after New Years. During that time, Ash will head back to work 3 days a week. That means we'll have the other 4 together as a family unit. Huzzah! We're really lucky to have these few months all together, and I'm so grateful to get some uninterrupted father-son bonding time.

Meanwhile, we've been taking in the unbelievable events of this week. As journalists, Ash and I are bound to keep our political views to ourselves. But suffice to say we remain awestruck and humbled by this transformed world our child will be growing up in. We hope it will be full of opportunities for him to grow and succeed.

Ezra is gradually becoming a verbal little lad. We've taken the liberty of producing this slideshow so you can share in his vocalizations:



So for now we intend to enjoy some domestic time. Aunt Nicky will join us this weekend to meet Ezra and take in some Chicago sights. Then before we know it, it will be time to head to Canton for the annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage. There is very, very much to be thankful for.

Much love,
Gabe, Ash and Ez

The Week That Was...

Happy 3 month birthday to Ezra! We've got a lot to report. (That's what happens when you slack off for almost two weeks. That's like two years in baby time.)

Last Saturday, Oct. 26th, will be seared forever in Mommy's consciousness. Ezra not only laughed for the first time, he also rolled over! First, the laugh - he let out a few forceful ha's when I (Mom) held him tight and bounced up and down with my knees. It's a trick I'd learned the previous day at a play group. Such a sweet sound! I immediately ran into the bedroom and woke Gabe up so he could listen. Aristotle apparently said a baby doesn't have a soul until he or she laughs for the first time. Well, we obviously believe Ezra was born with plenty of soul. But there is something amazingly magical about a baby's laugh.

Then, the rollover... Ezra was busy doing tummy time under his jungle gym when he started listing to the side, holding up his legs and straining his neck skyward. Next thing I knew, he was flat on his back, looking up pretty bewildered! That was a gigantic thrill, but he has not repeated it since. I don't think he even realizes what he did.

Other than that, we have been battling the cold virus chez Rancho Spitzero/Casa Grossa. Poor Gabe and Ezra have had runny noses and low energy. Thankfully, I don't have to use a suction bulb to clean out Gabe's nose... not so for Ezra, unfortunately. But hopefully they're both on the mend by now - just in time for election night coverage, which Gabe will be hosting for Chicago Public Radio into the wee hours Tuesday night.

We also visited our new neighbors - Denise Gelb and Josh Herman! We're so happy they've moved to our 'hood. We even put on a diaper changing seminar for Josh. He showed his appreciation by covering his nose and quickly exiting the room. Denise's tolerance for baby poo was a bit higher, and she gladly held a sleeping Ezra.

And as for Halloween - Ezra went as a bat. At least, he went as a bat for about 5 minutes in our dining room, long enough for a quick photo shoot. He wasn't up for trick or treating, and we decided we were too embarrassed to go beg for candy that we obviously would be eating instead of him. Well, maybe next year we can enlist Grammy Andi to whip up one of her signature Halloween costumes! By the way, here's a picture of Ez wearing one of the five sweaters she's knit for him. At least the kid won't be cold in the Chicago winter - He also has a gorgeous, cozy green and blue blankie Grandma Cheri crocheted for him. The kid is much loved.

Love,
Ash, Gabe and Ez