Thursday, July 20: Today Gabe and Mom went to their first yoga class (first together and first ever for both of them). It was great! We met lots of other nice moms and babies, and Gabe really seemed to embrace the calm atmosphere. Mom was just glad to get a bit of a workout in. Oh, and the sling from Great Aunt Sheila was the perfect transportation method! We fit right in.
Tuesday, July 11: Gabe took his first trip on the subway today to go visit our friends Jess and Jeremy's new apartment in Park Slope. It was a great success. Look at how comfortable Gabe looks on the F Train. That's probably because it was such a nice escape from the NYC heatwave going on outside the train's doors.
Sunday, July 9: Gabe had his first pancakes today at an old Shanoff favorite - The Pancake House. Yum.
Saturday, July 8: Gabe spends a little time with the birthday couple. Uncle Mark decided he'd be the one to wear the birthday hat. We think Aunt-to-be Alexis was OK with that decision.
Saturday, July 8: This morning we went and hung out with our friends Nathan, Jill and Henry, and got to meet their new addition: Truman! Gabe loved meeting them all and can't wait until he's big enough to really play with Henry and Tru. Oh, and for all those readers who knew Dan and Nathan back in the day... did you ever think you'd see this? They look pretty good, no?
Thursday, July 6: Gabe decided to head to the Washington, D.C. area this weekend to visit his Grammy and Grandpa and to help his Uncle Mark and Aunt-to-be Alexis celebrate some big birthdays. Aunt Emily flew in from Chi-town, and Gabe brought us and GG along for the ride from Brooklyn. Despite breaking our "longest-trip-ever" record by about 3 hours, we had a fantastic weekend. We loved getting to see Grammy's new digs, and Dad was thrilled to bring Gabe to his childhood home.
Tuesday, July 4: ... to the U.S.A. Gabe decided it was ok to share his 7-week birthday with the U.S. of A and showed his patriotism by welcoming some friends over to watch the fireworks. Of course, Gabe slept just until the fireworks started and then he couldn't wait to catch the awesome view from our living room window.
Saturday, July 1: As if a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and lunch in Madison Square Park wasn't enough, Margery, Dan and Gabe walked all the way downtown to one of our favorite summer spots: The outdoor basketball courts at West 4th St. and 6th Avenue, where Dan insisted that Gabe make a pilgrimage in the hopes, of course, that he will one day rule there.
Saturday, July 1: One of the best benefits of not going away during a long summer weekend in NYC is that the place clears out. Normally, the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park has a line that regularly goes anywhere from an hour to two hours. But when you show up at 11:30 on a Saturday morning of July 4 weekend, you can get your food without the hassle. It also helps when you have nice friends like the Connellys to get there early and place the order for you! So Dan, Margery and Gabe enjoyed a lovely lunch of hamburgers and milkshakes on the park lawn with TJ, Kristin and Brendan.
Saturday, July 1: After regaining our strength after the big wedding weekend, we took advantage of a break in the heat wave to make Gabe's first trek across the Brooklyn Bridge. Thank goodness we had the Bug, which made it a smooth ride across the Bridge's mile of wooden planks.
Sunday, June 25: Well, it's wedding day, and Gabe's being left behind. Doesn't he look happy about it? Luckily, he got to spend the evening with Moorea, a local teen who babysits for the hotel during weddings and other events. She was very nice and took great care of Gabe. As you can imagine, he had lots of visitors checking in on him throughout the night. (Including his Dad, who set the event-high record of 6. But he's not crazy or anything.)
If you want to see more photos from the entire wedding weekend, check out Gabe's Flickr page. And don't forget to check out Gabe's entire Flickr photoset!
Saturday, June 24: The Shanoffs joined the combined clans as the Millers and Hartsuykers converged on Buttermilk Pancakes Falls State Park for Seth and Linnea's rehearsal dinner, featuring delicious food, plenty of drinks and great company. Gabe was too young to participate in the ultimate-frisbee game, but he made the rounds, meeting and greeting. Friend-of-Gabe (F.O.G.) Marvin had some words of advice for Margery and Gabe. Being up in the mountains of Central New York, Gabe eventually retreated under his hair net for protection against the critters.
Friday, June 23: Today, Gabe, Dan and Margery drove up to Ithaca for Uncle Seth and soon-to-be Aunt Linnea's wedding weekend. Gabe knew he was going to meet all his relatives, so he slept the whole way up to preserve his strength for what undoubtedly would be an onslaught of love and attention. Great-Aunt Jaquie can't possibly have ever enjoyed a soupcon of pleasure more than these moments with Gabe from the 2006 vintage. And cousin Aaron sees many babes in Miami but very few as cute as Gabe.
Thursday, June 22: Gabe gets dressed up before heading out for yet another trip to the bars.
Sunday, June 18: That stands for Gabe-ing Under the Influence. But Suzki has a good grip on Gabe (and Margery on those desserts, which might make losing the "baby weight" more difficult).
Editor's Note: Margery, not Dan, made that parenthetical observation. For the record, Dan thinks Margery is as beautiful as ever.
Sunday, June 18: Gabe was excited to make his first trip across state lines in honor of his cousin Paul's graduation from high school. He still spent lots of time with Dad, who had a great Father's Day!
Sunday, June 18: For Father's Day, Gabe put on his Dad's favorite shoes, which were a gift from Aunt Emily: His black suede Air Jordans. They fit like a glove and really help with his game.
Saturday, June 17: Gabe went for his first dinner out with Mom, Dad, Suzki (who's back in town!) and cousin Jill. Note the "going out" socks he added to his outfit.
Saturday, June 17: Gabe got behind the
FRIDAY, JUNE 16: One month, that is. We celebrated in what we hope will become a new Shanoff Family Tradition: bathtime and then a walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and a Carvel ice cream cake. YUM! The bath wasn't really part of the new tradition, but Gabe wanted to clean up for the celebration.
Gabe mostly slept through the festivities, and we're pretty sure Margery and Dan enjoyed the cake more than he did. Maybe next month he'll show a little more enthusiasm for his big day.
THURSDAY, JUNE 15: Today Gabe joined his friends Sadie Gesser and Sarah Calone to hear some live Jazz (ok, it was mosty Blues and Gospel) in a park near our apartment. Gabe really enjoyed the music. Perhaps he has rhythm? Maybe he can carry a tune? Doubtful given his genetics, but anything is possible, right?
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14: We're pretty sure Gabe is thinking, "how did I get these two nuts as parents?" He's cute even when skeptical!
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14: Gabe makes his major media debut! Some of you might remember that back in April 2006, the New York Observer ran a short column about the engagement of Margery and Dan.
This is a nice bookend.
"Baby boozer," eh? Well, if the label fits... It's probably a good thing the item was written last week. A proper update would include Gabe's trips to local watering holes Floyd (Monday) and Trout (Tuesday). It's not that we have a problem, by the way; it's just that going to bars is a lot more fun than going to parks or bookstores (at least for now).
TUESDAY, JUNE 13: On a gorgeous afternoon, we decided we'd celebrate Gabe's four-week birthday with a walk into Cobble Hill, with Gabe in the new ultra-light Bjorn carrier. On the way home, we stopped by an outdoor cafe (oh, who are we kidding?) bar we've been meaning to try, Trout. Great outdoor space, but nicely shaded for a baby's comfort. Is it wrong that merely four weeks into Gabeness, we have lost count of the number of bars we have visited with him? (Yes, that's foreshadowing...)
MONDAY, JUNE 12: In an attempt to change the sorry first-half fortunes of the US soccer team in its World Cup opener against the Czech Republic, Dan and Margery strolled Gabe over to World Cup fan-hotbed Floyd to watch the second half. We have no pictures, because the place was so glum off the beating the Yanks took. Gabe slept, a fitting way to watch a US team that snoozed through its match.
Sunday, June 11 -- Gabe, Margery and (Aunt-to-Be) Linnea drove out to Great Neck to celebrate the baby shower of Margery's cousin, Bluma. (Dan stayed in Brooklyn. Bluma's husband Jeff stayed in Boston, presumably still processing the resemblance between "Gabe Kalman" and "Gabe Kapler" of his beloved Boston Red Sox.) What a fun day! And we can't wait to meet Baby Sussman! Here's a picture of the party-goers (from L to R): Bluma, Margery, Linnea and Rivka. Gabe sits in the middle, content to be surrounded by so many fantastic women!
Saturday, June 10 -- Happy 1st Birthday, Brendan! Gabe went to his first birthday party: For Brendan, son of Kristin and TJ Connelly, great friends of Margery and Dan. It was held at a really fun bar/restaurant on the Upper East Side. (Official Gabe Bar Crawl count: 5.) Gabe slept most of the time, but when he woke up briefly, he enjoyed seeing everyone and experienced his first grungy change-on-the-fly on the bar's music stage. That's Gabe with Margery, along with Kristin and Brendan. Kristin's mom, Kathy, is in the middle. (How could she NOT look happy between two such cute boys -- and happy moms!)
Thursday, June 8 -- If it's Thursday, it must mean that Gabe, Dan and Margery make their way over to local pub Floyd for the weekly gathering of parents and babies to unwind over cocktails. We used it as an excuse to break out our new Baby Bjorn infant carrier. We replaced our old hand-me-down with a new edition that is constructed out of breathable mesh. It's a lot more comfortable for Gabe, and Dan doesn't finish wearing it looking like he's just stepped out of the shower. Here's a close-up.
Thursday, June 8 -- Gabe made his first trip back into
It's World Cup Mania and Gabe is right in the middle of it! Or should we say: Swaddled in the middle of it. Is it wrong for parents to swaddle their newborn kid in the jersey of the team they think will win the World Cup? Hardly! The motto of Brazilian soccer is joga bonito (which means "play beautiful"). We have an alternative slogan around our house for this month of World Cup action: "Jogabe Bonito!"
TUESDAY (June 6) - For the third time in three weeks, Margery and Dan take Gabe out for drinks, this time to Jack the Horse Tavern, a new restaurant in Brooklyn Heights. Actually, it opened for its first night of business that night, and Dan, Margery and Gabe were its first customers. Were they shocked to see us carry in an infant? Well, that's Brooklyn.
SUNDAY (JUNE 4): On a gray weekend day in NYC, what could be more appropriate than putting on the hoodie and hanging around the house. But Gabe wouldn't be content with just sitting around all day, waiting for the "Sopranos" season finale: He took Margery and Dan out on a walk down
FRIDAY, JUNE 2 -- Not another day could go by without Gabe visiting the Shanoff's version of Tara – Lil/Gram/GG's house in Midwood,
(We also stopped by the new Fairway in Red Hook. Man, that place is phenomenal. Not so nice that we'd leave
THURSDAY (JUNE 1) -- Gabe is less than three weeks old, and this is his second trip to a bar in the last week. But don't go calling Department of Child Services yet!
Thursday afternoon was the weekly gathering of the Ladies Who Lunch Drink at our favorite
The bar opens up to a cavalcade of strollers parked inside, with moms carrying a baby in one hand and a martini in the other. We met lots of nice moms (hey, any mom willing to put a few drinks back at 5 p.m. on a Thursday is good with us), and even one other dad.
Given the proximity, the personalities and the pints, this is sure to become a regular event for Gabe.
THURSDAY, JUNE 1 -- Today, we spent the afternoon watching the preliminary rounds of the National Spelling Bee. As you can see, Gabe was quite enthused about the event. If "Gabelicious" was a word they had to spell, perhaps the exchange would go like this:
Judge: "Gabelicious."
Speller: "Gabelicious?"
Judge: "Gabelicious."
Speller: "Definition, please?"
Judge: "The state of being represented by Gabe Shanoff."
Speller: "Use it in a sentence, please?"
Judge: "Look at this picture. He is so GABELICIOUS."
Speller: "Um, is it formed from the root word 'Gabe?'"
Judge: "Yes."
Speller: "Gabelicious?"
Judge: "Gabelicious."
Speller: "Gabelicious. G-A-B-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Gabelicious."
Judge: "Correct!"
(Applause noises from audience. Gabe still asleep, even as we sit here acting out this parody for his benefit. We decide that we will encourage Gabe be whatever he wants to be, but -- really -- if he wants to be an ESPN-worthy competitive speller, we will threaten to have Dan home school him, which should be more than enough to scare him into merely being a skilled speller, rather than some would-be champion. Not that he couldn't be, if he put his mind to it.)
