Grampa and the Slump-Buster

Our baby is enormous. It felt like he'd grown ten pounds in 2 days.

Then we weighed him and he's seemingly 11.6 pounds total, but the point is his relative massive girth, as compared to say, last week.


He gets this way because he eats CONSTANTLY. Sustenance is the best thing ever, and his endorphins kick in hardcore for a post-feeding pass-out. My own food issues somehow clarify just a wee bit more.
(Rubin in his handsome Green Apples sleep sack)






Tonya calls this "Rubin's World."


He spends some time mildly sneering at whatever discomfort is the current issue.


There are intermittent smiles (not gas we think), and myriad other moods/faces. But the sneering and sideways eye kill me. It's amazing how natural and ingrown our facial expressions are.





A work trip to New York meant an opportunity to see family too, so a wife and a 4-week old get on a plane. You know that jamoke whose infant won't stop screaming on the plane? I didn't want that to be me. So we strove to feed him on takeoff and landing to relieve the air pressure, and figured we'd ad lib the rest.

I hate when people brag about their kids, I really do...find it annoying, arrogant and unseemly.
That said, I have the most perfect baby in the history of babies. This is different than you and how you feel about your children. You see, my opinion is objective here; I feel I can be emotionally detached, and from a distance simply report on Rubin's brilliance and superiority.

He flew like a champ, quiet, calm, and mostly sleeping. Upon a routine landing, inherently abrupt and violent, there was an intensified version of the side-eye above for about 5 seconds. And then resignation and resumed calm. For us, all the baby travel accoutrements procured in recent weeks or months performed pretty well. His existence getting us through security and first to board was excellent; way to make a contribution to the group, kid.

Rubin's first sporting event, out of the womb anyway, was Blackhawks-Rangers at Madison Square Garden. That'll be a fun game to rattle off conversationally later in life...not even sure what my first was.

He's digging it. At least the air and sounds of it.

I request this feeling for the next 30 years please.

It was joy in him, but also pride that Tonya and I decided to do it, and made it work. Normal everyday functioning is challenging enough as it is. The audacity of the whole trip made my chest puff out.



The Blackhawks had lost 9 games in a row going in, while the Rangers were the best team in hockey, coming off a 3-0 road shutout of the defending champion Bruins. But Rubin proved to be the slumpbuster, as the Hawks scored 4 goals in the first ten minutes. There was much talk of finding a way for us to go on the rest of the road trip.



East coast Spiegels, represent. Aunt Mary, and cousin Rogan check Rubin out.
Cousins Sam and Saran smile to camera well, don't they?

Rogan fought with Mary for holding time.

Grandma Joan kissed some noggin.

Sometimes you wait your whole life for a picture.

Grampa Herb meets his 7th grandchild.

Here's to decades more of these two checking each other out.

Onward.