Dearest Family and Friends:
Happy Holidays! From our family to yours, we wish you the best holiday season yet! As most of you know, we try to sum up our year in one word. It gives us a chance to take a look back and salute the memories made, the life lessons learned and set the foundation for where we are headed in the coming years. Looking back on 2010, everything we experienced was based on a MILESTONE. Each milestone led us to an even greater milestone: In less than 5 years we started as individuals grew into a couple and this year became a family. We have loved each step along the way and look forward to sharing with you our amazing 2010 MILESTONES.
MILESTONE MBA: Josh graduated this year from Babson College with his MBA! This was a proud milestone for all of us. He finished in just over 3 years taking classes at night and on weekends. He enjoyed his time at Babson, but he is also glad he doesn’t have to give another practice speech to Christina and the dogs! We know Josh doesn’t like to make a big deal of these types of things, but hey, we’re proud!
MILESTONE PREGNANCY: Every day, every week, there was a new developmental milestone. It was either what was happening to you (that you have no control over) or what was happening to your baby (which you also have no control over). It was an amazing ride and Christina & Josh enjoyed reading what fruit or vegetable baby-to-be was that week. Who knew your baby would be compared to a fruit or vegetable every week? When they got to a mini watermelon, which was a little scary! Christina took care of herself and kept up with her yoga, walking the dogs and eating healthy until the last day. All which made for an amazing pregnancy. She was even one of the lucky ones where she slept through the night most nights, could still eat her usual spicy foods and only had swollen ankles towards the end. Thank goodness it was a great pregnancy because baby-to-be was ELEVEN days late. So yes, this was a milestone that was much anticipated.
MILESTONE CLIVE: The moment we waited and waited for…Clive Benjamin Newman’s arrival! He was apparently too cozy in mommy’s belly and decided to take a few extra days before his debut. It was a surreal experience and they were both so glad that Clive decided to join the world on May 1st. You always dream of what it will be like to become a parent, but it’s not until you hold them in your arms for the first time that you discover what an amazing honor it really is to have the job of a parent. We sat on the couch and talked about each little milestone Clive has already achieved in such a short time: His first smile, first bath, first giggle, recognizing his name, going to daycare, first foods, first shots, sitting up, sprouting 2 teeth, reaching for his favorite toy, laughing at Putter and Derby and our favorite milestone, sleeping through the night! We are loving parenthood (the good days and even the really challenging days) and look forward to seeing Clive grow over the next year.
MILESTONE SIBLINGS: Oh yes, Putter and Derby now have a new sibling and they aren’t so sure about this idea...sometimes you think they are wondering when he’s going back to where he came from. Well, as many of you know, they ARE the babies of the Newman household. They quickly had to resume the more usual life of family dogs and this new family order took a little adjusting. Putter, who just turned 12, figured it out pretty quickly and for the most part kind of does his own thing. He’s just happy when you can give him a good scratch on the belly and give him some extra cuddles and one-on-one time. Derby is a little jealous of the attention and finds enjoyment either taking something that doesn’t belong to her (like our cell phones, Clive’s toys or clothes) and runs out in the yard with it. She figures that THEN you’ll have to run out and pay attention to her. Silly Derby!
MILESTONE FAMILY: The Newman Family! Sounds good doesn’t it?!? Josh and Christina have always wanted to have a family together and so far, it’s been great. Parenthood always has those crazy hectic days trying to find ways to get errands done, make dinner, laundry, find time for yourself, get enough rest….you see where we’re going….BUT when those big brown eyes look up at you and give you that giggle (we of course are the funniest people he knows!), it’s all worth it. And of course, you don’t realize how quickly one little person can make you outgrow your space. So the Newman Family is ready for the next milestone and trying to find a bigger house. Hopefully, next year you will hear all about it!
We hope you enjoyed our year full of milestones! We hope to hear about yours. We wish you an amazing 2011 and look forward to hearing and seeing you all!
With much love,
The Newman Family
Josh, Christina, Clive,
Putter & Derby
