Happy, Happy Holidays!

Dearest Friends & Family!

Happy Holidays Everyone!  We hope this message finds you each happy, healthy and balanced.  As everyone knows by now, we try to sum up our year in a word.  Each year, we find it more challenging.  We guess it has to do with each year…we have added to our family and our dynamics COMPLETELY change.  To find ONE word that fits each of us (including Derby) is challenging.  So, let’s K.I.S.S.!  We know it’s not exactly ONE word, but an acronym counts, right?  Keep.  It.  Super.  Simple.  Some say “Sally,” some “Sexy,” the smart alec’s out there would say “Simple, Stupid!”  Either way, it’s about stream-lining things, not over-complicating, doing what you can do and being satisfied with enough.  Clive has starting singing the song, “You get what you get and you don’t get upset!”  I think we can all learn from this simple preschool tune.  While KISS is DEFINITELY been the most challenging for Christina (she can’t help but have TOO much to do, it will most likely become a 2014 resolution as we can never KISS enough!  So here is our year’s worth of “KISS”es!

We took TWO family vacations this year.  One to visit Christina’s family in CA and the other to visit Josh’s family in Tennessee.  Traveling with two toddlers is challenging, so the only way to manage IS to KISS!  Despite the loads of gear we needed just to get from point A to point B, we really did keep it simple.  We have found that no matter what toys, books and gear you bring, they just want to play with whatever is at your final destination.  So, no need to weigh yourself down with stuff they won’t even use.  In Flight entertainment however is a MUST!  The kids traveled pretty well (and even slept a little) and for that, we are grateful!  We truly enjoyed spending time with our families.  In CA, it was amazing for all of the first cousins to meet and start to get to know each other.  COUSINS are the best!  In TN, it was fun to watch Clive be in his element. We couldn’t help ourselves fast forwarding and seeing Clive as a country music star.  After all, how many kids would choose their one vacation gift to be an accordion!?!?!  Natalie on the other hand, she sweetly chose a pony!

               

  

  

This is the one year mark for Christina’s new job at Crabtree & Evelyn.  Boy has it been a ride.  She has really enjoyed the people she works with and most importantly, enjoys a 5 mile commute!  In the spirit of KISS, being able to drop off/pick up two kids at two different daycares and then get to work all within 30 minutes is pretty awesome!  Since the office is fairly learn, Christina has to really challenge herself to KISS….and NO, no way, and never, KISS A**!  That isn’t her style!   She still thinks it funny that everyone talks about Soap, Hand Creams and Candles as “super cute” or “fun.”  Who knew that made it a marketing qualifier!  But regardless, she is enjoying the adventures in the world of beauty and thriving in her new role.

 How’s Derby?  We had to embrace KISS and quite simply, she became a DOG!  It has been quite the transition for Derby to have been a puppy princess and now a normal dog.  Not that she has it bad at all, but kids are a game changer!  We do what we can to spend time with Derby and Josh has finally got a running buddy!  We love our Derby and look forward to spending a little more quality time with her next year.

Our “Missy-Moo”, Natalie EMBODIES KISS!  We had so many gadgets, toys, “age-appropriate” things for Natalie…and you know how many things she likes…about 4 things:  her kitchen, a microphone, baby doll and her brother! So, we have been able to PURGE!  Hooray!  Someday, Mommy and Daddy will really get their living room back!  Natalie just wants to do what Clivey is doing.  She would rather learn how to balance on a scooter, jump into a mountain of pillows or look out the window with her big brother.  She is mesmerized by him.  So far, so good.  We have had no major injuries as a result of sibling “love,” so we will enjoy it while it lasts!  She is also really picking up the language and is becoming quite the chatter box.  We are enjoying her easy-going, sweet and silly girl who LOVES Derby and her big brother, Clive.  We’ll keep her fo’ sure!

      

         

      So you are thinking:  How in the world does a 3 year old KISS?  THEY DON’T!  We will not dispute that!  No, No!  Not that kind of “Kissing!”  That is not acceptable either until he’s at least 25!  We are learning that we need to keep this complex little being and the world around him as simple and easy as possible.  From potty-training, mastering the scooter, dressing himself…we have learned the more you ease up and not make it a big deal, the quicker they will master the task at hand!  This truly interesting child is musical to his core.  We are so fortunate to find this innate talent and hope we can foster it and help him find his path.  He has also had a lot of first trips this year:  to the Red Sox, Davis Farmland, the Boston Pops…we look forward to many more firsts with Clive…I think we’ll have a first concert at some point, too!

We know many of you have or have had a special grandparent in your life.  Many of us were fortunate to have had many years and fond memories and experiences with them.  Both Clive and Natalie’s middle names are after our grandparents for this very reason.  We believe in giving them something special they will take with them forever.  This year, we lost our beloved Bina (Bubbe).  She was Josh’s grandmother.  She was strong, independent, a great cook, loved Josh and believed in taking care of her family.  As a Holocaust survivor, we admired her triumph over all odds and loved her tenacity.  As we made our final preparations for Bubbe, we KISS.  It was a simple, beautiful ceremony in the company of those closest to us.  We will miss our Bubbe, but look forward to telling our children stories about her amazing life!  

 Wear your hair curly, no straight, take the frizz out, need more lift, smooth the fly always…hair care can be complicated!  So this year, Josh had his sites on a KISS-able kind of job.  He left Living Proof (and ‘working’ with Jennifer Aniston) and went back to bio-technology.  New England bio-labs is the new gig and so far, so good.  While he has a bit of a commute now, he is able to do what he enjoys and hopefully create more of an opportunity for us to find even more balance with work and home. 

One thing we would say about our kids is that they are truly KISS-able!  Natalie loves to hug and kiss everyone and we kiss her right back!  We will cherish our Clivey-poo kisses while we can as they are the best, especially when he blows Mommy one and tells her to “save it for later.”  We are also fortunate that we haven’t had too many OW-ies we had to kiss and make them feel better.  Clive had a run-in with a vacuum cleaner which brought us to the ER and stitches on the eyebrow (the guys keep telling us that will make him sexy later…HUH?)  Natalie has had a few minor bumps and bruises, but nothing too major so far!  Whew!

WOW!  That was enough KISS-ING!  We would love to hear how ya’ll keep it simple and we welcome any tips!  We say it every year, but we mean it:  We think of you often and hope to see you, hear from you, skype with you, tweet with you, etc…Have a great holiday and here’s to a great 2014 and a KISS-able year!

Love Always,
Josh, Christina,

Clive, Natalie & Derby