Happy Holidays!!!!

Dearest Friends and Family –

Happy Holidays!  We hope you all had a fantastic year filled with fond memories, lots of laughter and constant reminders that it really is about the little things in life to keep us all going.  We have come to learn that so many of you enjoy reading our annual letter for many reasons and can’t wait to see what our word of the year is all about.  I have to admit, it was a tough one this year, but we finally landed on the perfect word:  TOOLS.  Tools you say!?!?  Trust me, you’ll see why.  And if any of you know our son Clive, he was the main source of my inspiration.

1.       One of the greatest tools to help enjoy our second pregnancy (I was afterall pregnant for ½ of this year) was yoga.  It continues to be my source of energy, balance and escape from the crazy life of work and family.  Baby Natalie enjoyed it as much as Clive and hope that she will become a little yogi too.  One of Clive’s favorite school activities is yoga!  It warms our heart to see him truly enjoy it and will often randomly do a down-dog or some other adorable animal pose.    I look forward to getting on my mat more this next year.  It will keep us ALL centered and balanced.

2.       Little sister, Natalie Teruko Newman, joined the Newman crew on 6/29.  Like big brother Clive, she arrived on her own terms (10 days late), but came with great speed and ease.  Whew (for me!).    One of my most helpful tools in welcoming Natalie was CLIVE!  He has been an AMAZING big brother.  He has a natural sweetness and continues to hug, kiss and want to help her and Mommy in any way he can.  Of course we shall see what happens when she starts taking HIS toys.  For now, we will enjoy watching the amazing bond of these siblings grow.  We continue to try to make Natalie laugh (with no success), but when Clive comes over and gives her a giggle, she cracks up.  SO AWESOME.

She resembles Clive quite a bit at this age:  her hair is growing in the same way, those adorable chubby cheeks and a big smile.  At the same time, she is developing her own look.  She has more delicate features, has sprouted at least one dimple and tilts her head when she smiles at you.  She is very easy-going and as long as she can make eye contact with the world around her, she is happy!

3.       One of the greatest beauty tools (according to us at least) is LIVING PROOF.  Josh is still enjoying his start-up company and many of US enjoy using their amazing products.  One of the most exciting things that happened to his company is Jennifer Aniston (yes the girl that inspired “The Rachel” hair-do) is now co-owner and spokesperson of Living Proof.  We are excited about this partnership and look forward to watching the company really blossom.   So if you have a hair challenge, call Josh.  Yes, Josh not me!  Well, you can call me too if you want.  He will send you the right hair tool for your beauty challenge!

4.       As Josh likes to say, “I solve life’s beauty problems.”  Well, now I too will enter the beauty industry to  help make the world a more beautiful place!  I just ended more than 5 years with Rockport and have accepted a new position with Crabtree & Evelyn.  I am excited for the new change and one of the best things is my office is in Waltham.  We live in Waltham!  Wahoo!  I have never had the chance to live and work in the same town and this will be such a great set up for our family.  So, you can check in with me when you need the latest soap, lotion or lip gloss.  I’ve got beauty tools and tips for you too!

5.       One of the most critical tools in having two children is HELP.  We are getting better about asking for help and extending our support system.  We have an amazing babysitter that is my best-kept tool.  And no, we will not share her!  Not to mention, she has really become a part of our family.  We couldn’t have survived pregnancy, juggling two kids, vacation and going back to work without her help.  Kailene is our family survival tool.  We love our Kailene!

 

6.       Next to having the help of Kailene, we also send Clive and Natalie to daycare.  We were so very sad to leave our daycare that was located at my old office, but we look forward to sending them to a new daycare in Waltham.  They will be closer to home (2.2 miles to be exact) and both of us can help share pick up/drop off duties.   It will nice to only be a few miles from home!  If you ask Clive where his new school is, he will say very excitedly, “Next to Costco!”

7.       I have earned a new badge of honor:  I’m an AUNT!!!  My two younger sisters had beautiful little girls this year (Danica and Jasmine).  Our family just grew by 3 baby girls this year!  Who would have thought that us three girls would have three girls in the same year!?!   Did we use some crazy pregnancy tool or a secret family fertility drink ?  Nope, it was just plain coincidence!  We are so lucky our kids now have cousins and that we are able to share motherhood together.  It has been a great experience and the only thing we want is to live closer together so the cousins can see each other more.  In the meantime, they are frequent skypers and Clive reminds everyone that they are HIS COUSINS.

8.      We live in a digital world and the best tool to ever be invented so far is GOOGLE.  With a child that needs to know “WHY” for just about everything, sometimes I just have to say, “Mommy needs to google it.”   He is fascinated with things from Russia, different types of lawnmowers, construction vehicles and music instruments.  Clive challenges us like most two-year olds do.  He simply amazes us with this creativity, inquisitiveness and humor.  He is our first born and we love what he brings to our family.  We can’t wait to see Natalie’s personality blossom and tell you all about it next year!

As one of my former managers used to always tell me, “Use your tools.”  Boy was she right and we are!  We are also learning that you can always add new tools to your toolbox to make life a little easier and more enjoyable.  Please share with us any tools you have added to your toolbox this year and we hope to share more fun stories about our Newman crew with you next year.  We think of each of you and hope that we can see you all in 2013.

Much love,

Josh, Christina, Clive & Natalie

MORE POSTS COMING SOON

Mommy wanted me to tell you all that we are WOEFULLY behind and that we will post more pictures soon about of our adventures with Natalie this year.  SHE PROMISED!  Stay tuned.

Forever Thankful

Hi Everyone!  November is all about being thankful...most importantly we are thankful for each other!  Having a little sister is so awesome.  I really do love her and she always gives me smiles when she sees me.  Natalie has really been growing up and is always watching everything I do.  So, we have been helping her to sit up, so she can look around and see everyone.











Natalie turned FOUR Months old!  She is growing up so fast.  I have been showing her how to use her exersaucer and all of the fun toys on it.  Her eyes get so big when she sees how many different toys that she has to choose from.  Mommy and I also made her a box of her own toys. We put all things that are safe for Natalie.  I help pick out toys that she would like to use (since I'm the toy expert you know!)

Natalie turned four months old in November!  She is getting to be such a big girl.  Don't you love her smiles!?!?  At her doctor's visit, she has tipped the scale at 13 lbs., 4 oz.  She is 24.5" long!  She has grown so much since her last visit.














On 11/3, she spent her first night in her crib!  She had been sleeping in a bassinet in Mommy & Daddy's room. Now that she is sleeping through the night and outgrowing her bassinet, we thought it was a good idea for her to start sleeping in her own room.  Mommy & I went to Target and picked out some new sheets and a present for Natalie.

So, you know what that means?!?!?  I GET TO SLEEP IN A BIG BOY BED!  We are finishing up decorating my room, so we'll share with you what my room looks like soon.  I LOVE my big boy bed. I have so much room for me and all my animals now. 

We are so lucky to have such great friends and family.  We are thankful everyday we have them in our lives.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Panichella's.  They really are family to us.  This was the first Thanksgiving that Natalie was able to spend with the Panichella's which was so fun.  Audrey made us all hats.  We had a blast with everyone.  We each had to say what we were thankful for.  I said that I was thankful for Mommy & Daddy!   We had a delicious meal. 

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  Until our next post...

Love,
Clive & Natalie

Trick or Treat!

What a fun Halloween we had this year!  So far, it is my most favorite holiday.

Ok, so first...I was a MUSIC CONDUCTOR!  I love music.  Everything about it.  I love to play music, I love to dance to it.  I love to tap, clap or shake my head to the beat.  Uh-huh.  Music is AWESOME!

So Mommy helped me to create the best costumer EVER!  The best part was the bowtie.  It really is the best accessory.  Mommy said that the best accessory was my sister, Natalie.  She was a sheet of music.

At school, we had a Halloween Parade.  We all got dressed up and we marched through Reebok to show everyone our fun costumes.  That was really fun!  Daddy and Nonnie surprised us with a visit.

When we got home, we got to go Trick or Treating!  We went around the whole neighborhood getting candy.  I haven't really had candy before (except for some M&Ms), so this was a REAL TREAT!  Mommy and Daddy let me try out my first candy bar and I chose a Three Musketeers!  I didn't finish it all, but it sure was YUMMY!

I hope everyone was safe. 

Happy Halloween!

Love,
Conductor Clive and my little sister noted as Natalie

Falling into OCTOBER!

Happy Fall Everyone!  We have had a busy October!  Fall is here and we are enjoying as much of the nice weather as possible.  Mommy still has to bundle me up since I am still only 3 months old.  Four months is right around the corner!!

Clive is very excited for Halloween!  We went to a cool farm and picked out our pumpkins.  He also decided what he wanted to be for Halloween, so you will have to wait and see what we are going to be.  It's an original, that's for sure!

Before Mommy had to go back to work and I had to start school, we took a Mom & Baby class.  It was really fun to spend quality time with Mommy, meet some other moms and friends as well as learn some new songs and learn helpful hints with having a baby and a big brother.   Mommy told me that she took a class like this with Clivey, so I was glad to hear that she did the same thing with me too!

Clivey LOVES riding his car!  We have had most of the leaves fall in our neighborhood, so that has been something new and fun to look at while we take our walks. 

Smiles and Rolling side to side....Daddy says that I'm such a smiley baby!  Well, I have some many people that love me, I can't help but smile!  I also have been rolling from side to side.  I don't care as much to roll onto my belly.  I would much rather sit up and look around!

First days at school - I have been enjoying my first days at school!  Tasha is my teacher and she is so special to our family.  She was also Clivey's teacher!  She says I have a lot of similar features as Clive, but I have my own special look!  Sarah is also one of my teachers and she is so special.  She sings songs all of time and always gives me snuggles.  Here are a few pictures of me at school.  The best part is that Clivey is right next door and he can look through the window and see me anytime he wants.  He always looks out for me.

 

What is it with sleepy baby pictures?  Mommy loves taking pictures of me while I'm not looking.   Mommy said she wanted to have a picture of me all swaddled up in my bassinet since we are only small this once.  The other was a picture of me when I fell asleep on my playmat.  Playing is hard work!  

 

 

We went to a birthday party and it was so fun to see Clivey's friend Chloe.  Clive and Chloe were having fun jumping in the bouncy house and going for a drive.  Don't worry, Clive will have Chloe home in time for dinner!

 

Whew.  That was a lot...stay tuned for pictures on our Halloween costumes.

Love,
Natalie & Clive