My motherhood era began in 2023 and continues with early toddlerhood experiences in 2024. He still brings me so much joy and cuteness every day. While the cuddles aren’t the same as newborn baby stages, his stomping back and forth, blabbering, running around the house, and playfulness warm my heart and put a smile on my face.

He is my world now and an integral part of my identity. Although there is more to me than being a mom, at this time I want that role to be the priority because I am fully taken by him. While I focus on chores or work, I look forward to hugging him and playing with him. I miss him when I’m not with him… even if he’s just sleeping in another room. I just want to hold him tightly and squish him… which is much harder to do now as he is constantly on the go. 

This motherly love is overwhelming and magical, but not always easy. I no longer have an abundance of personal time to chase my goals and catch up on to-do lists. I have an overwhelmingly long list of chores, errands, and personal projects but I often ignore and dread doing it because I’m just exhausted by the end of the day. Personal time is the biggest trade-off of motherhood but I’d gladly accept to have Max in my life… and I know as they get older, I will get more time back. I’m just thankful for a solid night of sleep.

2024 Goals

[X] Cherish my time with Max & focus on being a good and present mom.
[-] Stay active as much as possible – It’s impossible to intentionally get active like hitting the gym as a working full-time mom. But being a mom does mean more walks, parks, and chasing after a kiddo.
[X] Finish estate & guardianship planning – Checking this off though I still have some final paperwork
[-] Make time for my parents and support their goals – My parents visited for a month and a half to watch Max and I was able to travel with them but it’s hard to figure out what they want next. 
[  ] Grow our family – As much as we want to expand our family, we struggle with infertility.

2024 Memories 

Time flies extra quickly with a kid. It’s hard to believe Max is almost two! More than half of this year was spent living with Grandparents as they alternated full-time care for Max. That was quite the transition but I am so grateful for their help. It was also nice to spend more time with them —something that hits differently when you live in two separate countries. 

Moving into Toddlerhood

As a young tot, Max became curious, blabbering so much and showing his emotions through gestures and facial expressions. Towards the end of the year, his language skills have improved with 2-words, expressing himself with yes and no, and identifying colors and certain objects (anchor, stop, “no-no” for the red no symbol, balloon, and more).

The hard work continues with juggling everything but it is easier since he sleeps through the night with almost no wakes, plays independently, and eats pretty well. Our routine is solid.

He started walking in early May at 14.5 months and grew his confidence and ability to run at around 17.5 months. He loves to play with balls, from kicking them, dropping them in a net, or throwing them. We even signed him up for soccer class because of his obsession. He finally started to give kisses to mommy and daddy and generously blew goodbye kisses. 

Every week, he is making speech improvements saying ma-ma, da-da to now “blue ball”. Around 18 months, he loves to repeat after us, ask for “help”, and point to “stop”, “ball” or “fish” in his books. Even if he cannot express himself in sentences, his comprehension is making strides. We tell him to go wash his hands for food or throw this trash out and he does, it’s remarkable. He also started to show his opinion like using sign language for more food or asking for a “snack” or “milk” when we ask him if that’s what he wants. It’s exciting to see his sense of wonder and curiosity for simple things like washing dishes, putting on socks, or throwing out garbage in the bin. These mundane tasks are no longer mundane. 

After Chi and I exhausted our maternity/paternity leaves in January, we decided to lean on our moms to care for Max. This felt right for Max so he would have time to transition off bottles, practice Cantonese, and drop to one-nap at home. Max started daycare/preschool at 18 months in Sept. It was a bittersweet transition and graduation into young toddlerhood. He was no longer in full-time care of me, Chi, or his grandparents. Drop-offs were tearful but he adapted pretty quickly with naps and meals.  A runny nose was ever-present and illness during Halloween and nearing Christmas was awful. 

Weekend Fun with Max

My weekends are no longer adventurous with hikes, quick jaunts, or spontaneous activities, but they are filled with new excitement and joy. I look forward to spending a full day with him and giving him new experiences like playgrounds, museums, and activities. 

After transitioning to one nap, it was easier to go out in the morning pre-nap and in the afternoon post-nap. We took him to nearby parks, museums, and seasonal events. It’s so fun to see him learn new things like jumping, trick-or-treating, petting his first goat, going down a slide all by himself, being mesmerized by Christmas lights, and much more. 

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This year, surprisingly we traveled three times! It’s a love-hate relationship with trips. Traveling with Max is a lot of work with horrible sleep… but it allows us to devote all our time to him. Despite the lack of sleep, we still build some wonderful family memories. 

Oahu & Big Island, Hawaii

A deal for a 10-day Hawaii cruise, priced at $600 per person for a balcony, presented a low-cost opportunity to bring our parents to Hawaii for the first time. The timing worked perfectly as they were watching Max full-time in Seattle. My aunt and uncle also chose to join us, so it was a nice big family getaway. 

One of the most memorable moments this year was our evening excursion to snorkel with Manta Rays in Kona. I’ve always wanted to do this once I heard about it before becoming a mom and the fact that my mom could babysit, it was a no-brainer to take advantage of. The experience lived up to our expectations and it was so exhilarating to ride a speedboat across the sea at night and then dive in to get close to these gentle giants. Best date night in a long time. 

Toronto 

We visited Toronto of course, and it’s always nice to see our friends and family. Since Max was still young, I didn’t bring him to my favorite Toronto summer kids spots like CNE, Niagara Falls etc. But I did bring him to a neat indoor playground and a few outdoor ones too.  

Montego Bay & Ocho Rios Jamaica 

I finally made it to Jamaica and while it was very hot, it was a relaxing all-inclusive beach trip with our best friends. The highlight was definitely visiting Dunn’s River Falls. It was gorgeous. Although we weren’t able to climb the entire falls, it was the perfect excursion with our young toddler.

Nova Scotia & New Brunswick 

This trip to Eastern Canada for the first time felt reminiscent of my previous travel style with exploration, new sights, and tasty food. While the itinerary was much more open and tailored to Max, I was able to see and do a lot in only 5 days. It was wonderful to spend this quality time with my sister, mom, and dad. Peggy’s Cove was my favorite sight of this trip. Every corner felt like a postcard.

2025 Goals

Previously, my annual goals were mostly fun activities like trying waterfall repelling or experiencing Burning Man. Now, it revolves around our family goals and travel plans that follow daycare holidays.

[ ] Enjoy motherhood and share new experiences with Max.  
[ ] Potty train Max! 
[ ] Learn travel point hacking strategies for future overseas trips.
[ ] Keep traveling! Bahamas is coming u. Disneyland? Costa Rica? Mexico? Not ready for the long flights and timezone differences for Europe or Asia yet. 
[ ] Revamp and rethink this personal blog.
[ ] Figure out next steps with one of our Airbnbs.
[ ] Expand our family, which requires mostly luck and a little bit of science.