A New Home, a FIRST Birthday!!!, and a Whole Lot of Boxes

Moving with a baby, I mean toddler, is an extreme sport, but we made it.

It’s been a while—longer than I intended—and I’ve missed this space more than I realized. Life has been…a lot lately. Beautiful, overwhelming, exhausting, exciting—all at once. I know I said I’d be more consistent here, and then life did what life does. I’m sorry for the silence, but I’m so happy to be writing to you again.

In the past month, we moved into a new home. And when I say “moved,” I mean we moved literally two minutes away from where we used to live. Same grocery stores, same favorite coffee shop—but somehow, it still felt like moving across the country. I completely underestimated how time-consuming, stressful, and exhausting it is to move—regardless of the distance. And doing it with a baby (well, now toddler) is a different level.

Luckily, my parents live just an eight-minute drive away, so we were able to drop Noka off during the heavy lifting days. Shoutout to grandparents—truly the MVPs. But after this experience, I’ve decided: the next time we move, I’m hiring a company to pack, move, and unpack. Moving while being a mom, an entrepreneur, and a writer is an extreme sport, and I have no plans to compete in it again anytime soon.

Amid all the chaos, we also celebrated a huge milestone: Noka’s first birthday!

I thought I would be a puddle of tears the entire day, but surprisingly, I held it together, mostly. There was one moment when I was listening to Lauryn Hill’s “To Zion,” and I absolutely lost it. That song hits differently now. I still can’t believe it: I’m a mom, and we’ve done it—a whole year of life, learning, and loving this little human.

For his birthday, I found the sweetest outfit on Etsy—a beautiful little sweater and a crown with his name embroidered on it. I love that the crown is something we can keep forever. It’s a piece of this chapter, stitched into something tangible.

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Since we were barely a week into this new house, we kept the celebration simple. No big party, no stress. Just us, my parents, a homemade healthy cake (surprisingly good, by the way—let me know if you want the recipe!), and a whole lot of love.

It was perfect.

Thank you for being here, even when life gets too loud for me to show up the way I want to. I’ve missed this community, missed writing to you, missed having a place to land my thoughts. I’m so excited to be back.

More soon. And more consistently this time. I promise.