The kiddo turns 1!
What a year.
Avery is now 1 year old and it is hard to imagine it has already been a year since she came into our lives. My little gal has reached her first bday and i'm a mom for 1 year. I guess i could gush about how motherhood has been really great and all but the reality is... motherhood can be pretty daunting. Esp in the initial months when you are new to the job. I remembered nights when Avery would be cranky and not sleep (even these few days!), or times when she cried and we had no idea why. How about the times she rolled off the bed and scared the shit outta us? Or when she was sick and threw up each time we tried to give her medication? Oh oh.. and how can i forget the poo projectile incidents?
Yaps... motherhood, or for that matter, parenthood is no bed of roses. To that i would also like to add that i would not have survived if not for Wilk. I'd have to give Wilk full credit for being a full time PARENT alongside me... this is one guy that really threw his whole self into parenting his own child from the get-go. He was the first one to bath her when she came home from hospital, changed her diaper, bathe her, carried her to sleep, fixes her breakfast on days when i am concussed and troughs the internet for bargains toys to shop for her. Everything that i can do... so can he (save the breastfeeding and maybe cooking her meals - but he cooks for me so we square off on that). It is true that it is easier for him to do all these... be the equal parent, ever-present father, now that we are in Melb and he has the free time to do so.
BUT i believe there are lots of men out there, who may have the time, would rather do other stuff than do these 'chores'... some of which can be dreadfully messy (poopoo explosion comes to mind). Not Wilk though... he is the only person i feel confident in leaving Avery with if i have to leave the house, cos like me, he really knows all her quirks. I guess we are lucky that we could spend this whole year, both of us, to really get to know her. In that way, Melb has been good for us.. and good for the kiddo. Someday i hope she realize how lucky she is that her Dadi took brave step and decided to forgo the cushy comfortable life back in SG in exchange for a life in Melb where we have to make do with pre-loved toys, homemade bday cakes but tons of precious time with her.
And it was time well spent. Looking back at the whole year.. she has really grown. Of course, being parents, sometime we do worry if she is 'catching up' with her peers but most times we remember that she is doing the best that she can do and the most we can wish for is for her to grow happy and healthy. And that, i believe is what she has been doing so far. Can't say that she didnt have a difficult moments but i think all kids have those. But so far, we are thankful that she has been an amazing trooper and despite her grandparents' worries that she is too skinny, she has been remarkably blessed with minimal ailments and problems. On one hand, she drives us mad when she wakes up in the middle of the night and refused to sleep unless we carried her, but on the other hand, she made us laugh so hard with her cheeky grin and funny antics. I think in the early months of her arrival, i had missed the days when i wasn't a mother.. or gotten pregnant.. but looking back now, yes, i may still occasionally miss those 'carefree' days, i don't think i can quite imagine not having her in our lives.
She has changed me quite a bit... i remembered being quite the daredevil and was quite nonchalent about death and what nots. Now, sometimes i find myself fearing what will happen to her if something happens to me. I find myself wanting to take care of myself better.. perhaps do less risky stuff (no more parachuting?). Believe it or not, i even lost my taste for gory or violent movies. Weird eh. And i am really addicted to cuddling her and cuddles become even more enjoyable now that she cuddles right back! I love the rough-housing, the blowing of raspberries on her tummy, the tickles, the rolling around on the mat, asking her to show me 'tummy tummy' or 'give Mama tutu' and seeing her hanging on to her cot rails in the morning (she wakes us up with her babbling).
She is by no means a perfect kid... and for sure, i am not perfect mom, or Wilk, a perfect dad. But to me, we are the perfect family for each other. It's year 1 and really, i can hardly wait for year 2... 3... 4... I know every year, every day, there will be different challenges as we grow together but that basic wish for her will never change.
Avery... wishing that you will grow happy and healthy... always. You will always be Mami's dearest 颖熙 baby... :)
