Mexico to Maui

Hello Again! It’s been more than a whole year. 2021 came and went and Passport Bebe unfortunately took a back seat in my life. It was a very busy and very hard year in many ways for our little family. We made a big move out of Mexico City all the way to Maui. We are very happy to have landed on this tropical island we now call home. I am going to try and catch up with the last year and keep this little project chugging along. 

Living through the first pandemic year in Mexico City was hard for us (as it was for everyone, everywhere), but we managed to find ways to keep it interesting. We took long walks in the city, had lots of picnics in Chapultepec park, and even went on a road trip to Acapulco with our little Covid-bubble. After Violeta’s second birthday, we knew we would be leaving Mexico; we just weren’t sure when that would be. I started documenting her all around our neighborhood so we could always remember how beautiful and how great it was. Our little apartment in La Condesa saw many amazing parties and is full of treasured memories. Violeta’s first home will always have a special place in my heart. 

We knew that Mexico wasn’t going to be our forever home, and with the restrictions from the pandemic and the lack of school for our daughter, it just felt like we needed to start thinking about our next move. Violeta started developing allergies, which her pediatrician told us happened due to the pollution in the city. Ugh! That was when we knew it was time to get moving. We loved our time in Mexico and we miss our Mexican friends dearly, but we had to move our girl to cleaner air. 

One of my best friends in the world lives here on Maui, and I have been coming to visit her for the past 20 years. I totally fell in love with this place over countless visits and tropical adventures. About ten years ago, my husband started coming with me to visit her on Maui, and he, too, fell in love with the island. I can’t imagine cleaner air for our baby to breathe. Making the big decision to move was easier to do knowing we already had a network of friends on the island. Getting our stuff and ourselves out of Mexico and to our new home in the middle of a pandemic was less easy! But we made it! 

Along the journey from Violeta’s second birthday to her third birthday, we started taking her photo in front of different colored buildings in our neighborhood in Mexico City every month.  She brought a different “friend” with her each time we went out in search of the next colorful building. She really enjoyed deciding who would be the lucky animal or doll who got to come with her as we made our way through the rainbow. Mexico City is such a colorful city, full of beautiful old buildings. My husband and I enjoyed keeping an eye out for the next interesting building with great color, an easy task in such a vibrant city.

We spent a month in San Francisco on the way to Maui and kept finding new colors and bringing new friends along the way. We had to get creative with our colors when we got to Maui in order to document a full twelve months. Instead of a big black building facade, we found big black rocks on the beach. One month, we even went to Oahu to see friends and set off on a search with them for a “gold-ish” background. We had fun with our imperfect project. 

2021 was the year I fell off this platform. I’m hoping to get my creative energy back in 2022 to create more and share more this year. Our other contributing mamas around the world are also working on new stories and projects to share with you as this new year unfolds. There will be more to come soon!

Here is a look back over the last year and some of the places we were as our two year old turned into a three year old. I’m happy to report that our little city baby has transformed into a confident little island girl quite seamlessly. Through all the craziness she has been such a sweet and happy love bug despite all the major life changes happening around her. I’m so grateful for my little adventure buddy. Thanks for following along with us, and Happy New Year to you all!