My sweet little baby girl turned 1 yesterday. As all mother's say on their child's first birthday, "I can't believe it came so fast." She is turning into the most curious, life-enjoying little person. I've loved watching her learn new things as the months pass on. Who knew that with each new milestone, we as parents would be so completely proud and amazed at our daughter's growth. I'm not going to lie; being a mother is the hardest thing I've ever done. It's so draining to be on 24 hour on-call service day after day after day. Sometimes I say to myself, "Next baby is going to be bottle-fed from the start," as I imagine myself fast asleep at 3 am while Casey tends to the little one. But then bedtime comes, and my little baby reaches for my hair to twirl and caresses my face as she eats, and I once again cherish my time with her. Never before has a person caused so much frustration and anger in me. Really, she has caused some major meltdowns on my end. But on the other end of emotions, I am so attached and reliant and completely devoted to my sweet child. She is beautiful. She is vibrant. She has a smile that will make you ahhh. She's my little Maddie Cakes.