Full disclosure: I’m at work right now. I’m drinking my second cup of coffee. And my normally good napper is crying. It’s a strangled, all-out, I’m-going-to-cry-until-I-fall-dead-asleep. And it’s been going on for 45 minutes. Earlier in the morning, when this nap was on Attempt #1, I finally aborted the effort and got her up again, fed her a snack, played with her, changed her diaper. Attempt #2 has been a disaster: I’ve been in twice. I’ve nursed her. I’ve sung. I’ve rocked her. And I’d get her up . . . but she really needs this nap. If I get her up, she will be miserable. I will be miserable. All are punishéd.

She’s just going to have to cry until her energies are spent and sleep finally claims her.

It’s hard!

I’d almost forgotten just how hard it is to listen to your little one wailing her lungs out, because Alice is such an easy baby and has been a good sleeper since the get-go.

So all that to say: my head is starting to hurt, my emotions are going “zing” and I need to dwell on some positivity. If not, this twitch in my face may become permanent.

Let’s just talk about cake.

They are only two occasions in life that celebrate a gloriously messy cake-in-the-face moment. One is your wedding, and the other is your first birthday.

This birthday girl started things off a little dubious . . .

. . . but soon got into the spirit of things.

Hey–this is actually pretty good, you guys.

Should I pulverize it with my fists?

Or should I smoosh my face into it from above?

Or put the thing in my mouth and suck on it?

Here’s to cake in the face!

And here’s to hoping that soon the cries will subside so that my brain doesn’t start melting into a puddle of goo and so that Alice’s vocal cords aren’t permanently destroyed.