YES. We still exist. We have not been abducted by aliens. Or by Madelyn. We’ve just been suuuuuuper busy and I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath, let alone get each busy moment documented on our little piece of online real estate. I’m going to regret this in 10 years when I want to go back and read about our insane lives. Sorry, Self of 10 Years From Now. Will we even still have the Internet or will we just be reading each others’ minds with micro chips installed in clear touch iPhones like the ones Nancy Botwin used on the season finale of Weeds? (oh sorry! Spoiler alert?)

Anyway, last time I checked in, it was Madelyn’s birthday. She is now 13 months, and what better way to wrap up her big 1.0 than a recap of her biggest joy in life yet: cake.

I’d seen that cake smashes at birthday parties are cute (for one-year-olds… for anyone else, it’s probably just booze-related and admirably pathetic). So, it was no question that I’d be getting Madelyn her very own cake to taste/smash. It was Hawaiian-themed to match her party and full of chocolatey cakey goodness and rich buttercream frosting. It was so fun to watch her go from “what is this in front of me and what am I expected to do with it?” to “ermergerd, this is so good, I can’t stop, please don’t let this dream end.”

But what better way to explain this momentous event than in photos?