What No One Told Me About Motherhood

From the moment I saw my daughter's brand new face—neither mine, nor her father's—I realized she was her own new person and always would be. It's a strange thing to create this person and carry them inside you and provide for their every need, and then watch them turn up their nose at your best cooking and say, "No hugs!" I love watching my 18-month-old develop her own preferences and ideas about the world, but it somehow never fails to shock me when she does. 

-- Kylie in IA, mom to Beatrix