Today marks our little Hazelnut's 100th day on the planet. In honor of that, and in honor of the super-sized crush I've got on my kid, I thought I'd list one hundred things I love about the fact of her. A little sappy, I'll admit. Don't care. I'm too sleepy to be more original, and too much in love not to do exactly this.
1. 1. Pulling open the curtain and looking at her for the first time each morning.
2. 2. Her big, bright, blue eyes, so much like her Daddy's.
3. Smiles of recognition. (Mommy. Daddy.)
4. How toasty and cozy she feels once unwrapped from her swaddle or sleep sack.
5. Nursing. I never expected it to be so precious.
6. Tiny fingers brushing back and forth across my chest, gripping my fingers, feeling the air.
7. The way her body alternates between firm and floppy.
8. Her constant (constant!) kicking
9. Placing her between us in bed for morning snuggles.
10. Planting kisses on those cheeks!
11. Watching her play with Daddy.
12. Little soft burps.
13. Great big window-rattling burps.
14. The growing range of intentional sounds she makes, like a piglet, a cricket, a mouse, a bird.
15. Furrowed brow as she inspects anything "new," from a rattle to a blanket to her own hands.
16. Smiles of wonderment. (The sounds of whistling.)
17. Smiles of joy. (As she kicks the jingling heck out of her baby gym.)
18. Adorable baby clothes.
19. How fast she outgrows them!
20. The fact that she has grown five full inches and doubled her birthweight in three months.
21. Her hair, soft as duckling down, blond in some light and dark in others.
22. Eyelashes. Invisibly blond when she was born, now dark and long and precocious.
23. The way she brings her hands together and entwines her fingers, as if plotting.
24. Talking to her all day long.
25. Hearing her "talk" back.
26. The strong, soft weight of her up on my shoulder.
27. Milk and honey scent behind her ears and in the silky folds of her neck.
28. Reading Dr. Suess together.
29. Reading 'Anne of Green Gables' together. (One page at a time.)
30. Rocking her to sleep.
31. Watching her eyelids become heavy and settle down, down, down.
32. Fewer and less powerful nap battles.
33. The occasional and elusive two-hour nap.
34. When she holds onto me, particularly when I slip back into her room to soothe her to sleep.
35. Singing all my favorites during daylight hours.
36. The bright colors of her BumGenius cloth diapers.
37. Inviting her to say Bonjour! to her Sophie the Giraffe on the changing table.
38. How often Jonathan changes diapers.
39. Listening to Daddy and Daughter chat as she's being changed.
40. Long walks with her strapped to my chest in the soft, stretchy Boba.
41. The way her cheeks poof out over the edge of the carrier.
42. Her aviatrix look in the little wool caps--yellow, purple, red--from Nostebarn.
43. Watching her watch the world go by from the windows of a tram.
44. How many strangers stop to gaze at her and coo, "Så søt du er!"
45. The precarious tilt of her sleepy head when she dozes off in the Boba.
46. The way she schlurps her hands, sometimes both at the same time!
47. Letting her flirt with the baby in the mirror.
48. Doing dishes as she watches from her bouncy chair.
49. Folding laundry as she watches from her bouncy chair.
50. Checking email and working as she watches from her bouncy chair.
51. Blowing raspberries on her tummy.
52. Helping her roll over for tummy time.
53. The strength of her neck and back, head up since she was three weeks old!
54. How close she is to rolling over herself.
55. Snapping selfies together.
56. Pouty face.
57. Frowny face.
58. When she opens her eyes super wide, as if to say, You cray .
59. Smiles that blossom at the sound of my voice.
60. Standing up, supporting almost all her own weight since she was eight weeks old!
61. Lifting her up to let her "fly" around the house.
62. Playing peek-a-boo, though she doesn't quite get it yet.
63. Dance parties in the evenings, staving off tired tears with Fleetwood Mac or Taylor Swift.
64. Telling her she is smart and beautiful and strong and curious and special.
65. Saying I love you in every language I can think of.
66. Dimpled elbows.
67. Dimpled knees.
68. Raised eyebrow.
69. Earlobes.
70. An arm wrapped around my neck in the beginning of a hug.
71. The way her fingers curl around a rattle.
72. The way her fingers find their way into my mouth.
73. Smiles of understanding at the sound of a familiar tune like Itsy Bitsy Spider .
74. One sock off.
75. Capturing memories on video.
76. Sending those photos and videos and audio files to her grandparents in California.
77. Surrounding her with sweet, stuffed things in her crib.
78. Putting her down for all naps and bedtimes in her crib since she was 10 weeks old.
79. Watching Daddy feed her a bottle for dinner each night.
80. Filling her little pink tub with warm water at bath time.
81. That tiny baby tush!
82. Smiles of mischief as she slips into the water and prepares to splash.
83. Her plump arms, legs, tummy.
84. Counting her piggies when she holds her feet up out of the water.
85. The wet shine of her cheeks.
86. Rubbing lavender oil between my hands and massaging her clean body.
87. Fingernails and toenails, though not how fast they grow back!
88. Brushing her hair.
89. The beginnings of little curls at the nape of her neck.
90. Walking around our house with her, showing her every painting and framed photo.
91. The round, squishy weight of her on my lap at storytime.
92. Listening to Daddy read 'You Are My I Love You' each night.
93. Watching Daddy kiss his little girl's cheek before he leaves the room.
94. Zipping up her sleep sack.
95. Singing a lullaby to her in the dark.
96. The sound and corresponding motion of her sleepy sucking on the Soothie pacifier.
97. Saying goodnight, and looking forward to the day she can say it back.
98. What an outrageously good nighttime sleeper she has always been. (Knock on wood!)
99. That she made Jonathan Daddy.
100. That she made me Mommy.