I think this is one of the reasons I became a parent (but didn't realize it until now).

I took Mateo to daycare this morning, and he was raring to go. When we got into his room, he waited for me to fill out his day paper, and when I told him it was time to go into the other room, he ran to the connecting doorway, darted through and was going to keep going.

"Hey, wait a minute. Come back," I said.

He immediately stopped and turned around to look at me. I was squatting in the doorway so I'd be at his height.

"Aren't you going to let me give you a kiss?" I asked.

His face lit up. He ran back to me with his arms open and gave me a hug. Then he dipped his head toward me so I could give him a kiss (something he's been doing recently).

I gave him a good kiss on the head.

"Okay, now you can go have fun."

He smiled and ran off. When he was in the middle of the room, he turned around, tilted his head to the side (this kills me), and looked right at me. I tilted my head and smiled. He ran to the door to wait for me to go to our car.

When I got out to the front, he was standing at the door with his hands on the glass. I waved, and he smiled.

Not only did I get all this love and cuteness from him then, but when he woke up this morning, he was feeling a little out of sorts, so we spent a lot of time in the rocking chair snuggling while he drank his milk.

And this, I now realize, is one of the many reasons I became a parent. And I'm sure more will occur as he gets older. I'll simply add them to the list.