Happy 50th (blogpost) Etta!

It came to my attention today that this is my 50th post on The Flan Dad blog--a blog that I started over a year ago as we were anticipating the arrival of little Etta!

I've very much enjoyed being able to use my blog as an outlet to express my thoughts of being a dad to the greatest daughter to ever grace the earth. :)

To celebrate post number 50, I quickly made a video to a song that I was recently introduced to called "Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III. I absolutely LOVE this song and thought it went well with pictures of little Etta--emphasis on quickly, it's not pro-quality, so don't judge me!

Along with the video, I thought I'd take a moment to list my Top 50 things I love about little Etta! (Truth is I could make a top 50,000,000 list, but for time, I'll keep it to 50.

So, without further ado, enjoy blogpost 50!

Top 50 Reasons I love Etta:

50. Her zest for playing with her toys in a very aggressive, organized, and precise way.
49. The way she yells when she plays with anything.
48. Her cheeks.
47. The way she looks at her mommy. :)
46. Her eyes.
45. Her smile.
44. Her scrunchy face smile which she delivers in very special and funny situations.
43. The way she looks around the room at other people when she thinks something is funny...as if she's making sure they all got it.
42. Her belly.
41. Her thighs.
40. When she wears skinny jeans.
39. The fact that she could probably benefit from a bra.
38. That she thinks her Uncle Tyson is as weird as the rest of us do.
37. The way she plays with her toys at Grandma and Grandpa Strongs and Mamo And Papa's homes...and watching them play with her like they're little kids as well.
36. The way she melts the hearts of her Uncle Ben and Uncle Sam.
35. When she comes to visit me at work.
34. How she's changed my perspective on so many things.
33. How I tear up at random times throughout the day when thinking about her.
32. When I hear her mommy reading her books and I see her participating in the reading.
31. That I haven't had a day where I didn't smile since her birth.
30. The fact that she makes me genuinely, sincerely smile...like the type of smile that kind of makes you cry.
29. When she helps me get the mail.
28. When she eats her puffs.
27. When we go on walks and she sits in her stroller just silently observing.
26. Our trips to the park and watching her on the swing.
25. How ticklish she is.
24. That she can go from screaming mad to so happy just by us letting her walk while holding her hands.
23. How much she loves being in her walker and speeding throughout whatever room she's in.
22. When we clean out her ears and she nearly falls asleep.
21. When she falls asleep in my arms while I'm feeding her.
20. When she bonks heads with me in our "bonk heads" game.
19. That she finds me hilarious most of the time (I think many people could learn from her on that!).
18. Her lips and tiny mouth.
17. That she gets loopy when she's tired.
16. That she's generally as annoyed by the dog that lives in our house as I am.
15. That she sleeps through the night...most nights anyway.
14. The way she people watches in public places.
13. That she's a huge Braves fan...totally unprovoked.
12. That she loves tickling and "getting" mommy and daddy.
11. When she waves hello and goodbye.
10. When she gives me a high-five.
9. When she holds my hand when I'm carrying her.
8. When her other arm is on my shoulder or around my neck when I'm carrying her.
7. When she scoots across the room on her bum.
6. When she throws a mini tantrum.
5. That she laughs when I "booooooooooo" her.
4. Her crazy morning hair.
3. How much she loves being in the bath and playing with her bath toys.
2. That she's here. She's ours. She's living in our home and is a part of our lives. That all the pain, hurt, tears, trials, disappointments, frustrations, confusions, and even anger in the journey to get her here are all 100-percent worth it and all things I would do a thousand times over--and at even a thousand times more intense--just to have her here with us.

1. Moments like this, tonight:

Happy 50th (Blogpost) Etta!