One of the downsides to L’s newfound mobility is that I spend hours upon hours quite literally chasing her around the house on all fours. One of the upsides: When exhaustion catches up to her and she face-plants in a fit of narcolepsy, I get to nap right there alongside her.

Today was no exception. The nanny left at noon, and the baby and I proceeded to spend the next three hours crawling all over the house.

We started downstairs and did the equivalent of the Indy 500 around the living room (we even made one pit stop). Next, we tackled the stairs—seven times in rapid succession (right now, she only goes up; when she reached the top each time, I carried her to the bottom and she started again.

Finally, we went “ferry-chasing” upstairs, as she followed an inflatable (and miniature, of course) Alaska Marine Highway System ferry while I pushed it from one room to the next. (Oh, the things that entertain these babies.)

By 3 p.m., after her marathon crawl, L was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open. I shushed her for maybe three minutes, then plopped her on the bed next to me. The two of us napped for nearly two hours—we were so out that neither of us woke up when Powergirl came home from work.

It was, quite simply, the best part of my day.

Snoozing with L is like cuddling with the most loving little kitten ever. She’s so warm, so snuggly. She breathes heavily, like purring, and I can feel her tiny breaths on my chin when she’s facing me.

During most naps, she wraps her entire hand around my finger. Today, she fell asleep with her tiny hand on my stubbly cheek.

Don’t get me wrong, napping with a baby can be hard work—I never really fall into a deep sleep because I’m always worried she’ll wake up and somehow scale The Great Wall of Pillows that I erect on the far side of the bed. Still, today, snoozing with my sweetheart made me the happiest Dad on Earth. It was a glorious way to start the week.