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What is a verb meaning "to look at affectionately" in a way that is distinctly visible in the subject's facial expression? For example in
Alice beams at Bob.
the action is visually and emotionally evocative. (However I think "beams at" mostly connotes approval.) Also, this should be appropriate for a parent-child relationship.
Gaze means "to look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention."1
In one sense, it is a term popularized by psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan for the anxious state that comes with the awareness that one can be viewed. The psychological effect, Lacan argues, is that the subject loses a degree of autonomy upon realizing that he or she is a visible object.
I would go for the word DOTE usually followed by the preposition on/upon to mean " shower some one with love and excessive affection."
It is the German origin and excessive fondness which go to mean " act in a foolish manner" as King Lear's 'senile dotage'— the other meaning of 'dote'. However the word is often used without the foolish overtone.
Some alternatives:
moon over
to spend time thinking about someone who you are attracted to instead of doing anything useful
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/moon-over
admire
to regard with wonder, pleasure, or approval.
http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/admire
idolize
to regard with blind adoration, devotion, etc.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idolize
