In 2014 dads are more than just providers for their families; they’re true parenting partners. So, today, in honor of Father’s Day, let’s take a moment to thank our kids’ dads for all that they do for them. We, at Daily Mom, would like to wish all the fathers out there a Happy Father’s Day and we’d like to let you into our lives by taking a moment to reflect on our children’s dads.
Elena’s Husband Andrew
(Photo Credit: The Art of Making a Baby)
Looking for a photo of my husband and my daughter for this post, I came across a lot of beautiful staged photos, both of them smiling widely while looking at the camera, yet when it came time to select only one photo, I could not help but kept getting drawn to the real life ones: them building a bike together, looking for tadpoles at the lake, playing phone games together, exploring Animal Kingdom or cheering with the parade. Those are the shots that melt my heart and remind me how really grateful I am for having a man in my life who is such an amazing father.
It wasn’t always so blissful…
When our daughter was born, it was a difficult transition for him into the dad role, because she was such an attached breastfed baby. All she needed was mommy. But he tried, long and hard, fumbling, not knowing what to do and here we are two years later and I cannot be more proud of the Father he has become. From day one, all he had in mind was our daughter’s well-being, but now he actually knows what it takes to ensure that she grows up a happy well-adjusted individual. Watching him be with her is like a lesson in parenting. He doesn’t know all the things that need to be done (that’s my job to remind him), but he is ALWAYS soft, accepting, gentle, understanding, patient and loving with her. He sets an example of parental love and patience and he is truly my daily inspiration in gentle parenting.
Megan’s Husband Eli
(Photo Credit: The Memoirs of Megan)
My husband Eli inspires me on a daily basis, from always keeping his cool and being patient (with me and the kids) to always providing for his family, he is the rock of our family. When my daughter was born via c-section two years ago, I had many health problems and complications that came with the long labor ending in emergency surgery. It was then that I watched him transform into a father, and I have witnessed it every single day since then. He’s always been a hands-on Dad, from changing diapers (even the gross newborn ones!) to singing and dancing around the living room with us and even braiding my daughter’s hair to look like “Punzel” (Rapunzel.) Watching the father/son bond transpire before my eyes has been a gift, and I am so thankful every single day for his strong family values.
He is my foundation of stability and patience in my ever-changing baby & toddler filled world, and I am so blessed to travel through the journey of life with my best friend by my side.
Laura’s Husband Stephen
(Photo Credit: The Whimsical Photographer)
I knew before our son came along that my husband would make a great father. Why? Because he’s always been a driven and imaginative person. I love the desire he has to give our son—and us—the best, and to share the world with him. He wants so many things for our son: love, adventure, imagination, the best education, to travel & see the world, the best in every way. One of my all-time favorite memories is my husband reading Robert E. Howard’s “Conan the Barbarian” to our two-day old son in the hospital. I laid in my hospital bed as my husband rocked our son, swaddled tightly in his arms. I can still hear the delicate newborn coos of our son as my husband read in a hushed whisper:
“… Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content.”
My husband is a true family man with so much love, drive, and hope for our family and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think to myself how lucky I am to have my boys.
Kristy’s Husband Brian
(Photo Credit: Kristy T. )
I have to say that my husband has far exceeded my expectations for him as a father. I don’t mean that I thought he would not be a good father, I knew he would be great! I just didn’t know to what extent. He was unsure of himself, unsure about having children and I wasn’t sure what to expect exactly. Well, from the moment our daughter surprised us and entered our lives 4 weeks early, he has been there for her in every way possible! From the beginning, he has been right there with me changing poopy diapers, letting me nap after a long night of feedings, and worrying with me when we learned of some of the health issues we would have to deal with. Now, after a long, high stress day at work he will come home and spend hours playing, feeding, bathing our daughter and still tell her a story before bed. When she has a boo-boo, he’s there to kiss it. When she wants to tell make-up stories about buggies, he’s there to create them with her. As she learned to sign, he learned with her. It’s the best thing ever to listen to her giggling uncontrollably as she plays with her daddy.
Don’t get me wrong, not every day is roses and rainbows but life is great and I couldn’t imagine going through this journey without him. He is the most amazing father to our Alexa and she is the light of his life. I am so grateful for everything he does for us and the incredible husband and father he is. I cannot wait to see him in action with our new little one when she arrives!
Danielle’s Husband Stephen
(Photo Credit: With A Red Bird On My Shoulder)
Even before we had kids, I knew Stephen was going to be a good father. He’s always been family oriented and a hands-on kind of guy. So, it came as no surprise to me when he jumped right in and took the reigns the very day our son was born. He changed every single diaper during our hospital stay and held him, skin-to-skin, in the wee hours of that first night. And 2 and a half years and 2 kids later, he’s just as dedicated, loving and hands-on as he was that very first day.
He creates obstacle courses for our son in the playroom, bathes the kids, rocks our daughter to sleep late at night, changes the worst diapers without flinching; and when I ask him to grab an outfit for our daughter, he brings her back to me in her cutest dress, complete with a matching headband. Hands on.
But what I truly love most about him today are his fathering principles. He understands the importance of being a role model to his children. He understands that a father needs to be just as loving, nurturing and interactive with his children as their mother. He understands that while they need to be protected and have discipline in their lives, they also need to be little and free.
He’s fathering them on the principles he was fathered on, but he’s also very open-minded to the new ways of parenting (gentle, organic, etc) that I am introducing him to and we are discovering together.
Heather’s Husband Derek
(Photo Credit: Cookies for Breakfast)
This man. I cannot say enough about this man. The man who works tirelessly to give our family an amazing life, and so that I can stay at home with our children. This man who wakes up at the crack of dawn to spend time with our son and tickle our baby girl before going to work, putting in a long day at the office, then coming home and mustering up energy and enthusiasm for rough-housing, family dinner, tractor rides with a toddler, and bedtime. This man who does everything in his power to make sure everyone in our house wants for nothing, even if that sometimes means long commutes, constantly striving for better jobs and promotions, or picking up odd jobs here and there — all without much complaint. The man who listens to my latest diatribes on GMOs, listens to me wax poetic about breastfeeding and natural childbirth, and listens to me rant about the tough days and triumph about the good days.
This man has given me the life I’ve always dreamed of for our family. Admittedly I’m not the greatest at showing appreciation but wow — this man — I am lucky, I am blessed and I am thankful to have him as a husband and even more so as the father of our children. Nothing gives me the warm fuzzies quite like seeing him doing projects around the house with our son (which requires a good deal of patience!), seeing the delight on our son’s face when Daddy comes home from work or seeing our daughter giggle and coo when watching her daddy make silly faces and carry on conversations with her. It’s been a joy to see each child’s relationship with their father grow and develop and I can’t wait to see this develop further over the years to come.
This family is so beyond lucky to have this man.
Ariel’s Husband Andy
(Photo Credit: Dreams to Do)
Dads often get a bad rap. The stereotype is that they work all day, relax in the evenings, and don’t help out much around the house or with the care of the kids. This couldn’t be more untrue of my husband, Andy. I seriously could not ask for a better father for my children. He works 11 hour shifts and on the weekdays that he’s off, he takes care of the kiddos while I’m at work. He cooks, he cleans, he gardens, he more than pulls his weight in the parenting department. Now that we are expecting baby #3, I’ve decided to take a shot at being a stay-at-home mom for the first time since becoming a mother five years ago. Without Andy’s financial and emotional support, this would never be an option. He is giving me the greatest gift I could imagine.
Some of the moments that make me feel the most fulfilled in my life are the times when I’m sitting back and just watching Andy interact with our kids. It’s when he’s picking them up and tossing them back on our bed with laughter exploding from every direction. It’s when he’s crawling around on the floor giving them rides on his back. It’s watching them kick soccer balls in the backyard. In those moments I realize what really matters in this life. I am so blessed to have my best friend also be the father of my children.
Krista’s Husband Jon
(Photo Credit: The Quinntessential Mommy)
Although you’d never know it now, my husband was nervous about having kids. I think he spent the entire nine months of my first pregnancy worrying about being a dad. But, the moment our daughter was born, everything changed. I’ll never forget how he teared up in the delivery room when he heard her cry. He was the first one to hold her and their bond was solidified in that very moment: holding his precious baby girl was all he needed for his fatherly instinct to kick in. Since that moment he has been the most amazing father I could ever have imagined.
This past fall we welcomed our son and my husband was an old pro this time. Watching him with our children has brought me so much joy. He’s silly, kind, patient and most of all, he has so much fun with them. He can make both our kids belly laugh like no one else in the world. He also changes diapers, gives bottles to the baby while making pancakes for our daughter, plays silly games just to see them both smile, bathes them and tucks them each into bed with ease. He truly shares parenting duties with me 50/50 for that I couldn’t be more thankful. He is the best role model for our munchkins and he is the heart of this family.
Ashley’s Husband Jeremy
(Photo Credit: Ashley Sisk Photography)
My husband has always wanted to be a father. It was one of many things we talked about during our first date. I guess we both figured that if it wasn’t going to work out, we wanted to know sooner than later. Luckily, we shared the dream of a family and he is now the proud daddy of one very special little girl.
Of course, becoming a daddy wasn’t nearly as easy as what he imagined.
Our daughter was born 5 weeks early. As “prepared” as we thought we were, the night my water broke completely rocked our world. When we tell the story of her birth now, it’s enough to make anyone laugh so hard they cry. At the time, we weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves. Even still, from the moment he saw her little head, he was her daddy. He stood over her as she slept to make sure she was still breathing and woke up in the wee hours of the morning to feed her while I pumped. As she grew more and more attached to mommy, he worked overtime to connect with her in his own special way. Now that she’s almost 2, I can officially say that she is “Daddy’s Girl.” I can’t imagine any other man sharing this parenting journey with me. Not only is he my best friend, he is our little girl’s hero.
Becca’s Husband Travis
(Photo Credit: The Paro Post)
My husband and I always knew we wanted to be parents. We had all of our baby names picked out by the time we were engaged, and soon after our honeymoon, we learned that I was expecting our first little one.
Although our oldest child was born 7 weeks premature and spent a few weeks in the NICU, his Daddy never left his side and seemed to bond with him right away. “My boys” are now thick as thieves and love to build legos, discuss cars and trucks, and spoil me with flowers and snuggles. When my daughter was born, her daddy was the first person to hold her, and he’s been wrapped around her finger since that day. I do believe she’s the only person in the world who could get him to don a tiara and have a tea party!
We are so thankful to have such an attentive, hard-working and loving man in our lives. He’s truly the best dad I know, next to my own.
Michelle’s Husband David
(Photo Credit: Simply Snapshots, LLC)
My kiddies and I are oh so lucky to have the best daddy in our lives. My husband is an amazing man and is the hardest worker I know, working so many hours to provide for our family and allow me the opportunity to stay home with our kids. He is patient, kind and loves getting down and playing with the kids. Even after a long day of work, he will not hesitate to play the “Dad Train” and take the kids for a ride around the house. From coaching soccer to cheering on the side lines at a baseball game- he works hard at encouraging our kids to be the best they can be. Even with a demanding job, he never misses an important show, meeting, game or event in our kids lives. He is always there and they know it. We are so blessed to have him and I am SO grateful to have this amazing husband in our lives that always, without a doubt, puts his family first. We are a team and aren’t the most perfect parents (who is??) but there is no one I would rather be on the journey called parenthood with than him.
