Will you be my Valentine?

 

Every girl's first Valentine is her Daddy, and this girl couldn't be luckier! 

There is a special bond between a little girl and her daddy. I have loved seeing this relationship develop between Boomer and Emerson. Since we didn't know the gender when we were expecting, we would dream about what our baby would be and the fun things we would do with a little boy or a little girl. Boomer said he was so nervous (okay, maybe he used the word "terrified") to have a girl. Dating, puberty, emotions, dress-up, Barbies, make-up, first loves, broken hearts...I admit, it makes me nervous, too! But as I see him with Emerson now, I know it was God's plan for us to be her parents, for us to have a daughter. Boomer loves coming home from work and immediately scooping up his little girl into his arms. He likes to rest her on his chest, and he laughs at how she raises her head like a little turtle to look around. His newest challenge is getting her to laugh; he is determined and has tried all methods of tickling, dancing, and silly voices. He loves taking 'his girls' out on dates. I was wrong when I thought he wouldn't care if she was dressed in pink. In fact, he likes for people to know she is a girl. He doesn't object when I put a bow on her head. He is proud to show her off at work or to his friends.  

Seeing my own Dad as a Grandpa, I am sure he did many of these same things when he, like Boomer, was first learning how to be a dad. Being older now, the way my Dad shows his love is a bit different. It's no longer tickles and playing, but it is checking the air in my tires and hanging pictures in the nursery. It's changing the dryer vent, fixing the broken blinds, and tracking my flight from take-off to landing. It's sending the forecast before I go on a trip and a daily text wishing me a good day at work. And in all these many things, the greatest way he has shown his love is by setting the example for what I deserve in a husband and partner. 

In seeing Boomer with Emerson, I have fallen even more in love with the man I married. My prayer is that Emerson will always know the love her father has for her. And one day the love of her Heavenly Father, too. Until the day that her Valentine is someone other than her Daddy, I am already praying for that man. 

...And heaven help him when he comes to meet her father! :)