Today’s is my daughter Maddie’s 7th birthday. Seven years ago, my wife and I were extremely blessed to have a daughter after two boys. She’s two years younger than Camden and four years younger than Ethan.
I couldn’t imagine life without a little girl in the house.
As we celebrate her birthday today, I thought I’d share seven things that I appreciate about her. I wrote a similar post for Ethan on his 11th birthday. I think it’s good to write down the things that we’re thankful for.
Here we go.
1) She’s my “baby girl.” In fact, I rarely call her by name. You know what they say about dads and their daughters? It’s 100% true. She has me wrapped around her little finger and she knows it. My wife gets mad at me for treating her differently than the boys. What can I say? Having a daughter is completely different. Everyone tells me to wait until she’s a teenager. We’ve already seen brief glimpses of the future but I’m going to pretend that she’ll always be sweet and want to be around me.
2) She actually entertains herself (by herself). Maddie is the only one of my kids that will actually go to her room and play by herself. We’ll wonder where she went only to find her in room playing with toys. My boys rarely do anything by themselves.
3) She’s a “girly-girl.” She loves make-up, clothes and shoes (just like her momma). Last fall, the family was in the car and we were talking about signing the kids up for a church basketball league. Maddie said she wanted to play. The conversation went on and suddenly Maddie said, “Wait. I don’t want to play basketball. I’ll get too sweaty.” That’s my little girl!
4) She can hold her own against the boys. It’s funny because she’ll be so dramatic about fighting with her brothers. She’ll come running to us, crying and saying “Ethan hit me” or “Camden kicked me.” What she conveniently leaves out is that she went after them. I can appreciate that she doesn’t let them run over her at all.
5) Her legs never work at bedtime. Every single night, I give her a piggy-back ride up to her bedroom. Every. Single. Night. It’s actually pretty sweet and I don’t mind. She is getting big though. I’m not sure how much longer my back can hold out.
6) She doesn’t care about my personal space. She likes being on top of me. As I type this, she’s right next to me on our couch (as we watch “Cinderella”). My boys sat in my lap too but it wasn’t quite the same. If we’re watching TV, she’s all up in my business. I also love that she still holds my hand when we’re out in public. It’s the small things about being a dad, I guess. Believe me, I know it won’t last forever so I’ll take it while I can.
If I’m sitting in a recliner, chances are pretty good that Maddie is sitting right next to me.
7) She makes me laugh. It’s amazing how different each of our three kids are. Maybe it’s because she’s the youngest or because she’s a girl. I can’t wait to see how her personality will change in the future.
Maddie was getting a little too aggressive with her ice cream cone at Chick-Fil-A at dinner last night.
I love all of my kids. I am so thankful to experience fatherhood with boys and a girl. I imagine that life would have been pretty boring without our little princess in the house.
7 Things I Appreciate About My Daughter on Her 7th Birthday
Today’s is my daughter Maddie’s 7th birthday. Seven years ago, my wife and I were extremely blessed to have a daughter after two boys. She’s two years younger than Camden and four years younger than Ethan.
I couldn’t imagine life without a little girl in the house.
As we celebrate her birthday today, I thought I’d share seven things that I appreciate about her. I wrote a similar post for Ethan on his 11th birthday. I think it’s good to write down the things that we’re thankful for.
Here we go.
1) She’s my “baby girl.” In fact, I rarely call her by name. You know what they say about dads and their daughters? It’s 100% true. She has me wrapped around her little finger and she knows it. My wife gets mad at me for treating her differently than the boys. What can I say? Having a daughter is completely different. Everyone tells me to wait until she’s a teenager. We’ve already seen brief glimpses of the future but I’m going to pretend that she’ll always be sweet and want to be around me.
2) She actually entertains herself (by herself). Maddie is the only one of my kids that will actually go to her room and play by herself. We’ll wonder where she went only to find her in room playing with toys. My boys rarely do anything by themselves.
3) She’s a “girly-girl.” She loves make-up, clothes and shoes (just like her momma). Last fall, the family was in the car and we were talking about signing the kids up for a church basketball league. Maddie said she wanted to play. The conversation went on and suddenly Maddie said, “Wait. I don’t want to play basketball. I’ll get too sweaty.” That’s my little girl!
4) She can hold her own against the boys. It’s funny because she’ll be so dramatic about fighting with her brothers. She’ll come running to us, crying and saying “Ethan hit me” or “Camden kicked me.” What she conveniently leaves out is that she went after them. I can appreciate that she doesn’t let them run over her at all.
5) Her legs never work at bedtime. Every single night, I give her a piggy-back ride up to her bedroom. Every. Single. Night. It’s actually pretty sweet and I don’t mind. She is getting big though. I’m not sure how much longer my back can hold out.
6) She doesn’t care about my personal space. She likes being on top of me. As I type this, she’s right next to me on our couch (as we watch “Cinderella”). My boys sat in my lap too but it wasn’t quite the same. If we’re watching TV, she’s all up in my business. I also love that she still holds my hand when we’re out in public. It’s the small things about being a dad, I guess. Believe me, I know it won’t last forever so I’ll take it while I can.
7) She makes me laugh. It’s amazing how different each of our three kids are. Maybe it’s because she’s the youngest or because she’s a girl. I can’t wait to see how her personality will change in the future.
I love all of my kids. I am so thankful to experience fatherhood with boys and a girl. I imagine that life would have been pretty boring without our little princess in the house.
Happy Birthday baby girl!