A dad…and his daughter | {special connection}

First of all, I’d like to wish all of the dads out there a VERY Happy Father’s Day! It’s a day that we honor the first man in our life, someone who has loved us unconditionally and faithfully…and been there to pick us up when we’ve fallen down! Without so many amazing dads out there, this world would certainly not be the same! My dad was amazing and never doubted my ability to do what I wanted, always encouraged and challenged me and loved me for who I am! It’s been a couple of years now that I’ve not had my dad to share my life with, but I know he’s watching over and is there with me each step of the way…I miss you dad!!! With that being said, another GREAT man in my life is my husband who is an amazing dad and now a “papa” to our beautiful granddaughter…I can’t imagine life without him…he’s been there through thick and thin and has been supportive and encouraging to our two children (both grown!!)…and is part of who they each are! You are amazing my dear…I love you so much!

So…this leads me up to my post today. It’s a special one, with lots of love and a whole lot of bias that I’m sharing a story and some photos from a session with our son and his daughter. Josh is our oldest and certainly challenged and tested our abilities as parents throughout the years…and surprisingly, we made it through, and we both have many gray hairs to prove it! If you ask Josh, I’m not sure he’d agree that we always gave him good advice and were looking out for his best interest at times when he might not have been, but maybe he’s changed his mind about our parenting now that he’s a parent himself! Funny how life sort of turns on you and you realize that your parents did know more than you thought after all! We’ve had ups, downs, tears and laughter….LOTS of laughter with Josh and he’s worked hard to get where he is now and we are so very proud of him and all that he’s done…it’s rewarding to see him become a caring individual, hard working, thoughtful soul and a VERY loving father…it really warms my heart!

Josh became a dad nearly six years ago. It’s not what he thought parenting would be like, he was young and in the Navy and life wasn’t always easy or fun (I’m sure there was fun, but not the work part at the time!)…and he lived all the way across the country for a few years. Honestly, I think being away from family early on is a wonderful way to build character and this certainly helped him…though he did have more “building” to do once he returned to Puyallup. A now divorced dad with a beautiful (see, I’m not prejudiced!!) daughter, Jayden, he would do anything for her and he does…he works hard, loves her, provides for her, plays with her, cares for her, teaches her and disciplines her…and it’s funny because we see so many things he does are things we taught him. Interesting how you don’t think they were paying attention or even noticed and now…it’s coming back around! Being around Josh and Jayden is always fun…the two of them have lots of fun, laugh a LOT and it’s obvious that Jayden loves her daddy…she’s very affectionate and when she runs up and gives him a hug and says “I love you, daddy” it brings tears to my eyes every time! Life isn’t easy for him, he works hard and long hours, doesn’t always have as much time as he’d like to do the fun things with Jayden, but he grabs whatever moments he can get and she knows that he’s there for her…no matter what!

So, I saved this post for today – as a special gift to our son, Josh, and I wanted to say that I love you very much and am so VERY proud of you…you are a great person and an amazing dad!!!  Okay, time to see what fun they have together and we had this afternoon….

As you can see above…they have lots of fun and laugh a lot…and Josh is certainly not afraid to wear PINK…although Jayden doesn’t like sharing her sunglasses, especially on a sunny day!

These two were so funny…goofing around and when Jayden wanted to be serious, of course, Josh wasn’t…she kept peeking over to check on him!

Miss Maddie…Jayden LOVES this little dog…she’s a pug and you can’t help but love her scrunched up little face and funny snorting sounds she makes!!

Jayden has had just a “few” photos taken of her in her nearly six years of life – so she certainly knows how to “strike a pose” IF she wants to…which is her choosing, so I never know what I’ll get with her…this time, she worked the camera!

Fun and games, both of them kids, just one big, and one little…these two are always being silly!

This series cracks me up because Jayden was so serious that Josh had to “behave” and do what she was doing …and as you can see, that wasn’t quite the way it worked out, but in my opinion, it was just PERFECT!

Our little princess…she is sugar and spice…and more!

 

Afterwards, the reward was a trip to Starbucks…enjoyed by both Josh and Jayden! As you can see, she’s pointing out her sliver and Josh is accessing the severity of it!

More fun and games!

Probably my favorite from the session…it’s obvious this “dad and daughter duo” are quite close and have a special bond…and I’m proud to say they are part of my family…we are so blessed to have one another…can’t imagine not having them in our lives! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, grandfathers, uncles and father figures…you all ROCK!!