Singing with Daddy and Daughter!

Hello, helloooo "Love, Daddy" fans, and happy Monday!

Big news update! We're to our 75% funded on Kickstarter, and we only have 5 days left! So head on over to our Kickstarter page now and pick up your own copy of Love, Daddy, along with some awesome other rewards, and help support our awesome little book! To the 123 backers who have already contributed, thank you so much, we couldn't do it without you!

Here's a sweet little story from the author Mike to start your Monday off right - with lots of enthusiastic greetings, singing and love!!!

Here's a sneak peek of page 4 in the book, with our sweet little panda happily singing away and banging on pots and pans in the kitchen!

"My daughter loves to sing.  We go to Music Together, a little kid's music class every weekend where she learns all these different songs (that we, as parents, also have to learn as well so we can sing and dance together in class like crazy people). :-)

One of them is the "hello" song, where we sit in a circle and sing hello to everyone in class. It goes "Hellloooo, to <insert kid's name>, so glad to see you!" and goes around the room until everyone is greeted.  My daughter has since taken to hosting her own class at home in combination with "tea party" time. Our circle of Happy Hour tea buddies has now grown to include Elmo, Panda, Winnie the Pooh, Hammer (her hammerhead shark stuffed toy), and Mickey Mouse - all who apparently need the "hello" song first before being able to enjoy their yummy pretend tea and cake.

I hate to admit that I love it, but I really do. I mean, just imagine how much happier the morning line at Starbucks would be with a little "hello" time!!!"

Have a wonderful week Love, Daddy fans - and please please please spread the word about our Kickstarter campaign - we're so close and we want to make sure as many families with daddies and daughters as possible get to enjoy our book!

Funny Stories from a Long Distance Dad...

Every dad has to travel or be away from his kids at some point while they're growing up. Luckily for us in this day and age, it can be really easy to stay in touch, and lead to some fun moments of connection even when you and your kids aren't in the same room.

Mike the author shares a sweet story about how he video chats with his 2 year old daughter... kids really do make any regular activity so much better, don't they?

"FaceTime rocks. For a traveling dad like me, I am thankful everyday for the gift of Internet video chatting. I feel like George Jetson every time.  I know many of us dads have jobs that take us away from home and away from those we love. Video chatting eases the pain and can make for some fun conversation.

I have recently taken to showing my daughter the various things that are around me when we are on video chat. She finds it totally hilarious and is like our own long distance version of "I Spy."

One time, I was at this super quirky restaurant that had to have been furnished from the estate sale of Sarah Palin's Alaskan hunting lodge.  There were animal heads on the walls and stuffed animals (not the cute and cuddly kind) everywhere. During the whole call, I kept asking my daughter, "Wanna see a <insert animal name here>?," and I would turn the camera around.  She kept cracking up at all the different animals. Now, she always asks me to show her some animals every time we are on a call. Still figuring out what to do.  Maybe I should visit more zoos while traveling for work?"

We'll leave you with a link to play your own I-Spy games - since it's Friday, and honestly who's working anyways?

And PS - our Kickstarter campaign is over a third of the way funded, click here to contribute now - we need YOUR help, and you can get your own Love, Daddy book!

Happy Weekend Love, Daddy fans! 

On First Steps...

Here are Mike's thoughts on one of the most momentous occasions in the first few years of having a child - when she starts walking!

"My daughter did not start walking until she was almost 2 years old.  For those of you parents that worry about the whole walking thing, well, don't worry because it will definitely happen.

For us, the day came one Saturday morning when she just stood up and took off like Usain Bolt in a new pair of winged shoes.  She must have run about twenty steps before sitting down at the other end of the living room laughing hysterically, almost like she was keeping this big secret the whole time. My wife and I cracked up too and breathed that collective sigh of relief. She was finally WALKING!!!!  Well, now she just can't STOP.  Thank goodness for baby-proofing and child safety gates!

This ended up being the inspiration for the line in the book, "ZOOM, like a race car speeding down the hall," which I felt would make a great visual for the spread.  Katherine has done a great job bringing this to life, and we can't wait for you to see the final result!"

Of course now we have to show you obligatory, beyond adorable videos and pics of baby animals taking their first steps because it's just too cute for words to see anyone tiny learning how to walk on wobbly legs!

Ahhhh too cute! And how about this gif of a little polar bear cub getting up on it's paws?!?!

Images and GIF all found via Pinterest.

We'll leave you with this cuddly ball of panda fur taking his first steps on film : D

BBC News found via Pinterest.

Do you have any funny or sweet memories of when your children first started walking? Or even your pets? We'd love to hear about them! 

Onions and Hugs

A cute story from Mike the author on a sweet exchange between him and his daughter... Kids say the darndest things. 

"The other day, when I was cutting onions, my daughter came up to me and gave me this huge hug on the leg and said "Daddy, don't be sad."  Honestly, I don't know how many of the tears were actually from that onion."

And since Mike's favorite comic is Calvin and Hobbes, this little scene seemed fitting...

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

Have a great day, don't cut too many onions!

Books to Empower Little Girls!

The Love, Daddy team is very proud that our book focuses on a strong and loving relationship between a father and daughter. We know how important it is to raise smart, kind little girls in today's world, and how tough that can be with what's often portrayed in the media.

In that vein, we stumbled upon an awesome article online the other day by Bust magazine (way to go Bust!) and thought, 'Perfect! We need more great children's books for little ladies!'

Here's a link to 12 Empowering Children's Books To Add To Little Girls' Bookshelves - it includes some classics and old favorites, like Matilda by Roald Dahl, and Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, but also some new ones like The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke we hadn't heard of that tell stories about interesting, creative and brave little girls following their dreams.

Matilda by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake. Image found at bust.com

Until Love, Daddy is available for purchase (so soon, only 1 month until our Kickstarter begins, join our mailing list to stay in touch!), we encourage those of you with little girls in your life to check out these books and show them all the awesome ways they can grow up to be fantastic women.

Any other books that didn't make this list you love for your little ones? We'd love to hear about them!