A Letter to My Soon-to-be-Born Daughter… From a Former Daddy’s Girl

Dear Sweet Baby Girl,
You’ll be here any day now, and we are all so excited to meet you!
Daddy and I have been working hard on your nursery to get it just perfect for you, even though you’ll be staying in our room for the first few months. Daddy built your crib and refinished all the rest of the furniture in the room to match it. He even painted a wall in your room the perfect shade of pink so that I could spend many of your brother’s naptimes working on a mural just for you. I’m not a big fan of doing laundry, but I truly have loved washing and folding all your sweet little onesies and outfits and getting them put away in your room. And making your bow and headband organizer has been so much fun — you are going to be one well-dressed little lady!
Your big brother (who, at barely 19 months, isn’t much bigger than you!) is going to adore you. He cannot stop patting and kissing my belly, and he thinks that everyone has a “beebee” in their belly, too. He loves to go into your room and point at your crib to tell me that “beebee” belongs in there. He may come in like a hurricane and empty your bookshelves onto the floor, but he’s also brought many of the books from his room into yours — he’s sharing with you already!
Your daddy is such a great dad to your brother. He is a teacher, so I knew as soon as I met him that he was probably very good with kids. When we went to Colorado for our first Thanksgiving together and I got to see him with all your cousins, I knew without a doubt that he’d be a great dad someday. And then when your brother was born, I got to see him take on the greatest role of his life — and he was even better than I could’ve imagined. He’s always willing to roll around on the floor or to go to the park, and he loves to sing and play music. He’s just the best. Your daddy and your big brother are each other’s favorite plaything — but I know they cannot wait to play with you!

As special as Daddy’s bond is with your brother, I can’t tell you how special YOUR bond with him will be. I have a feeling you will be a Daddy’s Girl… just like I was with mine.

You and your brother never got to meet my dad because he went up to heaven before Daddy and I even met. But we will tell you both all about him as you grow up because he was such a great man and a very big part of my life. He would’ve absolutely adored you and your big brother.
I was a Daddy’s Girl. He was the first man I ever loved and I could count on him for anything. He dressed up in costumes and danced on stage with me for father-daughter dances at my dancing school revues — and he dressed up in even more costumes for whatever crazy themes all my high school Dad-Daughter Dinner Dances were. He built me everything from Barbie houses to Target living room furniture — and he moved me no less than a dozen times throughout college and beyond. He always came to my rescue, whether it was a flat tire or a lizard that had gotten into my apartment (the tire was in Metairie, but the lizard required him to drive from Kenner all the way to Mid-City!). He was always down for Parkway poboys (like your Daddy!) and something sweet like a Brocato’s cannoli or a Sal’s snoball (like your Mommy!). But most of all, he was always always ALWAYS there for whatever I needed. Sometimes that meant I was crying about a boy who broke my heart and sometimes that meant he was buying me Tastee Donuts in the middle of the Crescent City Classic. But he was always there no matter what.
The best daddies are.
And you’ve got one of the very best ones out there, guaranteed.
Love,
Mommy
Joey Yearous
Joey is a New Orleans native, Dominican alum, and LSU grad who joined the ranks of motherhood in the summer of 2019. She and her Colorado born-and-raised husband, Phil, left their Mid-City apartment for a house on the Northshore about ten days before they welcomed their son, Sam, into the world. A short 19 months later, their daughter Sloane arrived and their caboose Nicholas completed their family 17 months after that. Though she’s always had a passion for writing, it’s her work in whole-home generator sales that pays the bills. Her 3 kiddos keep her busy, but when she’s got a free moment, you can find her cooking, trying new restaurants, and listening to true crime podcasts. A consummate Pinterest fanatic, she’s always looking for her next DIY project or recipe to try. She believes good senses of humor and random acts of kindness make the world go ‘round.

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