ROLL ON

We smiled as she pulled the paper from its roll. We laughed as she threw a streamer across the couch and we both said faster as she spun until she was covered like a mummy and the roll was an empty cardboard cylinder in her small hands. I helped her onto the couch as she asked and immediately searched for my phone to capture the moment; her mother would be home shortly and this was one of the many milestones in parenting where joy wins the battle over anger and it is impossible to be upset. I took more pictures than I would ever need to frame that day and sometimes I catch myself looking back through them like a short film, a movie where the actress pauses for effect between every scene, a comedy where the child on screen steals the show entirely.

I was excited when one of my favorite blogs highlighted the fun by featuring one of my favorite pictures of Madison, one of our favorite moments to date BUT imagine the excitement when Michael from Life to Her Years asked to include that same moment in his book!

Life Lessons for Dad: Tea Parties, Tutus and All Things Pink (in stores May 1, 2014 or available from Amazon here) is a collection of photographs and corresponding captions chronicling the special dynamic of the relationship between father and daughter. Featuring tips and lessons and advice that every father will come to model his parenting style after, this book will undoubtedly bring the underlying emotional journey of raising a little girl to the surface and with it... a few tears among a sea of smiles. For years, Michael has illustrated that fathers are an integral part in the childhood of their daughters -- the foundation of adulthood -- by posting pictures and inspiring quotes on his blog and now that same parental motivation is captured in book form to be flipped through and referenced and treasured in person. This is for the fathers of daughters and daughters of fathers and mothers married to fathers of daughters and parents of sons who now have daughters, in short this book is for everyone in one way or another. It's simply perfect. You'll read it front to back, you'll glance through it during the commercials of your favorite show, you'll read a few pages to her before bed, you'll share it with friends and family and then you'll read it all over again.

When our copy arrived and I turned to the page holding Madison's picture, I'm not sure what I was expecting her reaction to be but what I got was the same reaction I get every time she catches a glimpse of that image, the snapshot that sits framed on the coffee table in our living room...

I love that toilet paper picture, let's do it again.