"Oh daddy dear, you know you're still number one..."

Why are dads number one? What is it about a father that makes a world of difference in his children? I'm actually not really sure but there is scientific fact that shows that fathers really do make an incredible difference in their children's lives. I am not by any means trying to discount mothers, we already know and can agree that a mother is essential, I am only trying to show that fathers are as equally important as mothers are.

Studies have shown that children whose fathers play with and nurture their children as infants have higher IQs and receive higher grades in school. One thing I found interesting was that children with involved fathers have larger vocabularies. Why? A father doesn't babytalk as much as a mother and will use words the child doesn't know thereby expanding their vocabularies. I definitely saw that in my life. My dad is a lawyer, he loves using big words. When I would ask him what a word meant he would always tell me to look it up in the dictionary so that I would remember the definition.

Having a strong relationship with your father is also a protection. A good relationship can protect your daughter from sexual assault or abuse. I think that is a beautiful thing.

I want to give a shout out to my dad. He is truly doing his best with what he's got.

One time I asked my dad to make me a mixed CD. He put "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as the first track. He was right about that one. I did just want to have fun and he took that into account when we was raising me. I was (am) a fun loving kid.

My dad would wrestle with me all the time. One time I stuck a piece of duct tape on his leg and ripped it off. That was one of the best victories of my life, mostly because he didn't get mad at me and we had a great family wrestling match. It was so fun.

My dad would take time off of work once a week to come to my class in second grade and read The BFG by Roald Dahl. I hated being in second grade. It was the worst year of my life. I felt picked on by my teacher and way less cool than the other kids in my class. My dad coming to read was such a relief from the stress of it all and all the students loved my dad, it helped me feel like I had something of worth to offer.

My dad has never doubted my abilities. When I said I wanted to do something (like gymnastics, photography, college, or a mission trip) he fully supported me. My dad has incited a confidence in myself that I don't think I could have gotten anywhere else.

I love him.

Can you see the resemblance!?