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"I don't want any kids," my husband always stated. "Kids don't like me, and I don't like kids." For years I heard this mentioned whenever I brought up the subject of starting a family. I also heard, "I won't be a good father", and "I'll screw up their lives". Did I mention that my husband is particularly ornery?

Truth be told, my husband has always done well around kids. While we were dating, he had one little girl at his church believing he had a pet rat that came out at night and cleaned his house for him. Every Sunday, he would tell this child stories about the rat who cleaned his bachelor pad. Finally, the little girl got smart, and asked to see the rat. My husband immediately went out in search of a rat to show off to the inquisitive youngster. The following Sunday, you guessed it, he arrived at church with a small aquarium, and a fat little brown and white rat named Socrates. The little girl was in awe. From that moment on, I knew my husband would be a good father.

In January of 2006, we found out I was pregnant with our first child. We were both shocked, excited, and scared to death! Several months later, we discovered we were having a baby girl. I could see the twinkle in my husband's eye as he saw his little daughter on the ultrasound screen. Boy, was he going to be in for it! There would be a little girl who would have him completely wrapped around her finger.

Once our daughter entered the world in September, life changed drastically. Schedules changed, finances changed, and diapers changed. During those first few months, I wasn't exactly sure how my husband felt about being a father.

As the months flew by and our daughter grew older, I saw myself watching my husband interact with her more. I felt myself reminisce about the scene in The Grinch That Stole Christmas' where the Grinch's heart grew three times. I'm not saying my husband is the Grinch, but since our daughter has come into the picture, he has changed. I truly believe he wants to be there for his children because his dad was never around when he was young. His dad was always working, and missed out on their childhood. Now, my husband has a routine in getting up with her in the morning, eating breakfast with her, and they watch Sesame Street. Together they bring in the newspaper and mail every day before he goes to work. He knows the words to the theme song for Elmo's World', wonders where the name Dorothy came from for Elmo's goldfish, and has gotten on www.imdb.com to see what other work Mr. Noodle' had done in his lifetime. I was even more surprised the other day when he had looked up the voice behind Snook on It's A Big, Big World', and confessed to having songs from the show running through his head all day at work. If he makes it home before she goes to bed, I let him read bedtime stories to her, and usually get quite a chuckle listening to him trying to do the different character voices. I don't know if I've ever heard someone murder Donald Duck's voice so badly.

When I first met my husband, he was pretty stoic. Marriage opened him up, but his baby girl got to him even more. In fact, we've already talked about expanding our family. If one has gotten to him this much, I can't help but wonder what another one will do, especially if we have another girl. My husband is, and will continue to be, a great father.

Learn more about this author, Emilie Grace.
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