a date with daddy.

A couple of weeks ago, the YMCA held their annual father/daughter dance. Several of the little girls we know were going, and Jeb thought it would be fun to take LilliAnn on her first date. When he told her about the dance, she was absolutely THRILLED! She called it a "ball" like Cinderella's and immediately started calling Jeb her "prince." She talked about it for weeks and already had her heart set on wearing the red dress in her closet that she never got to wear for Christmas. LilliAnn is absolutely crazy about her daddy, and I knew that this little date would be the highlight of her year! 

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On the day of the dance, the kids were out of school for parent/teacher conferences so my friends Taryn, Stephanie, and I decided to plan a fun day for the girls. We started the day with manicures and pedicures at Nail Spa. LilliAnn picked out the perfect sparkly red polish to match her dress. I begged her to wear a sequin pink dress with a big, bright pink bow on back, but she insisted on the red one. After nails and toes, we headed to Chili's (the girls' choice) for lunch and then made a stop at the mall for some shopping. We went into Claire's where LilliAnn picked out a tiara, matching jewelry, and new make-up of course! She had mentioned wanted to wear high heels, so we made a stop into the shoe store and found the most adorable little black mary janes with heels! Our next stop was the salon. LilliAnn wanted her hair in "really big curls." I wasn't sure how that was going to work, since her hair is still so short and thin, but Amanda worked her magic! 

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The back has gotten really long, but the front and sides still have a ways to catch up! But look at that gorgeous blonde hair! 

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She loved it! Her hair turned out absolutely PERFECT! 

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Daddy surprised her with a little wristlet corsage, and she was over the moon! 

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Seeing this image made me a little teary eyed…I imagined this same moment…20 years down the road on her wedding day…and I got pretty emotional. She'll still look at him like that. She'll still be his baby girl. And he'll always be her first "prince."

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Kisses for the prince. MUAH! 

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I cannot get over how absolutely precious she looked that evening! And I'm SO glad she insisted on the red!!

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pretty maids all in a row - all of these girls are Reid's age and LilliAnn is the youngest

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Paisley & Shawn Ramsey - Aspyn & Justin Harder

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Sophia & Greg Wilson - Esther & Brian Morris

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Kendall & Mike Cook

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She was ALL about loving on her "prince!"

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my absolute favorite!

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little baby beauty

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The dads surprised the girls with a party bus! They listened to Frozen songs on the way to dinner at Paul's Place! These daddies really knew how to do it up right for their baby girls! I hope their prom dates can compete! 

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The dads said that the girls had a blast dancing and singing in the party bus! LilliAnn said that at the dance, her daddy "fast danced and slow danced" with her, and that it was a "GREAT night!" 

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I'm so glad that LilliAnn got to have this experience and memory with her daddy. I'm looking forward to many more years of daddy/daughter dances with LilliAnn and her "prince."