Cute dads on Valentine's Day: Why we love them

As Valentine’s Day approaches, our thoughts turn toward love, and who better to honor than the other parent of our child? If you loved him before you had kids, seeing him parent your baby, toddler and child will likely turn your insides to mush and your knees to jelly as your heart swells in your chest. We salute all great dads with this stunning photo gallery and notes about why they are loved so much.

Spencer, dad of Nayeli from Hawaii

From Meredith: He's still the hottest to me . I knew the second I met him that he could be wild and passionate and hilarious, but it wasn't until I saw his tender, patient side with Nayeli that I really appreciated what a great man he is, through and through. He'll wipe her butt, have tea parties with her and read her the same damned Dora book five times in a row... but then he'll fire up the BBQ and grill some beast, chop a pile of firewood, or grab my buns when no one is looking. So glad this complex, sweet, sexy man knocked me up and is my love for all time.

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Jason, dad of Eli and Austin from Texas

From Cathy: My hubby is a hot dad because of the amount of love he shows our boys. He overuses "I love you" and never hesitates to get down on their level and play, read, tickle... just be there in general. The other day, I was playing with Austin at the park and he said, "Mommy, you look so pretty today." It was almost like those words were coming out of my husband's mouth. He is the epitome of a father to our two boys and is already raising them to be just like him.

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Chris, stepdad of Audrey from Ontario

From Molly: This is my husband, Chris. He is definitely a hot dad-to-be but he's also a hot stepdad. Not only has he taken on a strong parenting role with my daughter, but he's her best friend. The love he has for her has improved our lives a million times over.

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Paul, stepdad of Kaden and dad of Chloe and Tessa from California

From Jolene: Paul is a great dad because he is completely devoted to his family. We have two girls together and I have a 13-year-old son from a previous relationship. When we started dating, my son was 7 years old and as our relationship progressed, Paul gracefully stepped into the role of father. He teaches our son love, respect, and responsibility. To our daughters, he is a perfect example of a loving, caring, honorable man that they will use as measure of how men should treat them in life.

Paul doesn't watch his kids, he raises them. I have never known another father to be as active in his children's lives as my husband. He changes diapers, gives baths, gets the kids ready in the morning , kisses boo-boos, takes the kids to doctor's appointments, attends school events and is a favorite playmate. He is supportive of the choices I've made for our family such as cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and co-sleeping even if others close to us are not. The adoration my children have for their father makes him more attractive in my eyes than any movie star.

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Fred, dad of Audrey and Owen from New York

From Charlene: Freddy is an amazing husband and father. He works hard so our kids can stay home with me. He puts all of our needs ahead of his. As soon as he walks in the door, the kids drop everything they're doing to run and hug him. He immediately has to start playing with them, work clothes and all, because they miss him so much. He is one of a kind!

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Mike, dad of Archer and Cohen from Indiana

From Heather: I think my husband is crazy adorable, he's good with our kids, treats me like a princess and supports all my "wacky" parenting decisions. He is the first to tell someone why we chose not to circumcise, or why I was breastfeeding our toddler. He never gets sick of airplane rides on his feet, or playing pretend with action figures — and he'll oblige our 1-year-old and pass the ball back to him for the "eight hundredth" time that night.

But the biggest reason my husband stands apart as a dad is that I have never, never, had to get up in the middle of the night with a baby, or even early in the morning. Even in the every two-hours-breast-feeding-days, he would get up, bring me the baby, and put the baby back to sleep when I was done. Isn't that amazing?

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David, dad of Mackenzie, Alexis and Ethan from Wisconsin

From Ashley: My husband David is sexy to me for many reasons. We married young, and we were high school sweethearts. Over eight years ago, he joined the Army . Life has had its ups and downs between deployments and being away from family. However, good things have come with sacrifice. I get to stay home with our children and he works hard so I can do so. We have had a great start in life because of David's service to our country. David is the most patient and optimistic person I have ever met. Because of these qualities, he keeps me grounded. He will fix boo boos, clean up messes, fix hair, give baths, play with them, read to them and many other things. I love to see him love his children the way that he does.

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Brent, dad of Cavan from Florida

From Lisa: Brent has been an awesome dad from day one. Fully supportive of all my birth and parenting preferences. He was raised in a pretty conventional "babies are born in a hospital, formula fed" kind of household so I expected major opposition when I insisted on a home birth, breastfeeding, co-sleeping and cloth diapering. I never received any [opposition]. He got up just as many times during the night as I did and took over a lot of the household chores during the first year. He doesn't undermine me when it comes to discipline and we have always presented a kind of unified front as parents.

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Dirk, dad of Piper from British Columbia

From Jackee: My husband Dirk and our 6-week-old daughter Piper have such a wonderful bond, and bath time is one of their favorite times together. He's an awesome dad for way too many reasons to list, and his goal in life is to work hard to provide for us and make us happy, and he does an amazing job. We are such lucky ladies to have him! Plus that beard is swoon-worthy!

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Brooks, dad of Drake and Pearl from Alberta

From Tracy: Here is Brooks. A dedicated hands-on daddy. He has never been afraid to get right in there with the kids, be it diapers, bath time, bed time — you name it. He is always ready to play… and puts his kids first. This makes him a hot daddy!

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Kev, dad of Ashton and Jaiden from Ontario

From Ashley: This is Kev. He would always get up with Ashton and helped me a lot during the early days. I love this pic. He took it himself while I was resting.

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Jamie, dad of Emily, Harrison and Jack from North Carolina

From Lisa: I love this pic of my husband and daughter. His love for his children makes my heart skip beats. It is always so apparent in his hugs and kisses with them.

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Gary, dad of Emily and Chloe from Texas

From Stacy: I love this picture because my husband is so smitten with our daughter, and she has him so obviously wrapped around her little finger.

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David, dad of Bella from Ohio

From Brittney: When David and I started dating in April of 2007, I knew right away that I wanted to be with him forever, but when we had our first child in September of 2009, I fell in love with him all over again. From the very beginning he was always involved, so much so that I didn't change my first diaper until our daughter was nearly 2 weeks old! If that's not hot, I don't know what is! Now that she's 3, they're even closer, and you can tell how much she adores him just by looking at her face when he walks in a door.

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Brad, dad of Sofia and stepdad of Jordan and Dominic from North Carolina

From Brigetta: Here is Brad reading Sofia her first book. He’s a great provider and works hard so I can stay home.

More on loving dads

Inked: Dads with tattoos
KidKam: Why I love my dad
The importance of the father-daughter relationship