Dads the word on the big day
Kununurra resident Rik Soderlund is about to celebrate his first Father’s Day and he couldn’t be more excited.
The 29-year-old dad will spend this Sunday with his wife Joanne and 16-week-old daughter, Kimberley.
His daughter was cryptic about what present he would get for father’s day, babbling at her giraffe soft toy instead of revealing the surprise.
“I’m hoping for a relaxing day,” Mr Soderlund said.
“And if there is a present, that it’s not matching socks and jocks.
“A fishing rod would be good.”
Perched in her dad’s lap on the grass in Celebrity Tree Park, Kimberley showed her affection in white, frilled socks bearing the words “I love dad”.
“Everyone tells you to enjoy the time as they grow up quick,” he said.
After 16 weeks of being a dad, Mr Soderlund already agrees.
“She’s gone from being almost like a jelly bean to a little human being,” he said.
Joking about his future as a father, he said he thought her teenage years could be his most stressful.
“I’ll be a relaxed dad until she’s suddenly sixteen,” he said.
The family’s plans for Father’s Day are low key but Mr Soderlund does want one thing.
“I claim the other two had breakfast in bed at the hospital when she was born,” he said.
“Father’s Day is my turn.”
