"Keep shining, kid. Keep dancing, keep laughing, and keep expressing every feeling as it comes up for you," the joyful father wrote.
James Van Der Beek admires his kids a lot. The 45-year-old star of Dawson's Creek honored his daughter Annabel Leah on Friday for her 9th birthday by posting a carousel of adorable pictures of the two of them smiling and making silly expressions on Instagram. "9 years old today. 9 years of getting to live in the same house with sweet, loving kindness personified," he wrote, emoting in the text of the post. He added, "I knew you were different the moment you came out…and since then, you've known you will always win a 'Make Dad Laugh' competition, no matter my mood."
The father of six, who shares Annabel with his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek, continued, adding, "Sensitive people can be a bit more vulnerable to what this world throws at them, but may you always find refuge inside that beautiful, soft heart of yours," he continued. "Fully confident that gift of your presence is enough to offer joy to whoever is near - IF people are open. If they're not…it's their loss, not yours."
"Keep shining, kid. Keep dancing, keep laughing, and keep expressing every feeling as it comes up for you. We're here for ALL of it. I love you," the awe-struck dad concluded with praise for his kid.
Apart from Annabel, Van Der Beek and Kimberly, 40, also have sons Joshua, 10, and 15-month-old Jeremiah, as well as daughters Olivia, 12, Emilia, 6, and Gwendolyn, 4. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Van Der Beek announced that he and his family were relocating from Los Angeles to Texas after experiencing their second miscarriage and losing his mother, among other tragic events.
On August 19, 2022, the actor took to Instagram, sharing photographs from two different meaningful family vacations on Instagram as he opened up about the miscarriages the family had to deal with. "And thus began the process - not necessarily of healing - but of being present. Present to the pain. Present to the beauty around us. And present to the acceptance of being in a process I did not understand," he wrote.
Van Der Beek is now very happy, with his family changing a lot about him, per PEOPLE. James Van Der Beek's youngest daughter has changed the way he thinks about masculinity. The 45-year-old actor posted a photo of his 3-year-old daughter Gwendolyn painting his nails pale pink on Instagram. Van Der Beek uploaded a photo of his young child engaging in grooming activities as well as a video of himself applauding his child's nail-painting prowess.
References:
https://people.com/parents/james-van-der-beek-sweet-9th-birthday-tribute-daughter-annabel/
https://people.com/parents/james-van-der-beek-reflects-on-2022-looks-toward-2023-with-family/
Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images | Emma McIntyre ; (R) Instagram | @vanderjames
