Cesar Cardenas of Selma celebrates his first Father's Day as a new dad this year -- and you can see his excitement in the big smile that never leaves his face.

He's been that way since he found out last fall that a baby was on the way. The news left him "overjoyed," he said.

Cardenas hasn't just embraced fatherhood. He's bearhugged it.

Right after getting the big news, Cardenas bought a baby-size Oakland Raiders jersey, jacket and sweat pants. He's a big Raiders fan, and he assumed the baby would be a boy.

Then -- you guessed it -- an ultrasound showed that Baby Cardenas was a girl. No problem. Cardenas and Lorena Lopez went out to buy dresses and shoes for their daughter. He picked out the shoes.

Now months later -- after a scary premature birth -- daughter Lauren is 6 weeks old and doing fine. And her dad is thinking about their futures: "I have really big dreams for her to do whatever she wants in life," he said. "And I want the opportunity to always say 'yes' to her unless 'no' would be to her benefit."

Cardenas has other ideas about his daughter's future, too.

l Lauren needs to play sports. Cardenas, 27, and Lopez, 26, both are athletic; he played baseball at Selma High School and she played softball at Fowler High School. They both believe that athletics build confidence in a child.

l Lauren must be a Raiders fan. Lopez is working on a Raiders hair bow for Lauren to wear with the silver and black jersey, jacket and sweats.

l Lauren can't date until she's 20. OK, Cardenas is kidding about that.

l Lauren can't get married until she's finished with her education. This one he's serious about. "I want her to be self independent -- just like her mom," Cardenas said. Two of the best traits for women are independence and confidence, and education promotes both, he said.

Lopez works as a financial representative while Cardenas is a transportation company manager.

Now about the premature birth.

Lauren wasn't scheduled to arrive until late June, but Lopez showed signs of early labor in late April. When the staff at Adventist Health/Selma Community Hospital detected a problem with the baby's heart beat, doctors did an emergency cesarean section.

Lauren was born April 29 and weighed 3 pounds 1 ounce. Babies that premature usually don't breathe on their own, but Lauren did, Cardenas said. "Dr. [Rene] Charles said she was a miracle baby."

After the birth and before Lauren was whisked to Children's Hospital Central California, Cardenas held his daughter for the first time. "How do I explain it?" he said. "It was a total shock. I had this sense of 'she's mine.' I held her tight."

Lauren was at Children's Hospital for one month, but she had no serious health problems. Rather, doctors wanted to monitor her progress as she gained weight. Her parents visited every day, and they brought her home on May 30. Lauren now weighs close to 6 pounds and is doing her baby things.

She sleeps. She eats. She needs her diapers changed. And dad is involved in all of them. "I love doing diapers," Cardenas said.

On Father's Day, he and Lopez will take Lauren to a park for a barbecue.

Said Cardenas: "I'm going to have the privilege of some father-daughter time all day."