Brendan Cooper's daily ritual of photographing his daughter for Instagram is both a record of her childhood and a measure of his changing self Like all good routines that actually become routine, this one evolved naturally. Sometime after the two-year-old mark, I noticed, to my delight, that my daughter had not only started dressing herself each morning but that she has, shall we say, a very individual sense of style.The first outfit I felt compelled to share on social media involved a pair of baby-pink leggings, a patterned crop top, a multi-layered mesh skirt, polka-dot gumboots, her mother's thrift-store handbag and a pink pompom beanie. It was about 30°C outside but no child has ever made fashion decisions based on actual weather.She and I were very proud of her achievement and, like any modern parent, I felt the moment merited recording for posterity. So began my #whatlallywore Instagram project.Every day, barring forgetfulness or general morning chaos, I ask her to pose in exactly the same spot, where the light is best and the bedlam that is our house is shown in a more favourable light. I share the results with my community of friends, family, a posse of New York graffiti artists who have inexplicably followed me, and Dale Steyn (where Dale leads I will follow, and he was kind enough to follow back).The hashtag has become something of a hit. Since our first post in 2013, Lally has garnered quite a considerable fan base, with thousands of likes, "bless"-es and unintelligible emojis hailing her efforts.My wonderfully eccentric little girl has delivered some Björk-level red-carpet-worthy moments. She's not shy of a mismatched print. Her ballet tutu features regularly. A get-up that was part Batgirl, part Princess Elsa, finished off by the judicious inclusion of one of those hats with dangling corks favoured by Australians, was a winner.It's hard to describe the joy that this little daddy-daughter ritual brings me. Just the fact that we have this moment together every day is important. The archive in the cloud serves as a record of so much: my daughter's physical development, the beauty of her changing face. The ratcheting-up of her levels of crazy as evidenced by her increasingly bizarre facial expressions. Ace photobomber Gringo the Basset Hound puts in a regular guest appearance.Going back through the feed has frequently brought me to quiet tears. There is so much pathos in watching a child grow. As she's gotten older there have been losses and gains.I miss the toddler in nappies, but am proud of the wilfulness that has crept in of late. While she is still a willing subject, it's now often with a precocious "Oh dad, this is sooo embarrassing" pose, no doubt foreshadowing what is to come.The project also keeps me in touch with my changing self. It amuses me that on any given day I can flip from proud, responsible father to total teenager mode, checking to see how many likes our latest post got.I know that at some point my baby girl is probably going ask me to stop posting pictures of her wacky dress sense on social media, and that in her awkward teens she may demand that I delete every last one of them. We'll have that conversation then.What I know now is that our hashtag project is one of the many ways I tell her I love her every day. I think she gets that.It is also a constant reminder to ask myself: Are you being a good father? Are you giving this special little creature your time and attention? Does she know that you'd give everything to keep her happy?That, by a long shot, is the most important part of the picture.  • Brendan Cooper is head of content at New Media Publishing..