Liam Payne praises ‘incredible mum’ Cheryl as Bear enjoys first Christmas

He became a dad for the first time this year.

And Liam Payne thanked his girlfriend Cheryl for making him a father in a heartfelt Christmas letter to his fans. The One Direction star looked back at the last 12 months and said welcoming baby Bear was his standout moment that left him "speechless, excited, nervous and surprised”. Liam said:

“I’ve got to start with Cheryl and my baby boy Bear. “Holding my baby boy for the first time is an amazing memory I will never forget and watching him grow up is amazing to see. “Cheryl has been an incredible mother to baby Bear since the day he was born and I can’t thank her enough for that.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSEw6ARB_Ka/ Today, it's Cheryl and Liam's first Christmas as a family of three with Bear, who was born in March - with Cheryl posting a pic of their dog in a Santa hat on Instagram. He said:

"All my family are coming over. We’ll have a big Christmas dinner."

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdF03GBAji2/?hl=en&taken-by=cherylofficial But Liam previously revealed he wasn't going all out on pressies for nine-month-old Bear. He told Metro: "It’s my first Christmas as a dad. Best advice I’ve been given? Just buy wrapping paper, and make it really, really shiny, because they’ll only be interested in that." And they'll be happy to enjoy some time together as Cheryl is going back into the studio in the New Year to record a track co-written by former Girls Aloud bandmate Nicola Roberts.