Wilmer Valderrama Says He 'Can't Leave the House' Without Hearing Daughter Nakano Say 'I Love You'

Shafiq Najib
·2 min read
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Wilmer Valderrama daughter Nakano
Wilmer Valderrama daughter Nakano
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Wilmer Valderrama/Instagram

Wilmer Valderrama can't get enough of his baby girl.

During a recent interview with PEOPLE discussing his campaign with Purina Dog Chow, the NCIS star shared the latest milestones of his 19-month-old daughter Nakano Oceana, whom he shares with fiancée Amanda Pacheco.

"It's been incredible," Valderrama, 42, said of his experiences being a dad before adding that his baby girl is "so much more active" now that she's a toddler.

"She mumbles, 'I love you,' now," the proud dad shared. "Literally, I can't leave the house to work unless I hear it."

Valderrama describes his experience with fatherhood so far as "revitalizing and it's re-energizing," adding, "it's everything you thought it would be."

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RELATED: Wilmer Valderrama Reveals His 13-Month-Old Daughter's Adorable Reaction to Hearing 'Encanto' Music

Joking that it's even "a pleasure to change [her] diaper," Valderrama told PEOPLE about his nerves as his baby girl explores her new skill, noting she's "learning to run."

"I think every parent's going to relate to this, her learning to run and then us realizing she's always wearing the wrong shoes for that kind of speed," he said.

"And then knowing that it's not going to turn out well at some point and that she's going to have to learn some hard lessons of balance. That's been the ongoing theme in the last month."

The Dog Chow Visible Impact Award celebrates the remarkable impact PTSD service dogs have on veterans’ daily lives and is part of Dog Chow’s 5th annual Service Dog Salute program.
The Dog Chow Visible Impact Award celebrates the remarkable impact PTSD service dogs have on veterans’ daily lives and is part of Dog Chow’s 5th annual Service Dog Salute program.

Purina Dog Chow

RELATED: Wilmer Valderrama Says Service Dogs Are a 'Critical Element' in Helping Veterans with PTSD

Elsewhere in the conversation, the actor spoke about his new collaboration with Purina Dog Chow to honor finalists of the brand's first-ever Visible Impact Award, which "celebrates the remarkable impact of post-traumatic stress service dogs" helping veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"We've narrowed it down to five finalists and they were selected based on their demonstrated life-changing impact and how incredibly well-trained to be PTS service dogs they were. Ultimately, we want to multiply more of these dogs," he said of the project.

For every vote, Purina Dog Chow will donate $5 to the Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans — up to $75,000 — to aid in the training of more PTSD service dogs. To vote for a Visible Impact Award finalist and learn more about the campaign, visit Purina Dog Chow's website.