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Jonathan Scott is opening up about his love of being a "bonus dad" to Zooey Deschanel's kids. The _Property Brothers_ star, 44, recently spoke with _Today_ about his

relationship with his girlfriend's two kids, son Charlie Wolf, 5, and daughter Elsie Otter, 7, and how he helps to co-parent the little ones with the actress and the kids' father,

Deschanel's ex-husband Jacob Pechenik. Scott said he "enjoys every minute" of co-parenting the kids with Deschanel and Pechenik. "I always knew I would be a great dad —

former clown, magician, I can build stuff — and it's been incredible," he told the outlet. "You see your life transform, your priorities become your kids, and when they have a

performance that they're doing at school, or working on some of their homework, or whatever it might be, it's a joy." The HGTV star, who first met Deschanel on _Carpool

Karaoke_ in 2019, also recalled the sweet moment when he first realized his bond with Elsie and Charlie. _NEVER MISS A STORY — SIGN UP FOR PEOPLE'S FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER TO STAY

UP-TO-DATE ON THE BEST OF WHAT PEOPLE HAS TO OFFER, FROM JUICY CELEBRITY NEWS TO COMPELLING HUMAN INTEREST STORIES._ "Our youngest came back from school with a picture that he had

drawn, and in the picture, he has Mommy and Daddy and Jonathan and his sister and our puppies," he shared. "He had drawn this whole picture. This is his happy family." "I

think that was when I was like, that's pretty sweet, because the way we think of it is, he has the benefit of a 'bonus dad,' " Scott added. "How cool is that? You

have more people that love you." During an interview with reporters at the 2022 Baby2Baby Gala in November, the_ New Girl_ alum raved over her partner after being asked about her

co-parenting experience, calling him "an amazing stepdad." "He's really very highly qualified for the job," Deschanel, 42, told reporters at the event to which Scott

also added, "pretty good, yeah." During the chat on the red carpet, Deschanel also shared the latest milestone of her daughter Elsie, telling reporters she recently participated

"in a little play." Asked if Deschanel thinks her daughter is following in her footsteps to becoming an actress, she replied, "I don't know. But she liked it. She enjoyed

it." "She's only 7, so she was great," Deschanel said before Scott added that Elsie "killed" her performance during the play.