Wrapping her up in his t-shirt, doting dad Mark Wahlberg kept his young daughter Ella warm as they were seen leaving the Umberto Salon in West Hollywood over the weekend (May 8).

Now that his little girl is an inquisitive 5-year-old, it appears that endless questions have lead the actor to do the inevitable — he finally asked his baby mama and girlfriend of 8 years, model Rhea Durham, for her hand in marriage!

“Ella is very smart,” an insider tells In Touch Weekly. “She wanted to know why Dad and Mom weren’t married.”

The pair is planning an intimate ceremony in front of about 30 guests at Beverly Hills’ Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

“It took him a while to get used to the idea of getting married,” adds the insider. “But now he can’t wait for them to become man and wife.”