Lily's Surprise

Grammy & Papa brought Lily a BIG surprise when they came to visit this weekend!

A Trampoline!!

Lily was sooo surprised!

Big jumps!

What a happy girl!

A Happy Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Lily & I spent Valentine's Day testing out Mommy's new mixer & spending LOTS of time with Daddy!Some of our baked creations...

Daddy's Home!!!

'The waiting crew'

Making a 'Welcome Home' sign for Daddy

'The Welcoming crew'

Finally they arrive!!

Ceremony

YAY!! MY DADDY"S HOME!!

I don't think I've ever seen Lily as happy as she was to have her Daddy home! She gave him so many hugs & kisses & could not stop telling him how much she loved him & missed him. She just kept telling him all night how much she "missed him while he was in the desert", asking if he missed her & saying "Daddy, I love you so much!". She didn't let him out of her sight for days. The morning after he came home, she woke up very bright & early & snuck into the bedroom & said "Daddy? I love you" & then went back to her room until the sun came up (or "morning time" as Lily says). On the morning he had to go back to work, Lily woke up & walked into our bedroom & with a little bit of panic in her voice asked where Daddy was. I told her he was downstairs getting ready for work & she got a little more panicked & said "Work? Back to the desert?" I assured her Daddy wasn't going back there for a long time & that he just had to go into work for a little while, but she still went downstairs to double check with Daddy.

Time Goes by so Sloooowlyyy

Well, time goes by slowly when we're waiting for Daddy to come home! We were trying to tell Lily that Daddy would be home 'in a couple weeks' - but the concept of 'weeks' is lost on a 4 yr old...so Daddy put weeks into perspective for Lily. He told her he would be home in "2 dance classes". After last weeks dance class, Lily realized there was only one more dance class before Daddy came home, so all week she has been saying "Only ONE more dance class, Mommy!!" and asking me EVERY day if it was time for dance class. Dance class came & went, so Lily was expecting Daddy, but she still had a few more days to wait. We have been trying to stay super busy in anticipation of Daddy's homecoming, so it will seem like the time is going by a little faster.

Some of the things we have been doing...

Playing computer games...
Talking to ANYONE who will listen to me... :o)

Thinking about Daddy in my sleep??

And spending a lot of time with Lexi!

So we've kept pretty busy & now there's only a few more hours until Daddy leaves Kuwait! YAY!!!

Any moment

My Daddy had to go away...
But he'll return most any day...
Any moment I may see...
My Daddy coming back to me.

6 months down, 0 more to wait
until Daddy comes home
we just don't know the date!

I miss my Daddy

July 27th, 2006 is the day
we said so long.
Daddy had to leave me here,
but I knew I could be strong.

I didn't understand why
Mommy had to cry.
She took me by the hand
and tried to tell me why.

Daddy has important work to keep our country safe.
He'll be gone a while, but I know you can be brave.
See, Daddy is helping all the kids in Kuwait & in Iraq,
so they can have a better life, but soon he will be back.

I wrapped my arms around Mom's neck
and squeezed her really tight.
It's okay Mommy, please don't cry.
I know we'll be alright.

Before I knew it, months had passed.
I really miss my dad.
I miss his hugs & kisses,
How much longer could this last?

I need my Daddy
to tuck me in at night.
Read a book, say a prayer...
that would be just right.

Mommy misses Daddy
I can see it in her eyes.
She really works hard for me.
She really, really tries.
I'm sure it isn't easy, to be
the Mommy AND the Dad.
She keeps me safe & happy,
even when she's feeling sad.

I want my Daddy here with me for many many reasons
He missed Thanksgiving,
and my birthday,
and even the Christmas Season.

I really want my dad at home,
but he is fighting for our freedom.
He's working hard & being brave
and Kuwait is where they need him.

Not much longer and he'll be home
safe with us to stay,
and I will thank him
for his selflessness each & and every day.

Sleep Over!

Lily's friends Paige & Lexi came over for a sleep over party! Here are the girls all tucked in watching a movie before bed.

Dance Class

Lily was thrilled to get back to her dance class after being away for a few weeks over the holidays. She loves it as much as she did the day she started!

San Diego Sight Seeing

We took a "Seal" tour through San Diego (similar to a "duck" tour, but they call it a seal tour in San Diego)Sea lions sleeping on bait tanks - hoping to get a meal!

Lily's first view of the Pacific Ocean!

Look at all the sea lions laying on the beach!

Lily & Mommy on the beach!Lily digging in the sand

LegoLand

Our best day by far in San Diego was our day at LegoLand. We had SO much fun & there was so much to see & do. I haven't seen Lily that excited in a long time. It was amazing to see some of the things they made out of legos!

Lego Elephant

Lily shooting a water gun at lego animals

AHH! The lion ate Lily!

Some interesting creatures living in the LegoLand trashcans...

Love the pose...

Holding up the line for the telephone already...


Lego STAR WARS!

One of the first things Lily saw when we walked in the park was a roller coaster. She immediately said she wanted to ride on it. I wasn't so sure about this, since she had never been on a roller coaster before and this was NOT a baby roller coaster, but Lily was VERY insistent. She wanted to go - no question!

Waiting in line before the ride...

The first ride!

Lily had SO MUCH FUN on the roller coaster! I can't even describe how excited she was. She screamed in absolute delight the whole ride. When it was over, she said she wanted to go again. Since there was no on in line behind us, we were allowed to stay & ride again - 4 times in a row!! An excited girl after her first roller coaster!

When Lily & I got off, she ran out to meet Grammy & dragged Grammy on the roller coaster with her another 3 times! When she rode with Grammy, she felt brave enough to put her hands in the air for the entire ride. Later in the afternoon we came across another roller coaster - this one even bigger & faster than the first - and again, Lily demonstrated her '4 year old' bravery & ran to get in line. She loved that one even more than the first & would have spent the rest of the day riding the roller coaster over & over if we would have let her!