D Day

I feel like we've been preparing for this day for a year now, even though the actual date moved back and forth several times.  We have been very fortunate that Tommy hasn't deployed since 2005, which means he hasn't deployed at all since we've had kids.  Now don't get me wrong, he has been gone a lot, but just short trips that were less each than a month.  

We couldn't send Tommy on the ship empty handed and I wanted to make him a gift that meant something, so the girls made handprint and footprint crafts and an M&M bow tie and I gave him Skittles and a Mounds candybar.  Caroline's craft has her handprints in the shape of a heart and then her footprint and it says "From the bottom of my heart to the tips of my toes...I Love You!"  Lyla's handprints are tied together with a ribbon that Tommy can wrap around himself for "a big hug from Lyla."  The M&M's are supposed to look like a bow tie and it says M&M (many & many) thanks for being a great Dad!  We love you, Lyla and Caroline."  The Skittles say "Thinking of you gives me the Skittles, Love Liz," and the Mounds says "Missing you Mounds and Mounds. Love, Liz"  I wrapped it all in one box and Tommy opened it once he was on the ship without us.  

 Walking hand in hand to the ship.  I was pushing Caroline in the stroller behind them.  This was sad to watch because they are such good buddies.  She is a Daddy's girl.

 Hanging out on the flight deck with Daddy.  

 In the wardroom seeing where Daddy will eat his meals.

 The girls running through the halls.  They thought the ship was their own little playground.  

 Big smiles in Daddy's bed.  

 Pictures of our goodbyes.  

 Here is Tommy walking on the ship.  He is in the green flight suit above the U in USS.  This is the moment my tears started flowing.  I was doing a good job of holding it in until he walked away from us.  

 Waving from the ship.  Such a sad moment.

 Two hours later, the ship pulled out.  They all wear their white uniforms and man the rails as the ship pulls away.  It is quite a sight, but sad at the same time.  

 There was a big log near the jetties, and Lyla showed me how well she can balance as she walks across.  

Tommy left a candy jar full of kisses from him, which are really Hershey kisses.  Definitely not as good as a real Daddy kiss, but it will have to do for a while.  I will have to fill it up a couple of times for both girls to have enough kisses.  Tommy also gave the girls a Daddy doll which is a little pillow with his picture on it.  It's really cute and I hope to get a picture of it, but haven't done that yet.  He also gave them a globe pillow so I can show the girls where Daddy is going and they can also hug it.  They really enjoy sitting on it too.  The best thing Tommy left is that he made a DVD for the girls of him reading stories from their Children's Bible and their favorite books.  We look forward to watching the DVD every evening before bed.  Caroline looks at him and says "Daddy!"  Its really cute and a great way for them to see and hear him, and they even talk to him.   

When we got home that day my best friends Sarah, Mary Lauren, and Natalie had left these yellow roses at the door with a really sweet card.  And I had a boo hoo bag with all sorts of goodies from the wives club.  Its a bag full of goodies for me and the girls.  And now we start the countdown.  We will miss Tommy so much, and we are already looking forward to a sweet homecoming!  I am so proud of Tommy and what he does for our Country and I am thankful that we have men and women who are willing to give up so much to keep us safe and do this very important job.  

Happy Father's Day!

It just so happened that our last weekend before deployment was also Father's Day.  We were all happy that Tommy was here for that special day so he and the girls could spend it together.  Saturday morning we decided to brave the winds and spend some time at the beach.  The girls love playing in the water!!  Caroline got a little cold, but other than that it was fun.

 We went to church Father's Day morning.  The pastor invited us up to the front of the church and had a prayer for us before Tommy deploys.  Then everyone came down and hugged us and wished Tommy well.  It was an emotional time and made it all so real.  I am thankful for our church and appreciate all of the prayers.  After a nice lunch outside at Tijuana Flats (Lyla's favorite after church restaurant), we took some pictures outside.  It's always a challenge to get a good picture with both girls in it.  They just won't look at the same time.  That night we ordered dinner from Maggianos, one of Tommy's favorites.  It was a nice, relaxing Father's Day and we were so thankful to spend it with Tommy.  We wish we could've seen our Father's on this day, but we called them and it was nice to hear their voices, and we saw them the weekend before and gave them their gifts.  Thank you for being great Dads!

Barbie World

Lyla danced in her first recital called Barbie's World.  It was held downtown at the Terry Theatre on the  River.  I was so nervous for Lyla and really didn't know what to expect.  What I did know was that whatever she did, she was going to look beautiful doing it because we had perfected her hair style (a low bun) and, her makeup and her Repunzal costume was beautiful.  I have to say that this recital had me a bit stressed.  This was our first year of dance and Lyla took from Nancy Dance which is a very well known dance studio in Jacksonville Beach.  This was their 28th recital, so they know their stuff and it was very organized.  So organized that they provided the moms with 10 pages of instructions to get us through the month leading up to the recital and the actual recital.  They had pictures, rehearsals, and finally the recital.  I'm not sure how many times I read that recital letter, but I can probably still quote some of the pages.  I also watched a You Tube video and learned some tricks to get her hair in the perfect bun.  Looking back I think we did pretty well.  Lyla was absolutely gorgeous and did great on stage.

April 19th was picture day!!  I was so nervous about putting her hair up in a bun for the first time and getting her makeup just right.  Lyla sat so still and let me get it all on her and she looked just beautiful! My only snafu was that the purple thing on her head was supposed to be wrapped around the bun.  I think I did it best though, doesn't it look really cute as a headband?  And please notice the purple bows on the shoes.  I had to sew them on and I do not sew.  They stayed on through it all!  Here is a quick picture before we left the house for pictures.

Here is the professional picture.  Out of four poses, three of them were really good.  I wanted to buy them all but I seriously have so many pictures of my Lyla already I wouldn't have anywhere to put them all.  Seriously, don't you like the purple thing on her hair in the picture above?

June 10th was recital day.  No pictures were allowed in the theatre during the recital so you don't disturb each other or the little dancers.  But here is a summary.  Lyla danced to two songs during the recital.  Her two numbers were Rapunzel "Wish Upon a Star" the ballet number.  The tap dance was A Fairy Secret to the song "Can You Keep a Secret?"  Because of her birthday party the day before and and the fact that there was no time for a nap before the recital I was worried about Lyla getting sleepy.  She danced so well during the recital, but Tommy and I laughed as she let out a huge yawn right on stage like she was in the comfort of her own living room.  I love how there is no stage fright or embarrassment at that age.  The audience was big and with all the lights, there was no way Lyla could see us, but that didn't stop her from waving and saying "Hey mom!"  I could read her lips and it was so cute and made me feel really special.

Lyla had to be at the theater 1 1/2 hours before the recital.  When I walked her into the theater they had an older dancer (I'm guessing 10) assigned to each of the little ones.  Here is Lyla sitting in her seat waiting for instructions.

My beautiful dancer!

After the recital!  We gave her pink carnations and Nancy Dance gave them a little pink phone with lip gloss inside.  

Afterwards we went outside and took some pictures of Lyla and her two friends, Anna Claire and Isabella.

I think this picture is perfect.  I love that they are all looking at the camera and giving sweet little smiles and its complete with Isabella holding the rose perfectly.  I must frame this one.  

I like this one because you can see Lyla's bun and how Isabella looks like she's smelling her rose.  

Proud parents.  I am one proud dance mom.

 Lyla with my parents 

 Lyla with Tommy's parents

 Tommy and I gave Lyla a bouquet with three cookies because she loves her sweets so much.  She wanted to eat one as soon as she saw them.

 It was about to pour down rain, but we squeezed in a group photo at the end.  

After the recital, we picked up Caroline, Aunt Kathryn, cousins Lexi and Max and went to Mojos for some barbecue.  I think it was a great day.  Next year if Lyla wants to do dance again, I will not be nearly as stressed..hopefully.

Isabella's Cowgirl Party

Lyla's friend Isabella loves Jesse from Toy Story.  She even dressed up as Jesse last Halloween.  She had the most fun birthday at a local dance complete with pony feeding, pony rides, playground fun and a bounce house.  Lyla had a blast!  Caroline had fun too, but wasn't really excited about the ponies yet.  

Lyla smiled so big while riding the pony.

Lyla gets red just like I do when she's hot.  Here are the kids waiting for their food.

They had the cutest cake pops.  Caroline loved her cow print cake pop.

And so did Lyla.  She calls them bake pops.

Isabella's party was so much fun.  Maybe Lyla is going to be a cowgirl one day and work on a ranch.