Not the Daddy!

Here are the pictures from Chris' Homecoming last Monday. I had no worries that the kids would warm up to Chris quickly once he was home. There has never been a kid that didn't warm up to him, though I was a bit worried that it would take some time for Jonathan. I was soooo wrong. We picked Chris up at the hangar, an hour and a half later we were sitting at Applebees for lunch; Chris and the kids jammed into the booth on one side of the table, and me - alone - on the other side. For the rest of the week I have not been allowed to zip Jonathan's jacket, change a diaper, buckle him into his booster seats (in the car nor at the table), or tuck him into bed. Honestly, it's refreshing (except the tucking into bed part, that's one of my favorite things). I feel as though I live in an episode of that old sitcom 'Dinosaurs' with Jonathan hitting me over the head with a frying pan, yelling, "Not the Daddy" every time I come near! Still, it's great to have the liveliness and energy back in the house.

These are some of the signs the Officers' Wives Club put up around the base in preparation for Homecoming. Chris' squadron is VFA-22, the Fighting Redcocks.

This is the sign the kids and I painted for Chris and hung on the garage. The kids each put their hand prints on the sheet. Jonathan was so proud of his first set of hand prints (in blue) that he put his hands hands back down on the sheet by the yellow bow and proudly exclaimed, "Blue, hands, self!" He's been experimenting and taking a lot of pride in his independence lately!

The house, ready to greet Chris on his return.

The kids ready to greet their Daddy. Clara was happy to have the earmuffs to reduce the sound and the kids and I had matching t-shirts made. They turned out really well, though I never got a good picture of the shirts' front and back. The front has Chris' picture in the plane and says, "My Guy McFly". His call sign is obviously 'McFly' - I guess the other guys in the squadron thought he looks a bit like Marty McFly from Back to the Future.

All the planes lined up on the ground. Waiting for the guys to get out. Chris is in the plane with the 104 on the side. I believe it was the 3rd plane back (the one right before the break in the line).

Here's the picture and snipit that made it in the paper Tuesday morning. Chris is the 2nd from the right (next to the guy who's waving).

Clara had the whole 'first hug' planned out in her mind - She was going to run to Daddy and he was going to pick her up and spin her around lots of times, all the while giving her a big hug and lots of kisses. It was all she talked about for the week before Chris came home. I passed the info along so that she would not be disappointed -- though, I'm sure it would've been close to the same even if I hadn't.

Jonathan caught up to them finally.

Look at those smiles!

Together again!

Cheese! After greeting Daddy, Jonathan's next order of business was the huge fruit platter they had prepared in the hangar!

More signs in the hangar

They also put up these signs -- one plane for each guy in the squadron with their call sign on it.

One last banner on base YCBAR! (You Can't Beat A Redcock!)

With Chris home just in time for Thanksgiving we obviously had a lot to be thankful for. We opted for a quiet Thanksgiving at home, just the 4 of us. It's so good to have our family together and complete again!

Welcome Home Baby!