Gunnery

Dear Ava,

One day down, a little over five weeks to go until we can talk to Joe/Daddy again.

He headed out to gunnery with his unit and won't return until sometime in mid-October. Even though he is already over 5000 miles away, it is hard to go from being able to talk to him every morning (night his time) and sending texts back and forth to not being able to talk at all for a while.

Due to his unit's rules, he isn't supposed to use his personal electronic devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.). However, he may be able to sneak us some texts or a phone call occasionally and he is able to check his military email account every so often.

In the days leading up to his leaving we talked on Skype so that he could see us and we could see him. Usually we only get to talk on Skype on the weekends due to the time difference. Even though everyone involved was super tired (in fact, you slept the entire time both times), it was nice to see him and I know he really enjoyed seeing you.

The next time he sees you on Skype you will look so different. Then, when he is able to see you in person a few weeks later you will be extremely different from the tiny newborn that he said goodbye to back in August.  

 I've been sending him pictures of you every day and will continue to do that while he is in the field so that he can stay up to date with how much you are growing. I know it must be hard for him to be so far away from you. 

He constantly asks about you and always wants more pictures and videos of you. 

Only a couple more months until we see him in person!