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Mom Fears That 2-Year-Old Won't Recognize Her Soldier Dad
Homecoming reunions don't get any sweeter than this!
Jonathan Maes
12.03.18

There is nothing sweeter than family reunions with the men and women who serve our country, but this one is certainly one of the cutest and most tear-jerking homecomings we’ve seen.

Amanda Taylor
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Amanda Taylor

Amanda Taylor and her husband Sergeant Brenden Taylor are blessed with two beautiful daughters. The oldest is now 2.5 years old while her younger sibling just celebrated her first birthday.

Nine months after the birth of their second child, Sgt. Taylor was deployed.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
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Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

The military family knew that it wouldn’t be easy to have dad away from home for so long. Mom Amanda and the kids counted down the days until they would see their brave and loving husband and daddy again.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
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Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

After her husband left in February of this year, Amanda would have to take care and raise their two daughters all on her own. She admitted that she was extremely nervous about the whole situation, but she was particularly worried that their two-year-old daughter wouldn’t remember or recognize daddy when he returned home or would be mad at him for staying away so long.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
Source:
Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

Just two hours after Sergeant Taylor left the country, the toddler was already starting to wonder where dad went. Amanda recalls what a terrible day it was because the two-year-old girl also suffered from a stomach bug on the same day. Amanda felt empty and helpless because daddy wasn’t there to give her a warm hug.

Luckily, Amanda was able to keep the spirits up.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
Source:
Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

She knew that negativity wouldn’t help anyone, so she tried to turn those feelings around. Even though Brenden would have to be deployed for a couple of months, Amanda decided to try and create a game to count down the days until dad finally came back home.

Their two-year-old daughter definitely seemed to appreciate this and it made waiting for her dad a lot easier and ‘more bearable’ for everyone, according to Amanda.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
Source:
Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

After 175 days on deployment, Sgt. Taylor was finally scheduled to return home.

Mom knew what a special day it was going to become, and she decided to hire a professional photographer to film the daddy-daughter reunion. She prepared a long time for this day and wanted to make sure that everything was picture-perfect.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
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Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

When the bus full of marines approached, you can see the excitement and joy on everybody’s face.

The adorable two-year-old girl immediately recognized her dad on the bus and started yelling loudly. She also said ‘Daddy, get off the bus!’ and couldn’t wait to give him a warm and big hug.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
Source:
Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

When Brenden got out of the bus, you can see the little girl running towards him to run into daddy’s arms. The whole thing is just incredibly tear-jerking to see. The group hug with the four of them is also the sweetest thing ever.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
Source:
Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

“I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a smile from my husband like I did that day when he finally got his little girls in his arms again,” Amanda said. “Deployments end, love doesn’t.”

Photographer Maddie Short has filmed plenty of beautiful moments, but she says that homecomings such as this one will always hold a special place in her heart.

Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt
Source:
Amanda Taylor/Maddie Shortt

“Homecomings hold such a special place in my heart but this family, in particular, is one of the reasons why I love shooting homecomings so much!,” she wrote on Facebook.

“175 days away from everything you know and the people you love most! I couldn’t be more excited for this little family! Welcome home, Sgt Taylor! Your girls sure did miss you!”

What an absolutely beautiful homecoming reunion!

Be sure to watch the heartwarming footage in the video below.

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