JACKSONVILLE Fla.-- 4-year-old Saydie Van Horn waited eight months for her dad to return home from deployment on the USS Vicksburg, so he could teach her how to play on the swing all by herself.
"I swing real low now, but then he can teach me how to swing higher," she said.
Her wait ended on Monday when her dad, Chief Petty Officer Scott Van Horn surprised his little girl with his return in her preschool class.
"We wouldn't have it any other way," said Saydie's mom, Kim Van Horn.
For Kim, the hardest part of seeing her family back together was that Saydie didn't immediately recognize her dad.
"In the scheme of things he's been gone more than he's been here," she said.
"I didn't know he was my dad," said Saydie.
But for Saydie, all that matters is that her dad is here now and she's got a lot of catching up to do.
"I'm super happy," she said.
Petty Officer Van Horn doesn't deploy again for another month.
