While her husband, Corporal John Farrell, was deployed in Iraq, Jamie was home with their 9-month-old daughter, hoping she wouldn't take her first steps until he came home.
After a seven-month tour, Jamie and John were reunited on "The Oprah Show" in 2007. During their happy reunion, Jamie admitted she'd been keeping baby Cariss from walking "practice" to ensure her husband wouldn't miss the big moment.
"Stunting the child's growth until Daddy comes back," Oprah teased during the show.
"Oprah: Where Are They Now?" recently caught up with the Farrells to see how the family is doing today. Jamie shares that Cariss began walking four to six weeks after their "Oprah Show" reunion, and happily, John was home to see it.
"This was my second combat deployment at that time, and I didn't know if I was going to ever be able to see her walk," John says. "So it was just one of those things as a parent, you always want to see your child take their first steps and you want to be there for them."
John says he and his daughter bonded right away. "It was as if I never left for seven months," he says.
In 2008, the family shares that they welcomed a new addition: John Richard Farrell V. Once again, John deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, but says he's now taken a new job where he can be home.
"I've been home for a year and a half and it's been awesome," John says.
His daughter thinks so, too. "It's great to have my daddy home every single day," she says.
An all-new season of "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" returns Sunday, June 1 at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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