Matthew Sydlik kisses his wife, Nicole, on the stomach at a sendoff in September for the Pennsylvania National Guard Company A, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry out of the National Guard Armory in Connoquenessing Township. Mekenzi M. Sydlik, the couple’s first child, was born Oct. 23, weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces and measuring 20 inches. Matthew was permitted to return home from training at Camp Shelby, Miss., to be present the birth of Mekenzi. Matthew, 24, his brother Jacob, 21, and the rest of Company A are scheduled to deploy to Iraq in January.