2014!!!

So a new year and we are back on the clock!!! As you all know T left on his deployment at the beginning of last year and safely came back in November! We are all so excited about that! We thank you all for your prayers for his safe return and for our family, they are appreciated. 

During that time Little Lady started school. R participate in her first 5K with the kids. R also has continued with her schooling and is doing well! She's is very happy about that. Wee Man had a birthday, Batman of course! It was, well, exhausting but fun! R's brother was married in the fall so of corse everyone was full of excitement! The kids and R's celebrated with all they could muster the holidays that Big Man missed. And are so thankful that he was home for Christmas!! The summer was great! Little lady started ballet lessons with tumbling and continues in soccer! -spring signs up are soon eek!-

5K

Wee man's Birthday

First Day of School

Wedding

Halloween

Soccer & Ballet

Since Big Man's return we have had his birthday, which was wonderful. And Thanksgiving at home and Christmas &  New Years in Maryland. Big Man and R got to have a kid free vacation for a week. R thought Big Man how to snowboard in that time!! It was great!! Which was much needed as we had not has that kid free time since he had been home.  

Big Man's birthday

Vacation

Christmas was fun, as always, and the new year started off well. It was a  sad time for R and her family with the year anniversary of her Grandmother's passing. However, they all made out well.

Christmas & the Christmas Cookies! 

With that we have had a very unusual winter with SNOW!! I know We couldn't believe it either! Both kids and T for off school and work for nearly a week!! We survived! And of corse played in it! 

That is a brief update. But it covered the basics! R has several other blogs if you are interested In Checking them out. Until next!

These are some homecoming shots from our wonderful photographer!!!! Her image is on the bottom if you are interested!

February_2013

I realize there has been a huge gap between posts. But we got behind! So to catch everyone up to speed: 
Thanksgiving:
Was good. We spent it in Maryland with the Family. Nothing really to report but that we ate way too much good food and had fun visiting with the family!


Christmas & New Years:
Christmas was combined with Taylor's pre-deployment leave as he is scheduled with the 26th MEU. All in all we had a great Christmas; it was a bit rushed with getting to everyone's house on time but it all worked out in the end. Plus it snowed so we all LOVED that, especially Allie! Rachel's brother was kind enough to invite us, Rachel and Taylor, to a New Years Eve bash he was having at the Elks. Since we haven't done that in a while we thought it would be fun; turns out it was!

   

Since 2013 started!
This year started off dim for Rachel and her family. Her Grandmother passed on New Years Day. This was not unexpected for her family but that did not make her pain any less. We all love Nanna more than words and will miss her ever day. There was a lovely service for her and many came to honor her. Our family extends our thanks to those who came and supported us in our time of grief and need. 
To lighten the mood Rachel is happy to report her brother was engaged! They are planning on a September wedding!!! We also experienced what our communication and life would be like with the approaching MEU. It was not fantastic, however, with this knowledge we can better prepare for what is to come.  We were also totally stoked for the RAVENS WINNING THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!!!! 
   




L celebrated her fourth birthday this February! She had a complete Disney Brave birthday! Thanks to both sets of grandparents who came down for the fun. As well as helping Rachel prepare for it since she had to have a root canal a few days prior. She is still not happy about that! L is doing great with her schooling, though she is still on the waiting list for the public school. She will hopefully get in this upcoming fall since she was re-registered as a four year old. Stay tuned there. Her soccer season starts very soon and she is thrilled about that. She will play on the Bandits this year and there will be four girls this time not just two! 

  


Our wee man is doing well, talking up a storm and rampaging the house. That is when he is not tormenting his sister or she him. All in all they do get along well. He is ALMOST done teething!!! Rachel could not be happier about that! There are only two more to go then he can have his first dental check up.



As this month closes we bring the next with heavy hearts as we prepare for the coming deployment.

Until Then God Bless.

June_2011

June for the Jewell family came as fast as it went.

With Taylor on his leave for the accident and in a cast things were needless to say hectic. Rachel had a lot to do with appointments and things around the house; not to mention potty training a two year old. Needless to say it was out of control for a few weeks and as the saying goes, 'when it rains it pours'. Well there was a hurricane heading right for the Jewell house.

With all the stress and running around it took it's tole on Rachel, and the baby got a little anxious. After about two or three weeks of the chaos Rachel started having contractions. After determining it was not Braxtion Hix Taylor decided to call the hospital.

Looking like a hectic cartoon whirlwind he managed to pack everything for the delivery bag checklist all while making phone calls for the necessary arrangements with his cast on crutches. Which was not only extremely comical , especially to L since she got to help, but very impressive.

Within an hour our wonderful friends Chris, Deedria and their beautiful little one E, came and picked L and the dog up and had Taylor and Rachel under way to the Labor and Delivery.

July-September_2012

Hello all! Sorry for the neglect. Life has gotten way to busy and the poor blog was pushed to the wayside. So this will be an update From June 2012 until now September 2012. I hope all enjoy the overload of information!


July: Taylor surprised Rachel with a pool for her birthday a bit early this month. She was very excited about that! During the excitement of set up L had a bit if an accident. She was standing up swinging on her toddler swing. After the tenth plus time Rachel told her to sit down, L decided to listen. Unfortunately she fell backwards off the swing in the process. She put her elbow out to break her fall and ended up fracturing it in the process. This is a common break between 4-10 year old,  so L being a bit of a daredevil, got it a bit early. After cleaning her up and having her ice it for a bit the swelling did not go down so Rachel took her to the ER. After x-rays and some Tylenol with codeine L had a soft cast put on and, luckily an appointment before the fourth holiday for a hard cast. Her medication REALLY made her loopy, the nurses had a blast with her in the ER. And so did the other three year old with a broken wrist, it really was a crack up. 



With that the fourth was full of fun. The kids really enjoyed the fireworks, L was a bit uncomfortable but she made it, loopy and all. The local fireworks were splendid, despite the traffic it was well worth it! 

After the fourth Rachel's birthday was up, and her parents, brother Bryan and his girlfriend Nikki came down (for the first time ever) to surprise her! Rachel was thrilled about that! To top off the Birthday festivities Taylor asked the neighbor (Casey) to make a cake. Now Casey is a professional and Rachel's cake was SPECTACULAR!!!!! Rachel loved it sooooo much!


The rest of the month was just filled with repairing the dryer and L meeting her new home school Teacher. The Montessori was slacking, and Rachel and Taylor do not mess around with education. Since she is still on the waiting list for the local primary school the county offers a program called, 'Parents as Teachers' so L will be up to par and not behind when she does get accepted into the school. C also had an eventful month he stood alone, crawled, took his first step and said the word "why". Now Rachel chases him all over the house, C is a fast crawler. Now he loves to curse around all of the furniture and crawls ALL over the place. Rachel and Taylor are thrilled! They expect that walking will be right around the corner. 

August: This month was full of excitement for C's first birthday and the
 removal of L's cast! On the first L had her cast removed and she did so well. Taylor and Rachel were so proud of her for being brave. She was sad that she did not get to wear pretty colors anymore but glad to have her arm back. She said "Mommy my arm is there! It feels Weird!" After all that excitement Taylor and Rachel celebrated their anniversary on the 11th. It was a fun time away from the kids for both of them. To make it better C decided to throw some kisses a few days later!

On August 28, 2012 he turned one year old! Rachel's parents came down for a little party. Rachel and her mom made cupcakes; to Glenn and Rachel's dismay, Taylor hijacked the left over ones for work the next day. Oh well at least the guys enjoyed them (Rachel hoped they had hell for PT for it too!). C and L on the other hand had a fun filled time having blue icing all over their faces. L took no time to show C how to rip open presents, it was a whirlwind event

September: The biggest news this month is on Thursday the 13th C walked! Thanks to wonderful neighbors Rachel was able to be in the video with C! Taylor was at Ft. Picket for the majority of this month so he was unable to see Connor walk. 

Rachel did not tell anyone that he had walked, which was EXTREMELY hard to do. Not to mention that her parents stopped, in on their way home from Myrtle Beach, a few days later for a quick visit and to take L to Maryland for a week while Taylor was gone. Luckily C decided that crawling was better while they were there. C had his one year doctor appointment this month too so he is all up to date on shots and is healthy.
L is really enjoying her home schooling. She has done exceptionally well with recognizing her letters and numbers. She even recognizes her name now and knows her street name. Every time the family goes somewhere L is pointing out the letters she sees and the numbers. Rachel is thrilled about this, but L is now in the  question phase. "what is that" and "what does that do" This has presented it's difficulties  but if L is interested Taylor and Rachel are both on board.


We also we very happy that football season has started again! Both L and C enjoy watching the games!

Until October! Have a great Month! and GOOOOOO RAVENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

June_2012

June: Well Rachel's Dad's Birthday, Father's Day, Brave and some new words!
This month was finally where things came together for Glenn's 60th. Rachel and the kids went to Maryland while Taylor had to stay home to work. The party was a massive success. Rachel had to intervene when L was not to keen on going to a movie with Granada alone (our plan to keep him out of the house). So luckily Michelle (Taylor's mom) rushed over along with Rachel's cousin Candace, Brother Bryan and his girlfriend Nicki to help with decorating and getting all the food set up. They were life savers! Glenn was totally surprised and the next day he and Maya went off to have a splendid stress free vacation. Rachel headed home with C. while L. stayed in Maryland with Taylor's parents. L. spends a week with her Grandparents each summer.

Taylor and Rachel actually got to have some time together with just a baby. It was very nice to have some time to themselves to do things they don't normally get to do like talk about something other than kids. During this time Rachel was sent an invite to Pinterrest and thus a new addiction was born. The rest of the month was spent making plans from the DIY section. Alas the week quickly came to a close and L was home again! Michelle and Ryan (Taylor's youngest brother) brought L home, and we went to the beach that Saturday to celebrate! It was a great visit.

Then Father's day was upon us, and Taylor was presented with his first suite, aviator sunglasses a book and Thor movie. It was a great Father's Day. On June 22 the Disney Pixar movie  Brave came out. Rachel and L were so excited to see that they were practily jumping out of their skin when the tickets were in hand. That weekend Brandon (Taylor's middle brother) came down for the weekend to have some much needed visit time with his brother.

C decided now we be as good a time as ever to start learning new words. He now can say dog, dad, mama, Dada, and a rendition of ball. There are times when Taylor and Rachel think that he says Allie(the dog) but that may just be that Rachel does not get much adult interaction. C also is able to stand for a few moments on his own where he will take at least two steps; always with his arms outstretched to some piece of furniture. He pulls himself up extremely well but still shows no interest in crawling. Taylor calls him Curious George, which is extremely appropriate for him. He is into everything, he investigates everything that moves or makes the slightest noise. We all found that he loves food. Mashed potatoes are his favorite however he does love bread and fruit. Rachel is not looking forward to the spaghetti mess after seeing the way the potatoes went.

L is in full summer swing. All she wants to do is play outside at the pool or park. Every meal to her should consist of hot dogs, chips and potato salad. Rachel had her heart broken when L started to refuse vegetables; she is blaming both sets of grandparents, saying they spoil her, but Taylor knows better. As of now she has been enjoying her summer! As have Taylor and Rachel, who are both doing well.

Looking forward to July as it bring time off for Taylor and Rachel's birthday. Until then happy Summer!!

*Rachel is still working on the pictures. Look for the April May and June pictures to be in a separate post. It will be mainly pictures with the months to specify. Still open for suggestions!

April&May_2012

Apologies in advance for the late updates.

This month was jam packed with soccer, teeth and soccer.

The exciting news is C finally got his two first bottom teeth! He is moving backwards with crawling but not quite forward yet. He is still chattering up a storm and is standing in his jumper. He does stand on his own so that is great news!!

L's soccer season has come to a close. She did fantastic this season! There was a big party at the end of the season which everyone had a blast at. L is very excited about being able to play in the fall as well.

May: Mother's Day!
Rachel was seriously hooked up this year for mothers day. With a complete jewelry set with both L and C's birthstones. Finally the 'push prizes!' As well as a mothers ring with both of their stones in it. She was rather expedited about all of that. Taylor's month however was full of field ops. with the MEU approaching rapidly there has been more training than Rachel cares for. Most of the month, save for weekends, Taylor was gone. Ah the military life. Oh yes the pools opened! Everyone is excited about that! There have been lots of trips to the pool and beach as it to hot to do much else.

C still has not started crawling which makes Rachel more wary by the minute. Taylor of course knows that he will crawl and walk in his own time. Most people, doctors included, have been saying that C will skip crawling all together. Of course Rachel is still not convinced. He is still babbling away and making life interesting for everyone. C did enjoy his first trip to the pool, he absolutely loves the water.

L is becoming more independent as the days roll by. She now wants to dress herself as well as picking out her own clothes. Usually Rachel lays out her clothes before she can attack the dressers. She is very excited to go to school this upcoming fall. That is if she gets in to the program. The public school system here only has 30 spots available for three year old for the preschool. Rachel has been badgering the selection board to see when we the acceptance letters will be sent out.
 Rachel is still trying to figure out how to upload pictures from her phone with Google+ app. She cant seem to get them into the instant upload section. If you have any tips or advice all comments are welcome!
Until June!

March_2012

March.....Soccer Season!



Team Spurs!



Go # 2!!



Yes L played for the first time this spring!The deciding factor was the conversation that follows: While watching a commercial for a cheer leading movie, L: "Daddy shes pretty. I can do that too?" Taylor: "L would you like to play soccer instead?" L: "Um, OK Daddy. What's Soccer?" Taylor: "You get to kick a ball in a goal! Do you want to play?!" L: "YEAH!!! I get to kick!!" Thus the avoidance of cheer leading and father intervening has begun. She was on Team Spurs in the U-4 bracket! She was one of the two girls on the team! GO L!!!!! For her first time playing she did well. Like all toddlers she had her good and bad days but by the end of the season (April) we hope that we will have it down. She loves to play especially since she has a net and ball. Playing in the back yard is one of her favorite things to do. The best part is the games, she was a little timid at first not quite understanding what was going on, but the more she played the more, ah, aggressive, she got. It is the cutest thing to watch a bunch of three year old run after the ball. She says she wants to play in the fall, so we shall see.  All she wants to do now is play soccer!

At L's Soccer game

There was a short trip to Maryland and Virgina that we managed to sneak in. It was primarily to see Taylor's Grandfather. Since he was under his third round with cancer he decided to not fight it and let it run it's course. So it was up the road to spend some time with him before he took his turn for the worst. After a few days there the whole gang ran up to Maryland so Rachel could see her Grandmother. Things with Nanna are on a day to day basis as far as how she feels. On the good side she is doing better and has stayed out of the hospital for some time. She is on an oxygen tank at home. Not to fear Rachel;s mother and Aunts take turns with her. Primarily her Aunt Cheryl lives with her and Aunt Pam and Maya (Rachel's Mom) have Nanna stay with them ever few weeks. Rachel is happy about that, she is in high hopes that Nanna will make it another few years.



L's First Soccer Game!



Taylor you say? Well he and Rachel both are ecstatic! Taylor got his bonus!!! Unfortunately they file taxes in Maryland and they are a bit greedy so they owed for the first time EVER! but even taxes could not dampen the bonus! Now Rachel's car is completely paid off, and for the first time in a while no money is owed! Taylor is doing well at work, even thought they are working him to death. He goes in early to beat the horrendous base traffic and sometimes doesn't get home till eight at night. Luckily this will only be for a few weeks since there are lots of new guys coming to Taylor's battalion and company. He needless to say has a very full plate. Along with that Rachel and Taylor had decided to stop talking and do! For the longest time they kept talking about learning Italian and now they are officially going to do it! It may take a few years but it will be done! Rachel is determined on that one.



C in his bouncer



And the big news..... C is sitting up!!!!!!!! AND he said "Dada" for the first time!!!! Rachel was so excited when he did, sat up that is. He started off as any baby would with the boppi (U-shaped pillow) and then he just didn't need it any more. It was as if one day he just decided to sit on his own. He will be on the move in no time, which Rachel is hoping he stays stationary for just a bit longer, ha! As for talking, he was cooing and doing a sort of mumble of words, ba ga, but in Maryland he just said it. Rachel and Maya were changing his diaper while Taylor ran upstairs to get him some socks, he looked from Maya to Rachel and said "Dada." Luckily Taylor was on his way back down, and he took off thundering down the steps and swung around the corner. Rachel: "Taylor! Did you hear that!? Did you hear him say it?! He said Dada!" Taylor acting like he didn't just leap down a flight of steps in excitement calmly walks over to C picks him up and says, "Yes I did, my boy said Dada first! He knows who the man of the house is." For those of you that know Taylor well, you are all rolling right now, for those of you who don't, yes you can snicker. 

That was the month in a nut shell! Until April!



Rachel's First Tea Rose Bloom!!