October_2011

Ah October the month of Treats and Pumpkins.

This month was another month of normal, well lets just say life. It was fully of busy schedules, upcoming events and visitors. It was full of diapers, Sunday and Monday night football, doctors, work and school. Oh yeah and new neighbors!

C found himself in the midst of his first Halloween, and he had a blast. Alas before he could enjoy the festivities he had to go to the doctor. Rachel noticed he was not only spitting up more than usual but he was throwing up all his food. Thus the diagnosis of Reflux. Once again boarding the reflux train. Luckily C has taken well to the medication and is doing much better with it all. He did give Rachel a hard time with his growth spurt  He suddenly wanted to eat every hour and actually fit snugly into his newborn clothes. The good news is he's growing and healthy!The bad news, the reflux brought on colic, so needless to say Rachel has her hands quite full.

How is Rachel? Well she is exhausted but making it. She is determined to get the house back under control. However the sleep when baby sleeps just takes effect offten. Taylor has come home many a times to see Rachel asleep with laundry in her lap. But she did eventually get the house in order and looking well great. She is on top of things now.

L is doing well in school and making ever more progress. She loves to paint and does it every day that she is at school. Then she tells Rachel all about what she painted. She just talks and talks and talks. She has now also started 'taking care' of her baby dolls. She will feed them, changes their diapers and even wrap them up in C's blankets. Clearly she has been watching Rachel very closely. Not only that but she has been very clingy to Taylor as of late. She bombards the poor guy as soon as he walks through the door.

Taylor is stressed to the max with work. He has been getting his reenlistment package ready and it is being sent up this month. Hopefully by Thanksgiving he will know, or have a general idea as to what is going on. Other than that he just wanted to take Leah trick or treating, and get the fun underway.

So everyone went to the pumpkin patch and decorated the house. Rachel decided to go to a local church's pumpkin patch this year instead of Mike's Farm. Mainly because Mike's prices to a spot on the high dive. It was a fantastic time. L ran all over the place picking up every pumpkin she could. It took twenty minutes before Taylor finally lined up a few and told her to pick from those. She was just so excited to paint and carve. When the cleaning and carving got underway Taylor decided to tell L that she was scooping the 'pumpkin's brains' out. And that mommy was going to make a 'pumpkin brain pie'. She got a kick out of that. So with her pumpkin painted and the family one carved things we all set.

After all of that Rachel's parents came down for a visit, mainly because Maya didn't get to spend much time with L and C while they were in Maryland, she was taking care of her mother. However Rachel's grandmother was doing so well that Maya felt confident enough to come and see the grand kids  The visit was very enjoyable and Rachel loved having some extra hands around. She actually got some extra sleep!

As always Rachel had plans to keep everyone busy before trick-or-treating. Rachel, Taylor, Grandda and L went to the haunted hayride at Mike's Farm while Grandma stayed behind with C, it was far to cold for him. The next night was a festival at a local park where L dressed up as a princess and went on another hayride. She got to go on a train ride for kids and play in an inflatable bouncy house.

So what everyone has been waiting for is the trick-or-treating. Taylor, Rachel and L were pirates and C was the pet monkey. It was too cold for him and calling for rain. Grandma and Granda stayed with C and passed out candy while Taylor and Rachel walked L around the neighborhood. L was too tired to go through the whole development and it started to rain on us on the way back but she filled her bucket with candy and she had a great time. It was a great experience.

It was a great month. Stay tuned to hear about next months adventures with Taylor's birthday, the Marine Corps ball and Thanksgiving in Maryland.

September_2011

Well as September comes to a close the Jewell's finally experienced a month full of 'baby bliss'.

They had all survived the horrid drive from Maryland to North Carolina. Of course they stopped because of new addition C! Oh yes and to visit family along the way so the drive was extremely broken up. It literally took all day. Thank goodness Taylor's mother was able to drive Rachel and C so Rachel could sit in the back seat with him. As always L loved ridding in the Jeep with her Daddy and dog Allie.

So everyone was happy to finally be home and settled. However with every joy comes sadness, while Rachel was in the hospital with C so was her grandmother with lots of trouble breathing. Turns out that her grandmother had fluid building up on her lungs and needed dialysis to empty her lungs so she could breath properly  She was admitted for several weeks in the ICU. After some time she was sent home on hospis with a physical therapist coming to do sessions at home with her. Now she is on the mend in a nursing home for her physical therapy and the girls (Rachel's mom Maya and her two Aunts) take her to her dialysis sessions and stay at the nursing home with her.

Rachel is doing extremely well. She is tired as anyone would be, but she is adjusting to the new, busy life with flying colors. Taylor is also doing well. As the return of his unit creeps closer he is extremely busy at work. Luckily Rachel and the children were at a portion of the homecoming to ease his tension  She is taking pictures of the homecoming for her girlfriend. Rachel was so thrilled that they already knew someone in the battalion and it just happened to be one of her best friends! After that Taylor's work live was well back to normal.

Taylor loves having a son. And he gets quite a kick out of watching L help take care of him. Of course he is enjoying football season, glad he can watch it this year; mainly because he is corrupting C.  He is quite enjoying making him the newest Ravens fan. They all pile on the couch in their purple jerseys and watch the game. L loves it when they score a touchdown, she throws her arms in the air, jumps up and down screaming at the top of her lungs.

L LOVES being a big sister. She tells EVERYONE that she has a baby brother and that she is the best big sister. She likes to inform about what C is doing, "Mommy C is crying. He needs a pacifier" or "Daddy C pooped, eww, it's stinky." She is such a big helper that no one minds the constant questions and updates as to what C is doing. 

L also got to go to her first day at preschool! She had a rough first few weeks with clinging to Rachel's leg and crying but, as with every child, she grew out of it. She loves going to school and frequently asks if she can go everyday instead of just two. It is a Montessori school so she is learning so much at a rapid rate. In just her first week of going she has socially developed so much. She even started singing along with the radio, actually singing the words to the song verbatim  Taylor and Rachel are extremely proud of her! They love seeing her progress and succeed. She even enjoys doing things all on her own. It is a huge milestone!

C is exceptionally well. He is eating and sleeping like a little champ. He just loves to be held which so far is not so bad, however, concerns rise to it being a problem down the road. Like any infant he hates tummy time but he gets over it. His first doctor's appointment went well and his growth is all on track. Taylor and Rachel couldn't be more excited about that,

So all in all the laundry is piling up, there are dishes in the sink and play-dough in L's hair but for now the Jewell's are enjoying the newest member of the family.

Stay tuned for more excitement.

August_2011

So from last months excitement August looked promising for the Jewell's to be quite relaxed. Luckily the month started out that way. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

Rachel went to her checkups for baby and hung out with L. There was no change in the pregnancy besides the baby growing. Thee were several false alarms, and she was being monitored regularly by her doctor.Taylor was working and progressing considerably well with physical therapy.

One extremely exciting thing that happened was Rachel's best friend Lindy threw her a baby shower where she found out if she was having a boy or a girl. She had a wonderful time with her friends, and is very grateful to everyone that came. It was a blast!



 Turns out.......
brace yourselves everyone,........

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then hurricane Irene showed up.

All the surrounding counties had mandatory evacuations however ours was voluntary. Taylor decided that it would be best to head up north to Maryland to visit with family. So that Friday with everything packed we headed up the road the morning it was supposed to hit us. The destination to Rachel's parents house was reached with little to no problems. The next day the fun began, with the worst of the storm over our area and the tail winds hitting all over Virginia Beach where Taylor's family happens to live. With no power, bridges out and tress falling through homes and cars, Taylor;s grandparents found themselves stuck for a few days. Taylor and his father got right to planning on how to get to them and get them to Maryland safely, only to find it was not possible. Luckily all turned out to be fine.

With all the stress, the long drive and the extremely low pressure from the hurricane Rachel started feeling a bit of discomfort when she woke on Saturday morning. As the day progressed it only continued to get worse, by Saturday night Rachel was in some awful pain. When Sunday morning finally came Rachel, Taylor and L dressed for church and went on there way with Rachel in a bit more pain than the previous night. Throughout the service Rachel started having contractions. By the end of service it was time to go to the hospital.

Rachel's mom Maya, Taylor and Rachel got to the hospital at noon and Rachel was admitted to labor and delivery. She was dilated 3cm and making steady progress for a few hours. Rachel walked with Taylor and her mom, sat on a ball, walked, laid in bed and restarted the cycle for several hours. Eventually her doctor decided to break her water and with that the contractions came on rather quickly and quite strong. By eleven pm Rachel only wanted to push but she wasn't relaxed enough to dilate fully, so the epidural was ordered and by eleven-thirty it was administered and Taylor was finally allowed back in the room with her. Once Taylor was back with Rachel  it was time to push.

At eleven fifty-eight Connor  was welcomed into the world. He was 6lbs 8oz and 20 and 1/4 inches long. Taylor, Rachel and L were overjoyed to have C here at last.

   

Unfortunately he had a bit if a lung problem so he was sent to the NICU. After several days and x-rays it was determined that he had air outside his lung. (Doesn't that sound familiar? I think there is an echo here. Like father like son!) With oxygen and lots of love from us C was out of the NICU and 'home' after a week! Now he is healthy and well! He even had his first outing to the FSK Mall!

 

The next step was to make the LONG drive back home to NC!

We are truly blessed and have so much to be thankful for. All in all the Jewell's will never have just a quite relaxed day, never mind a month! But we are never bored, it's always exciting with us! Stay tuned to see how the big homecoming goes!

July_2011

Ah July the month of our Nations Independence. Filled with Cook outs, Flags flying, Beaches, Fireworks,  and pool parties.

Well for us Marylanders July means one of the greatest things in the whole world, CRAB FEAST!!!!!!!!!! Which the Jewell's proudly participated in at the Murray's. Since L was in Maryland already for her week with the Grandparents, Taylor and Rachel got the OK from their doctors to go to Maryland for one last road trip before the baby. It was a wonderful trip; the only downside was that L regressed drastically in her potty training. However Grandparents do spoil, and it happens sometimes.

This year for the Fourth Rachel's parents had Taylor's parents and their family over for crabs and a BBQ. Which was a combination celebration for Rachel's big birthday. (Well her last big memorable birthday at least, she's not so sure about turning 30.) Which meant LOTS of cake. So with everyone feasting on crabs, burgers, hot dogs and the works a Bean-bag toss game was underway, the day was a wonderful one.  Now what is the Fourth without fireworks? Um....... LAME! So The Murray's and Sara along with the Jewell's, (Taylor's Mother Michelle, Youngest Brother Ryan and the Middle Brother Brandon's girlfriend Kara) all headed down to Baker Park for the annual Firework Show. Luckily everyone came prepared with umbrellas because it pored. However driving up from North Carolina you better believe that we sat and watched the show. It was definitely worth sitting in the rain.

Upon the return from Maryland Taylor's youngest brother Ryan accompanied the crew. So now there was still help! Plus Ryan is a big guy so ALL the yard work was taken care of, which Rachel was ecstatic about, especially since Taylor had to be back at work. Not to mention that there was now an in house sitter for L when the last Harry Potter movie came out, which of course Rachel bought tickets for a month in advance, and she absolutely loved it. Though she was sad for it all to end she was happy she participated in the experience.

Taylor also decided to leave his crutches in Maryland for Glenn with his upcoming knee replacement. Taylor's father gave him a cane to use instead which Taylor jumped on in an instant. Taylor also decided, after a week of work, that he no longer needed to wear the Boot and wanted to wear regular shoes. The physical therapist cleared him to do this so he has made an enormous amount of progress in this month. However with Taylor's recovery Rachel's father Glenn underwent a knee replacement and is now on his path to recovery. The surgery went well and he is on the mend, and doing great. 

 Now the beginning of July has always been jam packed, with the forth holiday and Rachel's birthday. This year Taylor and L got Rachel the Nook Color from Barnes and Nobles. (Which mind you she had only been asking for for the past three years!) Her big 21 also consisted of a delicious Red Lobster dinner with the family where Rachel ordered her first Big Girl Drink (Strawberry Lobstercolada), which of course, given the pregnancy, Taylor had to drink; the evening came to a close with a gorgeous bouquet of Sunflowers from the in-laws. Since her parents threw the bash not much left for them to get her, but they always seem to sneak extra things in and she got to get a spa day. Anyone who knows Rachel knows how that went, so all in all Rachel had a great 21st Birthday.

   

Now the real excitement begins. . You see, Taylor and Rachel put their names in for a drawing to win a new 2011 Jeep Wrangler. They heard about the drawing thought one of their favorite radio stations, 95.1 WRNS. Since they were test driving the Jeeps anyway they thought why not. Well lucky them, on the way home Rachel's name was pulled as a qualifier for the give away. So the day after Rachel's birthday everyone went down to National Dodge Jeep Crystler for the give away in the form of a reverse raffle. After registering, receiving a number (70) and eating the lunch provided the elimination began. Rachel had not been so fidgety, nervous or continuously praying since Taylor came home from Afghanistan. With the eliminations going on for an hour and Rachel having a near anxiety attack every time they called a number in the seventies the time finally came for the final ten. The ten people left all went up and received a CD that would tell them if they were the winner or not. Rachel was the second person to get a CD so she was the second person to get in the Jeep and play the CD. The first person did not win, so it was Rachel's turn. She got in the Jeep with L and put the CD in the player, it played a heartbeat then......... CONGRATULATIONS YOUR A WINNER! Screaming, smiling and no sorry no baby, however people were a bit concerned, Rachel had won the Jeep. Thrilled was the only thing that could describe how Taylor and Rachel felt. They had won a new Jeep all paid for, taxes, tags, title, everything. With a new baby on the way and the last car totaled it was just what they needed. God answers prayers and that was more than enough proof for it all. This is the link to the web site if you care to check out the pictures. http://www.wrns.com/pages/10325524.php?

Since that was big excitement the rest of the month was pretty average. Taylor continued to make progress with his recovery, since his physical therapy continued to go well he started walking without the cane and did very well without it. At the present he doesn't need it at all. Rachel started her 'Nesting' phase of pregnancy, anticipating the big day. Still growing bigger and the baby healthy everything is on track. She even got her best friends, both photographers, to take some maternity photos since she didn't have any with L. They turned out great both Taylor and Rachel were so thankful and happy they got the opportunity to do them! This is the link to Lindy's Blog where you can contact her for photos if you are interested! http://2911photo.blogspot.com/

The next set of big news was that Taylor's younger brother (middle child) Brandon came home from his first deployment to Cuba, shortly after that he got engaged! Everyone is thrilled about that! As well as he bought his first car, priorities you know. Another engagement announcement was that Rachel's girlfriend  from childhood also got engaged! She was thrilled to hear the news; Sad she couldn't be there to celebrate with her best friend since eighth grade, but so happy for her!

For the rest of the summer the Jewell's hope to just enjoy peace and a slow pace. Lots of lounging at the pool, trips to the beach and ice cream are in the new future. Of course Rachel is anticipating the upcoming baby shower, since she will find out what the baby is, and will not leave Taylor alone about letting her see the finished room. It will never be a quite month but it will always be enjoyable.

Looking forward to a lazy (a very lazy) August.

May_2011

Well this month has definitely been on the exciting side. It has made us thankful that someone was watching over us. Not to mention the unyielding love and thanks for our wonderful family, good neighbors and great friends. Which we thank for all of your help, prayers and kind thoughts; with out you all we would be in bad shape.


The month started off as a regular month busy and filled with appointments and activities.  With  the new baby and Rachel being healthy, L doing exceptionally well and Taylor checked into his new unit and going to the range things were looking good. Little did we know it was about to get turned around.


The second week of this month was when our world went a little crazy.Taylor had gotten into a car accident on his way home from the rifle range at work. He doesn't quite remember what happened; the last thing he remembers is going through a major intersection about five miles away from where he crashed. He thinks he either fell asleep or passed out. The latter being the most likely because he hadn't eaten or hydrated much at all that day. Being such, he crossed a center lane and two opposing lanes of traffic. He hit a curb, making the car air born, then went head on into a power line/telephone pole. He was going 60MPH so the airbags deployed and now the car is deemed completely totaled. Luckily he came away with a broken ankle and a collapsed lung. He had a chest tube put in and had surgery on his ankle a few days after being admitted to a hospital in Wilmington. He got a helicopter ride which was a first for him, but not under the best circumstances. Despite all of this he is now totally fine! With only four days in the hospital and a few weeks at home he is well on the mend. His lung is completely healed and he is on the getting there with his ankle. He is now in a hard cast, which he chose lime green for,thank goodness everyone can see him coming.


Thankfully we have amazing families that took the time to come down and help out with L. Taylor's parents came for a few days and Rachel's dad relieved them. It was wonderful having them here to help. They were able to keep L at home ( 1 1/2 hours from the hospital) and bring her during the day so we could be with her. So not only did Rachel get to stay with Taylor the whole time but L was more than well cared for. It also helped that Rachel's dad was there when Taylor came home so that everyone could get used to things.


With all of that excitement it has brought us rapidly into June with follow up appointments, a traffic court date for an improper lane change, along with the rest of our usual routine. Stay tuned for next months update!