Eleven months old

I feel like I've been saying that the little guy is "ten months old" for quite awhile,
but now I've got to start calling him "eleven months old."


In the past month he has gone from slowly scooting and army-crawling around in circles...
to practically running on his hands and knees. Believe me, he is FAST!

He can get across the living room, down the hallway,
into the bathroom, and unroll half of the toilet paper
before you even have the chance to say "Where's Noah?"


He is still an incredibly happy baby. He is very easy-going
and accepts just about any situation that his older sisters place him in
...Like this laundry basket.

And yes, of course he is still wearing cloth diapers.
The cow print is one of our favorites.
Sometimes Aliah gets jealous when he wears it.

By nine months old he had perfected his Bumbo escape maneuver.
He kicks his legs and rolls his body in such a way that he can pop out of the seat,
landing on his hands & knees, thus ready to crawl anywhere he wants. The little stinker :)

Here's a sneak-peek at his Halloween costume:

He'll be spending his first Halloween in a stroller, and he won't get to eat any candy... but I'm sure he'll have fun tagging along nonetheless.

Playing catch-up

I have to apologize for not updating more often. I feel like I should apologize most of all to my children, because I have truly been awful at documenting their young lives. I guess our thousands and thousands of pictures will have to serve as Noah's baby book. The grandparents would be appalled to see that it is nearly blank after month two.

Hannah just got her very first report card and is excelling in 1st grade. No surprise there, since she'd already learned almost half of it beforehand through homeschooling. I am continuing to question how and where she can learn best. If it were up to me, I'd probably pull her out of public school in December (but Mike won't go for that idea). I think it would be really neat to simultaneously teach all of our kids... in the future, that is. Although, Aliah is almost ready for some basic lessons. She recognizes colors and shapes, can almost count to 20, and tries to spell her name, which goes something like this: "A-L-H. A-I-L-H. L-A-H." She really does try! She's had a bizarre rash/skin infection lately, that we've been treating without any change. Another trip to the ped on Friday. Thank You Jesus for health insurance, or else we'd be bankrupt!

Noah just hit ten months old and is the happiest baby in the house. He started to crawl towards the end of September and he is now confidently cruising around tables/chairs and other furniture. He can easily walk behind a toy and push it across the room. He had a doctor's visit last week and gained 2 lbs over the last month (take THAT, growth chart!), so he's about 20 lbs. I was secretly terrified that he had RSV, but it turned out to be croup instead. After 5 days of sleeping with a humidifier he is doing much better, but still has a lingering cough. I love this little guy so much! He is always so joyful. Noah, it is amazing that God has given you to us.

I am doing pretty well. Just trying to keep juggling all the chores and responsibilities. Our church is doing some neat things, like ChurchAtTheBallpark.com. Our pastor is a great teacher. He's really been convicting me of my sin these days. I started attending a new small group/Bible study that I really like. And I'll start babysitting again very soon. The kids always keep me busy. But I love my mommy friends, especially my MOPS girls! They help me to put things into perspective.

Mike and I haven't been sleeping very well this last month. We are saving up money to buy a new bed. He's having a lot of back pain and often wakes up at 3am and can't go back to sleep. It's affecting him all over: at work, at home, with moods, diet and exercise. He has no energy or patience (but plenty of patients ::sarcastic laugh::). We've both gained some weight in the last couple months... but it is hard change.

Maybe next time I'll share some pictures. Goodnight!

Prayer Works!

Yesterday, while shopping at Target, I lost my nursing cover. This might not seem like a big deal to some. But I use this as a sunshade/burp cloth/security blanket for Noah as well. It's also a sweet memento for me because I've been using it almost daily for the past three years. So I said a quick prayer, hoping to find it. Miraculously, it had fallen out about three parking spaces away from where we had parked. I spotted it just before we pulled out of the parking lot. Thank You, God! Now I can feed Noah in public and feel modest too.

Our new baby

NOAH MICHAEL HUMMEL was born
10:09am on Friday November 26th 2010.
He weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce.
Labor and delivery was really fast!
Thank you God for this precious baby boy! :)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

Today, October 15th, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. In honor of all the babies who are no longer with us, we dedicate this day to you, and we cherish you, loved ones. To learn more about this special day of remembrance, please visit www.october15th.com or iamtheface.org

A friend of mine wrote this poem, and I just had to share it today.

~Remembering our Angels Oct 15th~

Today is a day to remember, our angels up above.
Who danced and left footprints, then left behind their love.
We parents yearn to hold them and to whisper I love you.
Too soon they were taken from us; it isn’t fair that is true.

But we carry on through the darkness; our angels at our side.
Sometimes you can not see the tears, which we feel we have to hide.
Today there is no hiding; we want awareness to be shared.
That these are forever our babies and that for them we really cared.

These little ones have touched us; in a way nothing else can.
And though they can not be with us; in our dreams we are hand in hand.
If you don’t think of them as our children, then you may never have lost.
Please try and understand and help us, work through this painful cost.

Don’t ignore our feelings; we grieve for our lost child.
They were real and our love for them was anything but mild.
So think of those today; who are without their dear sweet little ones.
The children that were lost were their daughters and their sons.

Today we remember them; as a part of our life and soul.
They were real, whole and perfect and their loss takes a toll.
Light a candle for the mommies and for the daddies too.
For on this day we remember; what a little soul can do.

~ Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day October 15, 2010~

*Kerri-Anne* in memory of ~Sam~ Feb 2, 2010