Phew I think we are all caught up again!

So I can't believe I missed posting during the entire month of November! Life in the Almy household just hasn't slowed down and who knows if it ever will in the near future. Gerrad has been traveling every week for work which has been hard on all of us. We are hoping that come the first of the year that will be done! Jackson is growing, growing, growing! He is all over the house emptying drawers and cupboards that aren't locked and making great messes. His favorite is the lazy susan where all the snacks and cereal are kept. He helps himself on a regular basis and is NOT a happy camper if you take what he found away from him! His vocabulary is coming along as well....He's up to about 15 words or so mixed in with a lot of babbling. He loves to read books and build tower after tower with blocks...that he can knock down. I am counting down the days till this new munchkin arrives. We are definitely ready for him/her now, especially since I'm now on limited activity due to blood pressure issues. We would love to have an extra special present before Christmas, but only time will tell if that happens : )

We had a wonderful time in Grand Rapids over Thanksgiving, and are hoping to make it into town for Christmas if the new baby allows it : ) Either way it should be a fun and special Christmas for us with Jackson getting more into it and the possibility of a new member in our family. We hope and pray that you all have a Blessed Christmas as well!

Here are a few more pictures from the last few weeks!
Donker family Thanksgiving dinner. Good thing we all really like each other cause we were crammed in!
Jackson trying some Thanksgiving dinner....he wasn't a real big fan, but he ate a little of it

Jackson and Zion playing on Grandma's bed!

Two buddies having lots of fun!

Awwww....the three cousins!
Jackson - 16 mths, Rowen - 3 1/2 mths, Zion - 18 1/2 mths

My little ragamuffin after dinner one night....he was a MESS!!!!

Jackson loves to 'help' Bentley eat his food. Sometimes he'll even mix in a few cheerios as a special treat for Bentley : )

Helping himself to the cheerios : )

Happy Halloween!

Jackson had a lot of fun this Halloween. We went to a party at his daycare and he "won" some prizes and got round one of treats : ) It was cute to see all the little kids dressed up!

not quite sure what to think of the big cat.
playing one of the games...well attempting anyway : )

Jackson and his friend Will.

Our little giraffe all ready to go out trick-or-treating!

We just went to a few houses on our street so Mommy, I mean Jackson could get some candy : ) It's amazing how fast he figured out what to do. After the first house he was standing there holding his bucket out all by himself! Super cute!!!

Getting a bucket full!

"hmmmm maybe if I just keep standing here they'll give me some more" : )

Fall Fun!

We loved having milder weather this fall!!! Jackson had a great time helping me rake leaves...well he thought he was helping anyway : ) We'll have to work on those skills next year! Either way we enjoyed lots of outdoor time!

Helping Mommy scoop out the pumpkin

Making sure Daddy cuts the face out just right!

The finished product!

Yeah for Jackson's first pumpkin!

Fun times at the Orchard

We visited the apple orchard a couple times this fall and Jackson had so much fun both times! Here he is crawling thru the tunnel : )
Talking to the donkey...or trying to figure out what that funny noise is that it's making!

Feeding the sheep like a big boy!

"look at the goat Mom!"

Feeding the sheep again...they were hungry : )

Having a blast playing on the hay bale tower!

Walking with Daddy....he's getting so big!

Our little ham on the wagon ride. He was a hit with all the other riders : )

A quick family photo in front of our pumpkin!

Time Flies!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since the last update....as usual we've been busy : ) Gerrad is traveling every week for work so Jackson and I have been having lots of time to hang out together. He loves to play outside, so whenever it's nice we try to get out for awhile. He has figured out how to climb up his slide...which he thinks is sooo cool, and he loves to swing and play in the sandbox/horseshoe pit....we'll have to get a real sandbox next spring : ) He has become a walking machine! He is pretty steady on his feet now and it's so fun to watch him go!

We've had lots of fun on the weekends when daddy is home going to the orchard and picking apples, going to Grand Rapids and checking out artprize, and just hanging out at home as well. Here are some pictures from the last month or so : )

Having fun making Bentley some yummy woodchip soup : )

Someone LOVES the outdoor faucet!

A family photo down at Artprize : )

Can we say DIRTY! Jackson was trying to drink the puddles off the cement...he was a mess!

The three cousins!

My little gatekeeper : )

coloring a pumpkin at daddy's work party

Having fun playing on the slide!

Pooltime Fun!

We've been having lots of fun playing in the pool this summer with all the hot weather! Sure will be sad to put the pool away this fall.

Trying to walk in the pool...it's very tricky : )

What a ham!

Jackson loves his new cousin!

Jackson just loves his new cousin baby Rowen! Everytimes he sees him he gets a Huge smile on his face and loves it when he can hold him or "pet" him : ) Hopefully this continues with his own new baby in a few months!
a little switcheroo : )

new buddies!

so precious!!!

A Long Overdue Update!!!

Things have been so busy at the Almy household the last couple months. I started back to work and had to put a lot of time in during orientation and Gerrad has started traveling. Needless to say updating the blog got put on the back burner. But I am going to do my best to get caught up in the next week or so especially now that my little munckin is in daycare 2 days a week and I have time to clean and get caught up around the house : )

We had a Great time at Jackson's 1st Birthday Party!! Thankfully the weather cooperated and it didn't rain. It was pretty cloudy all day but that kept the heat down a little so we weren't all dying outside. The little kids were able to play in the pool and the 'big' kids had fun playing horseshoes, bean bag toss, and enjoyed a few adult beverages : )

At 1 year Jackson was standing up on his own for a little bit at a time but wasn't ready to take steps. He was getting really good at pushing his toys around though! He is an excellent eater and will eat almost anything we give him. He prefers to have whatever we are having and if he has something different he points at our plates and lets us know he would like some as well : ) He has quite the little personality and is developing a little temper when he can't do what he wants. We have witnessed the throwing ourselves on the floor and crying as well as trying to bite. Good times! All in all though he is a very good little guy and we are just so in love with him!!!! Here are a few pics from his birthday party : ) Grandma Suzie came into town on Jackson's actual birthday and we took him to RainForest Cafe for dinner. He loved looking at all the animals, fish and lights...it was also kids night so lots going on!

He wasn't quite sure what to think of the frog

His very first birthday present : ) I think he likes it : )

So excited for his party!

The boys checking the water...yup seems to be warm enough!

Yeah for the birthday boy!

Opening presents

He LOVED his cake!

Making sure he gets every crumb : )

Playing in his new ball pit!