Happy Halloween

The Dalbey Trio went 'trick or treating' tonight with some friends. While mom and dad didn't have a costume, Preston decided to be Peter Rabbit this year. He loves it when we read Peter Rabbit's Giant Storybook to him. Maybe next year the entire family will dress up. Happy Halloween!

Cloth Diapers

Last week Steven and I started using the Bum Genius diapers on Preston. For a brief description of the diapers, check out the Cotton Babies website at www.cottonbabies.com. You can also check out my sister in law's blog (Kincaid) because she has a lot of valuable information and thoughts on these diapers. She is the expert and the one who got me hooked! Now, not only does Preston love his new diapers, but here are a few benefits Steven and I see in using these diapers vs. disposable ones:

1. We will save a lot of $$.

2. We are being environmentally friendly by not be throwing away 50+ dirty diapers a week.

3. There are no chemicals in these diapers that can cause diaper rash & are hard on babies skin.

4. The diapers are super cute and will grow with Preston.

Now, I am sure that we will post some photo's of Preston in his new diapers at some point. For now, enjoy reading about the bumgenius diapers and have a great day! Oh yes, we will post a picture of Preston in his Halloween costume tomorrow.

1st meeting

Our good friend, Kelly, met Preston for the first time a few days ago. We have known Kelly since she was an 8th grader in the Middle school ministry at Central. She has just completed boot camp and AIT training for the United States Army. She has been gone since May and we were very excited to see her and hear about her time away. Preston immediately felt comfortable with Kelly and was delighted to meet her.

Mystery Trip

This weekend, Steven is on the annual 'Mystery Trip' with the Middle school students from our Church. The students look forward to this trip all year long as it is a super cool weekend of games, activities, time with fun leaders and no homework! The students show up at Church, get on a charter bus and 4-6 hours later arrive at a super cool destination. Now, since the students know where they are by now, I can tell you that they traveled to Cincinatti, Ohio and are going to have a blast at Kings Island Amusement Park. They should be very happy at this point.

I am currently at home this weekend. This is the first mystery trip I have missed since Steven and I started working with the students at Central. While I am sad to miss out on this fun weekend, I am having a great time with Preston. This morning we had some singing time and then we went to Bread Co. for a nice bagel and cream cheese. I think we might even venture to the grocery store later today! I am enjoying some needed 'Katrina' time and look forward to hearing all the fun stories from the Mystery Trip weekend. There is always next year!

Bath Time

Here is video from Preston taking a bath tonight. Super cute!

Back to Work

After 11 weeks of Maternity Leave, I went back to work yesterday. Overall, it went well. Work was enjoyable, everyone was friendly, and I didn't miss Preston too much (I didn't cry till I was home and realized how much I missed him. I just help him and cried happy mom tears). I think Preston had a great day and was happy to experience a new environment. He went with Ms. Emily & Mr. William to their house. Today, Mr. William is at our house so Ms. Emily can go to work. I am very thankful for this arrangement. I will say that being a working mom, even though I am only going to work part time, is challenging. Trying to remember all of Preston's stuff and coordinating schedules takes time and care. I think it will get better as time goes on and I become more familiar with the routine. For now, there is a slight learning curve. Again, going back to work went well and I am thankful for everyone's thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement. Here is a pictures from our time with the 2 boys today. There is also a picture of Steven with Preston when he came home for lunch and a picture of Papa Dalbey when he stopped by briefly to say hi :)

Blue Eyes

Preston has beautiful blue eyes! While you can't know 'for sure' if a babies eyes will remain a certain color for a while, Steven and I certainly hope that Preston's eyes will remain this beautiful blue color. Either way, we just love our beautiful baby boy! Oh yes, shout out to Grandpa Mark for this photo!

Pumpkin Patch

I took Preston to Rombach Pumpkin Farm the other day with Grandpa Denton. We had a wonderful time picking out a pumpkin and looking at all the cool pumpkin and Halloween decorations. My dad has been taking my siblings and me to Rombach since we were little and I wanted to continue the tradiation with my children. As we say in the Denton family 'Its tradition' and Rombach Farms is a BIG tradition. Maybe next year we can get some super cute pictures of Preston sitting on a pumpkin :)

Price Tag

A new child booster seat - $2

A bouncy Seat - $3

An Exersaucer - $5

A sleeping baby - Priceless!

10 Year High school Reunion

Last night, Steven came with me to my 10 year high school reunion. Wow - I can't believe it has been 10 years. Where has the time gone? I had a wonderful time seeing dear friends and catching up on life since graduation. Each person had such a unique story to tell and I enjoyed hearing as many stories as I could. Some of my former classmates have have done extensive traveling around the world, some have gone on to do amazing things with their careers, some live in unique places throughout the country, and some have started beautiful families. Personally, I enjoyed talking with some of the other new moms from my class. It was encouraging to hear how our children are growing and how much joy we have received from becomming mothers. I also enjoyed laughing and sharing fun memories from our high school years. I found myself remembering things I had not thought about in a long time. Many of my classmates still live in in St. Louis and I hope to be able to spend time with them more often. I think our reunion was a great way to re-connect and I'm looking forward to more gatherings in the future. Here are some photo's from the event.

Amity, Christi and Katrina (We were all on the Pom Squad (Dance Team) together)

Katrina, Kelly, Anna and Sarah (Kelly is my dear friend from Church, Anna was a dear friend in Mr. Van Gilst's class and Sarah and I were members of the Swimming/Diving Team).

Katrina & Chrissy (Chrissy and I were on the pom squad together and a fellow mom)

Katrina & Phillip (Dear friend from Church)

Christi, Leah and Katrina (Both Leah and Christi are dear friends who live on opposite sides of the Country)

For his good

Today, Steven and I took Preston to the Pediatrician for his 2 month check up. We are happy to report that he weighs 12 pounds 1 oz and is 24 inches long. The Dr. examined him and said that he looks healthy and happy - we would agree. As you can see by this photo, Preston continues to grow and explore his environment. He is lifting his head up more each day, sucking on his fingers, reaching for toys and makes all sorts of baby sounds. I swear, I think this kid is about to start talking in sentences. Oh yes, did I mention that he loves to smile - a lot!

Now, the title of this post is 'for his good' because Preston had to experience something today that he did not like. He had to recieve 2 shots in his legs. Oh, it was sad to watch Preston go from a happy and content baby to a crying baby. Now, these shots are for his good. They will prevent serious diseases such as Polio and Tetanus. I think, however, that these shots are but a small picture of things to come. There will be times in life that Preston will have to experience things that he does not like but they will be 'for his good'. Perhaps it will be working on a difficult project at school, saying sorry to a friend, or even sharing something with a member of his family. Steven and I, as his parents, will be there to care for him and help him learn and grow through these experiences because we love him. Just like we took Preston to the Dr. for his shots, we will do our best to take Preston through each day and learn things that will be for his good.

1st Trip

We took Preston on his 1st trip out of STL this past weekend. We went to Kansas City to visit Steven's Grandma, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins & then to Topeka, KS to visit Katrina's sister. We had a great time visiting family and Preston traveled well. I think it is a lot for a 2 month old baby to travel away from their familiar environment. I will also note that it is very hard to travel in a car with a baby. Many of you reading this blog already know this, but I just thought I would say it again - it is hard to travel in a car with a baby. From making sure the car is packed with everything you need, to making sure the baby is fed, their diaper is changed and that they are happy - its a lot of work. What would normally take 4 hours to drive to KC took about 5 hours with a few stops to change and feed. Even when we arrived at our destination, it still takes a good 20 extra minutes to get to where we are going with all that a baby needs. I hope we don't have to travel in a car for a long distance for a while. Anyway, we had a wonderful visit and here are some sweet pictures.

Steven and Preston with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tim.

Preston with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Barb and Cousin Megan

Preston with Great Grandma Dalbey (AKA Grossi)

Preston with Aunt Tracey!

Where in the World are the Dalbey's?

Just a quick note: The Dalbey Trio took a road trip to visit Great Grandma Dalbey in KC and Aunt Tracey in Topeka. We are having a wonderful time visiting family and Preston is traveling very well. We will upload photo's when we return to STL tomorrow. Happy Sunday!