Happy Thanksgiving

The Dalbey Trio would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you had many things to be thankful for this year. Steven and I spent some time this year reflecting on what we are thankful for. Our list includes our wonderful families, dear friends, good jobs, fun pets, a beautiful home and much more. We are also thankful to have spent the Holiday with Katrina's family. We had a wonderful visit and the food was VERY good! Nothing says hanksgiving better than some turkey, stuffing, sweet potatos, corn and pumpkin pie. We have added some pictures from our visit today and we think Preston looks super cute in his "My first Thanksgiving" t-shirt. Enjoy!

Time w/ Grandparents

This past weekend, we took Preston to see Gramie and Papa Dalbey! They had a great time feeding, playing, talking and smiling with Preston. We enjoy having them in Preston's life. We are looking forward to spending time with them this weekend.

Being Silly

Preston started to laugh out loud the other day and I was able to capture it on video today. Please forgive me for sounding like a crazy mom, but we were having so much fun. I love spending time with Preston and trying to make him smile and laugh. Enjoy the video!

Time w/ mom

Even though Preston is only 3 1/2 months old, I feel like he has been part of my life for over a year now because this time last year was when I found out I was pregnant. Ever since that moment, I have felt very connected to my child, my son, my baby. For obvious reasons, Preston and I have spent a lot of time together. When I was expecting, I would go for a walk with Preston or go shopping with Preston or even go workout with Preston. Now that he has been born, I have to make sure to continue to spend this important time with him and let him know how much I love and care for him. I think my favorite part of each day is reading stories. I love to hear his unique sounds and see his face light up with beautiful pictures on each page of a book. One of our favorite books, while not from the children's section, is the complete works of Ansel Adams. I show Preston these amazing black and white photographs and read about how Adams took each unique photo. (My dad would be so proud). So, with each book that I read to Preston and each day I get to spend with him, I am thankful for the beautiful gift of a child. Here are a couple photo's from 'time with mom' the past few days.

Tree

Quick note: the tree is actually a Ginkgo Biloba, not a Gecko

Ever since I was a little girl, I have enjoyed looking at the changing colors of the leaves in autumn (thank you dad). I have been watching the Ginkgo tree in our front yard for a few weeks now to see when those beautiful fan shaped leaves would change from green to bright yellow. Well, our tree didn't really change colors this year (I'm not sure why...) but our neighbors Gecko tree changed colors - and it was beautiful. I thought I would show our Dalbey Times readers a couple picture of this beautiful sight. Isn't our world beautiful!

Time with Dad

There aren't many things in life that compare to the time that a father gets to spend with his children. This is the kind of time that I have looked forward to for many years and has now arrived. My son Preston has this amazing ability to produce such joy in my heart, reaching the very depths of my emotions in ways I never knew were possible. Fridays I get the wonderful opportunity to spend Preston and Daddy time all day. We like to sing songs, watch the cars drive by, play with the dogs, read stories and take naps amongst other things. One of my favorite times of the day is early in the morning when Preston is just waking up. As I see the red and green lights of the baby monitor lighting up, dancing along the plastic archway that contains them, I can hear the different sounds and near-words comming from the tiny speaker as preston talks to his "friends" (mr. horse, mr. monkey, mr. turtle, and mr. girraffe) hanging above him on the mobile. This is my son, and I can recognize his voice from far away. As I arrise to go and change his diaper and feed him, I greet him with a familiar "Goooooodmorninglittlebuddy!!" To which he responds with a full body GRIN (the kind of grin that only a little child can do as their arms flail and legs kick while thier toothless smile is causing them to look away in sheer delight as if to say "DAAAADDDDYY!!!") followed by a SQUEEL each day a little louder and longer than the day before. This is to me one of the most prescious moments of my day. "Thankyou Lord for my family" runs through my mind each new day.

How is Work going?

I wanted to take a moment to follow up on an earlier post about going back to work. Many of you know that after Preston was born, I took an 11 week maternity leave and then headed back to work in the office at Central Pres. I am currently working 3 full days a week in the office and a little bit from home the other 2 days. This part time status has given me the abiltiy to help provide for our family and spend time with Preston the 2 days a week I am home. I like being a part of both worlds. Here are some things I enjoy about being back at my job: First, I enjoy working with the 626 S. Hanley building staff. I am thankful for this loving and supportive community. Second, I enjoy working with my husband in the Youth Ministry Dept. Being able to go downstairs and say 'hi' is nice. Third, I enjoy having my office organized. Fourth, I like getting dressed up 3 times a week. You can find me in my PJ's the other 2 days a week. Overall, things are going very well and I really appreciate everyone's prayers and support. I am also thankful that I have a job when I hear about so many in our country who have lost their job. I have a lot to be thankful for!

Nap time

This post is dedicated to my Grandma because she always asks me to post as many videos as possible on our blog. Even though there isn't much to this video, I think any mom out there will smile when they see a sleeping baby. This video was taken on Tuesday as Preston took a nap. I think it is beautiful. I wonder if I look this peaceful when I take a nap? I imagine that I just look completely exhausted and not as cute :)

Prayer Needed

Dear family and friends, Steven and I are asking for your prayers for our little cousin/nephew Samuel Perrin. (This picture is from a few weeks ago). Samuel is currently very sick and in the hospital. Even though we have not had the privledge of meeting little Sammy, we hope and pray that he will respond well to treatment and that his little body would heal and grow. We have hopes and dreams of Samuel and Preston playing together in the years ahead. We will keep you updated on his status and appreciate your concern and prayer for Samuel and our family. Thank you.

Weekend Update

The Dalbey's spent the weekend catching up on household chores and hanging out with dear friends. From the home front; the pile of laundry is smaller, the kitchen is clean and the pile of papers in our bedroom has been organized. On Saturday, Steven and I attended the wedding and reception of our good friend Jay Westra. Both Steven and I work with Jay in the Youth Ministry dept. at Central Pres. On Sunday, we went to a B-day party and then spent some time with Gramie and Papa Dalbey. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful weekend.

Here is a picture of us at the wedding reception on Saturday.

Here is a picture of the happy couple: Jay and Lori Westra

We spent some time at the reception with Ramya nad Leah Gruneisen (students from the youth ministry at Central. We had fun dancing.

Here is a picture of Grace and Lucy - our AWESOME babysitters on Saturday night.

On Sunday, Steven and I went to the Fowlers house to wish Lindon a Happy 30th Birthday. Props to Megan for making a yummy cake!

3 months

Preston is 3 months old and doing very well. Here are some photo's Katrina took outside today!

Big Day

Today is a big day! It is Preston's 3 month Birthday & Election Day. I started the day by waking up early so I could vote while Steven watched Preston. I braved the hour and a half line because voting is not just a privledge, but a duty. The wait wasn't too bad because I met a nice couple and their 17 month old son, Harper. I had fun talking with Harper about the birds, leaves and the Halloween decorations that were still up at our polling location. Now that I have voted, I am thankful that this election stuff is almost over! I don't know about you, but I am super tired of all the negative ads and the constant talk about the campaign on TV. This has been the longest Presidential Campaign in US history - wow!

When I got home, Preston was wide awake and ready for 'play time'. I love play time because I can read to him, smile at him, talk with him and he loves it all. I decided to put my "I Voted! Did You?' sticker on Preston and take a picture. I thought it was important to document this day. Here is the picture!

Steven and I also decided to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Preston before Steven had to leave. I think he liked the song. I also have a trip to the park planned since it is such a beautiful day! Now, I wonder how this big day will end? I am confident that Preston will end his day with a bottle and bed time at 7pm, but our election results may not be available till tomorrow. We shall just have to wait and see!

more than noise

Here is a cute video of Preston 'talking'. To some this may just sound like noise, but we know it is much more than that. This video was taken while Steven and I were eating dinner yesterday. We invited Preston into our conversation and it was a lot of fun. We hope that this will continue to be a part of our dinner table conversations for many years to come.