What a day

Wow - it has been quite a day.  Its been a good day, but a long one filled with many surprises.  Let me share a few details.  Last night started out pretty normal.  I arrived home from work, I played with the kids for a while, and then made dinner.  The kids were in a great mood.  Peyton was happy and giggly. After dinner I packed up the kids and headed to Preston's school because they were offering a class on healthy child discipline.  It was sponsored by Children's hospital so I didn't want to miss out.  The lecture was great and the kids had a great time in the preschool play area.  We arrived home around 8:15 which is about an hour past bedtime.  The kids did great and went right to bed.  Peyton was in bed for about 15 minutes when I heard her cough...but it sounded a bit off and I decided to check it out.  Turns out she had thrown up.  Yuck.  I cleaned her up, changed her sheets and put her back to bed.  She then went back to sleep for about an hour until Steven arrived home about 9:30pm. I was in the Middle of telling Steven about what happened to Peyton when I heard the same 'cough' nose.  I ran in to check on her and found that she had thrown up again.  Double yuck.  Steven helped me clean up again (which included a bath) and Peyton was then allowed to come in our bed because I knew we were in for a long night.  Man, this picture is so cute.  Seems strange that it was taken at 5:30pm and she was sick by 8:30pm.

By the morning I could tell Peyton was doing a lot better.  She had only thrown up a couple more times and there wasn't much there.  She actually slept most of the night which is a blessing.  I even slept a decent big despite being 'on duty' with 5 towels, a bucket and 2 extra pairs of Pjs.  In the morning I gave Peyton a little big of Pedialyte.  She kept it down for about 30 minutes and then spit a little up. I then waiting an hour before giving her anymore liquids or food.  At this point I gave her a bit of dry toast, more pedialyte and a cracker.  She kept that down for a while and then repeated the nourishment.  At this point I could tell the girl was on the mend - thank goodness.  Here is a picture of the girl earlier this morning watching some ABC videos.

Unfortunately, our little girl did not nap.  I tried to put her down but she just sat in her bed and played with her babies for while.  Oh well. We read lots of books, cleaned her room and played with her baby dolls together.  This book is great.  It teaches kids to count to ten in English, German, Spanish and French. I have no background in French but the other languages are great.

Peyton also carried one of her babies all around the house today in her mini carrier.  So cute!

The kids are now in bed and I am able to catch up on some email, work and photography items.  I am praying that Preston, Steven and I remain healthy.  Thank you to our dear friends who sent messages with prayers and words of care.  We are so thankful for each one of you.



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Snow Day

Today was a wonderful day.  It was a snow day here in St. Louis and for the Dalbey family.  While I do not have work on Thursday's and the kids stay home with me, Steven was able to stay home and work a bit from here.  This was a huge blessing.  We were able to spend some needed time together as a family and also go outside to play in the snow.  

Here is one happy young boy out to play in the snow.  

More happiness is found on the sled.  

After a cold afternoon outside it is nice to come inside and make some hot chocolate.  

This is also a beautiful sight - the kids cuddling with daddy and watching some TV.  

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Snow Cone

Its been 'normal' around the Dalbey house the past few days.  Our week started off with a holiday for the kids but mommy and daddy headed to work as usual.  Tuesday's are nice because I have the day off.  I usually take the kids out to Chesterfield for book club/bible study and then stop in to see Daddy at St. Louis Smoothie.  This week the kids wanted snow cones   Steven said it was OK and the kids were delighted.  Preston loves green and blue while Peyton was content with red and orange.  I think she is close to picking out her own favorite color.  
I think you can tell by her expression that she didn't really like the orange snow cone.  Oh girl, you know how to work the 'not happy' look.  I just encourage you to use your words and be kind to your sweet mommy who tries her best to take care of you.   Just a note:  I ended up eating most of the snow cone.  Yummy!

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E & E Wedding Shower

On Saturday I co hosted a wedding shower with my mother in law for my brother in law Eric & his fiance, Elizabeth.  It was a lovely family event and we really enjoyed our time together.  Here is a picture of the banner I made for the couple.

Here is the couple. I can't believe their wedding is less than a month away :) 

Aunt Amy was very sweet to spend time with my kids at the shower.  Plus, they loved her :)
Preston was very eager to 'help' Eric and Elizabeth open their gifts.

Finally, just a quick photo of some candy from the party.
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Vday

Yesterday was Valentines Day...my least favorite holiday.  I am not sure whey I dislike Valentines Day.  Perhaps I disliked the holiday this year becasue Steven was at work till 9:30pm and I secretely wished we could just go out on a nice date.  Oh well. I did, however, celebrate love with my children yesterday afternoon by making some cute valentine crafts.  Here is the craft - our lovely hearts. 
I simply took some paper, cut them into heart shapes and then had the kids draw on some of the leftover red paper.  Here is Preseton who has taken a liking to the scissors (thank you preschool).  Peyton also like the craft but wanted in on that scissor action...which did not happen. 

We look the extra red paper with their scribble and cut more hearts to place on top of our other hearts.  You can see what I am talking about in the photo below.  

I finally strung the hearts together to make a lovely banner for our fireplace.  

Even if I don't love Valentines Day I am glad our house looks nice. 

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An Afternoon with Peyton

A few weeks ago I took the kids outside to play because it was so beautiful here in St. Louis.  I also brought along my camera to document some play time with Peyton.  A few days after these photos were taken Preston came down with the flu and then Peyton came down with the flu/RSV.  It was a rough couple weeks.  Because I was busy trying to keep my head above water I didn't really post any photos from our afternoon outside.  Ok, I posted one photo on my photography blog and that was all.  I came accross those photos this afternoon while doing some digital organizing and had to post a few.  While I would normally post these on my other blog I thought it would be nice to share these images with our Dalbey Times readers.  Enjoy. 

Random Photos from the Week

After talking with my Grandma tonight I though I would take a couple minutes to post these random photos from our week.  First, we headed out to the Zoo for some fun the other day.  Going to the Zoo on a Tuesday morning when its only 45 degrees is awesome.  Why?  Because we have the ENTIRE zoo to ourselves.
We have been playing with trains a lot this week.  Lets just say they have invaded my entire living room.    Our friend, Jane, came to play today. She is so sweet.  Here are a couple pics of the kids having a snack.  Both Preston and Peyton love Jane and are very sweet with her.  
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Superbowl

The Super Bowl was last night and we headed to some friends house for some fun time together.   Our kids were more interested in their toys then watching the game...and that was OK by us.  Here is a picture of the kids playing.
Mr. Bo even took some time out from watching the game to read the kids a story - super cool.
Peyton REALLY enjoyed the cupcakes from Miss Sharon.
We all watched the halftime show.  I think a lot of the girls at the party almost busted into song and dance.  I think I counted at least 4 songs that I had a dance routine for at some point in my life.  Beyonce reminds me a lot of my college years.
At the end of the night the girls were sitting together on the chair taking care of their babies - classic.

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Mr. Snowman

My posts the past week have ALL been about winter and/or snow.  Should we expect anything less since it is winter in St. Louis?  Now, we haven't had a lot of snow the past couple years so the past week has been a real treat!  This morning we woke up to about 5+ inches of snow outside our house.  Her is a picture of the snow in our backyard and it is beautiful.
After Church, Steven and Preston headed out to make a GIANT snowman.  Steven's dad, Mark, also joined in on the fun to build the best and biggest snowman ever.  Preston has affectionately named the snowman Frosty.  Here are the men at work.
The finished product!

Here is a close up.  Yes, we used baseball bats for the arms, baseballs for the eyes and a plastic football for the nose.  Hey, who doesn't appreciate a little creativity.  

I took Peyton outside after her nap to view Frosty the Snowman.  She was more interested in watching Hershey chase the ball.  

 Here is a random picture of the kids sledding a few weeks ago.  I thought it was cute and wanted to post it for our friends and family to see.

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More Snow

Yeah for more snow in STL yesterday!   Snow makes those 15 degree temperatures a little more bearable.  I mean, everything looks better when it is covered with a white blanket.  Here is a beginning shot of the snow...still very wet.
Then the snow started to stick.
Finally, I could look outside and just see white.
Preston really enjoyed watching the snow come down while he ate his snack.
Our snowman flag finally looks like he fits in with the decor.

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