Cleaning

Tomorrow is Preston's Birthday & Party and I am trying very hard to clean our house. I have every room mostly clean and will need to do a quick sweep, dust and vacuum tomorrow afternoon before our guests arrive. Is it possible to stress myself and my husband out any more? Maybe. Is it possible for our guests to enjoy the party even if the house isn't 'perfect'? I sure hope so. Will our AC be able to keep up with the hot temperatures and the people who will be going in and out of our house tomorrow? TBD. I will keep everyone updated on the big event and will surely document with many, many photos. Oh yes, I am baking Preston's Bday cake right now - yummy!

Tool Bench

Preston was given a super cool tool bench the other day from his good friend, Eli. As you can see from the photos, Preston is eager to play and learn. Enjoy the photos.

Eli's Bday Party

Last weekend the Dalbey Trio headed out to Eli's 3rd Birthday Party. Eli is the son of our friends, Leah and Todd. Despite the hot weather, we had a super fun time hanging out with friends and playing with the kids. The theme of the party was CARS so we had some fun car racing and some fun time with water guns to keep things nice and cool. Here are a few photos from our time at the party.

Qdoba

Preston LOVES Qdoba. I know this picture doesn't show a smile, but the kid is seriously chowing down on the rice, black beans and chicken. Hey, I have no guilt. The side order only costs $1.79. I think that is cheaper than a Happy Meal from McDonalds. Oh yes, I ate dinner at home :)

Preston Update

I have noticed recently that some of my blog friends do such a good job of giving a monthly update on their children and their life developments. I would like to 'try' to do a better job of updating my blog friends on Preston's development and achievements. Especially since our Grandma's and some family live out of STL and other friends enjoy reading these types of updates. I think I will try to do this on the anniversary of Preston's Birthday day each month. Now, Preston's Birthday is August 4th but I thought I would go ahead and give a brief update now before I give the big update next week.

First, Preston continues to grow like a weed. The other day Steven and I realized that his shoes didn't fit well. We took him to the shoe store and learned that he went from a size 7 to a size 8 in less than 2 months. Is this normal? Anyway, we purchased a new pair of summer sandals that we hope will last him through September. We have also noticed that he has grown more than 2 inches since the month of May because we have been keeping track upstairs in his room. At this point I think Preston is destined to be very tall but only time will tell. I guess I will be buying new shoes more often then I thought.

Second, Preston continues to speak very well and learn new words and phrases each day. We have always known Preston to be very verbal and we just love hearing him learn to express himself and speak well. He has his ABC's down like a champ and has been referring to himself in the 1st person. Its so nice to hear him say "Mommy, I'm tired" or "I need a cracker, please". I really enjoy having a child who is able to express in words how he feels and what he thinks. This has certainly made life easier. Oh yes, he loves to read and this is an enjoyable part of our day together. I am sure reading is only helping to develop those verbal skills.

Finally, Preston is very comfortable around people. I guess being a youth group baby has helped out a lot in this category. He loves seeing students or interacting with them when them come over to hang out at our house. He loves giving hugs and easily lets people play with him. He also easily goes to the nursery or to PEEPS (our child care 2 days a week). He has his 'friends' that he is excited to see and enjoys the many toys and activities. I love watching Preston interact with other people and my heart is filled with joy to see how sweet and kind he is to others. I can see a lot of Steven's sweet and caring disposition in Preston.

Well, that is all for now. Here are a few photos from the past week or so.