Preston's 1 year portrait made yesterday

"leah, leah leah, leah, leah" Preston is chanting upstairs after naptime today. (sounds more like eeeea, eeeeea, eeeea, over the monitor but I know who he's calling) So Big Sister and I crawled on our bellies into his room to play a funny little game of peek-aboo with him through the crib. He giggles & squeals and falls back laughing

. . . then sits quietly

while we gear up to spring our heads out again and say Peekaboo and he giggles & squeals all over again. I could do this for hours with these two! Absolutely precious.

What's crazy . . . it's been a year today

since I meet this giggle monster

and I simply had NO IDEA

how much in love I would be with this one.

It's just different with him.

Leah is my playmate . . .

dress up partner, shopping buddy, little shadow and big helper . . .

she is ME (moody, needy, lovey, weepy, temperamental & stubborn- God Bless her)!

But Preston,

well he's easy going, mild tempered, sweet smiling, all around happy, independent and pleasable

. . . just like his daddy (it's no wonder I'm so in love).

But he's a baby no more and it really does do something to me. From bottles into sippy cups, fewer one piece jumpers and more pants with polos. His hands get dirty, his smell is now baby lotion mixed with . . . well, BOY and not so much that soft sweet baby scent anymore. He rarely snuggles but would rather jet off to discover something new.

Fortunately, some things still remind me that he's my baby . . .

like those blue eyes

and the way he burries his face in his green frog at bedtime and how he wrinkles his nose with he's dissatisfied about the situation at hand.

and when he's tired, or just plain content, he sticks his thumb (either one) into his mouth.

I take more pictures than most . . . I just can't bear to miss a moment and want to be able to remember all of it! But a friend once told me that it's a shame that we "memory capturers/shutter bugs" have to experience our life through a lens . . . I can't say I'll slow down the snapshots, but I'll be sure to enjoy the moment before I grab the camera.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

I love you to pieces