Hugs.

My sweet boy has actually gotten even sweeter - which I didn't think was possible.  He has officially started giving hugs and saying "hugs" when he does it.  Oh man, it melts my heart to get that big squeeze from him.  I can't get enough of them and love that he actually understands what a hug is.  He is growing up and turning into such a little boy. 

I am still frequently overwhelmed by the joy that my little boy brings to my heart.

Door Man

Preston learned how to open doors this weekend.  So, not only are we dealing with a walker, but a door opener.  Any part of the house that we were once able to keep sacred is now free game for this "toddler" boy of ours.

It is actually quite cute watching him struggle to reach the handle and the ultimate joy once he has opened the door.  Precious.   Our boy is growing up right before our eyes.

Boys.

Preston & Daddy

My boys being silly.

With Father's Day just around the corner, I thought it fitting to take a few pictures of just Preston and Daddy.  They are absolutely precious together and couldn't have more of a bond as father and son.  Each day I am reminded how truly blessed I am so have such an amazing son and loving husband.  Our little family is perfect in my eyes and I am so thankful.  

Are all animals really Dogs?

Grandma, Preston & Mommy

Relaxing at the Zoo

Mommy, Daddy & Baby Giraffe

Awesome Bears!

Polar Bear

So, this weekend, Brennan, my Mom and I took Preston to the zoo.  We had a great time and Preston enjoyed all of the animals and being outside.  Brennan insisted on calling every animal we saw a doggy aka diggy in Preston talk.  By the end of the day, we walked up to the zebras and Preston said "diggy"... Leave it to Daddy to confuse our child!

It's a good thing he has a Mommy who teaches him the correct name for things :)

Pool Time!

Loving the Pool!!!

Pool with Grandma

This past weekend my Mom was in town for a visit.  We ventured to the pool on Friday and attempted to get into the kiddie pool with Preston.  The water was a little chilly and he was not interested.  After a few attempts and tears... I decided we should venture into the big pool.  I took one step in and it was at least 10-15 degrees warmer.  Preston immediately loved it!  I was so excited and relieved.  I was terrified that my child would not like the pool - I would have been devastated!  Not so much!  He loves it. We went back on Sunday and he played so hard that he ended up falling asleep in the water and took a nap on Grandma under an umbrella poolside.  THAT is my child :)  

We are definitely looking forward to a summer of pool time and lots of fun in the sun :)

Busy. Loud. Sweet.

Busy.
We are quickly learning the meaning of the word "busy."  That sounds as if we didn't know what it meant before.  One would likely think I am referring to how busy our lives are balancing careers and family life.  Oh no... that's the easy part.  The aspect of the word that we didn't quite realize before relates to how busy an almost 1 year old boy is.  He is constantly on the go, finding something new to get into.  His biggest joy in life is grabbing a hold of something that he knows he isn't supposed to have.  The minute he gets the opportunity to dig through his dresser drawers, they are instantly empty and he has a huge smile on his face.  He thrives on knowing that he pulled one over on his Mommy and Daddy.  It's quite cute, but I will never tell him that. :)

Loud.
We are also quickly learning that the first 6 months of Preston's life, he was tricking us into believing that he was a mellow, quiet baby.  Not so much these days.  He thoroughly enjoys being as loud as possible with whatever means necessary to do so.  Be it his voice, blocks slamming, chucking his sippy cup across the kitchen, opening and close cabinet doors or slamming bars of soap (yep soap) on the tile in the bathroom.  The boy loves to cause a ruckus.  He seems to especially love to talk and yell as loud as he can in the morning when he comes into bed with Mommy and Daddy for "snuggle time."  Althought "snuggle time" consistently seems to be a time to climb all over us, yell as loud as possible and provide an occassional smack to the face if we look too comfy.  Ha.

Sweet.
Finally, each day throughout all of the loudness and times when it seems all we do is chase Preston, we see more and more of his sweet spirit.  His laugh is adorable and rhaspy.  He loves to hug and pat our backs at the same time.  Each night at bedtime, when we lay him down for bed we say prayers.  Throughout prayers he is completely still and silent as if he is speaking with God himself.  Its precious and the same every night.

Lucky. 
Mommy and Daddy truly are.

On the move...

That's right, we are on the move. Meaning that Brennan and I are chasing our crawler :) Yup, Preston has officially started crawling. It started out slow but once he got the idea that he could get to things he wanted, he took off and improved dramatically from one day to the next.



Preston will be 9 months old on New Years Day. He is an ever changing little boy. He has certainly developed his voice and loves to yell and hear himself. The other day we were at a restaurant and he got all excited about something (still not quite sure what) and started yelling and smiling and just going absolutely insane. Brennan and I are convinced that we are going to have our hands full when he is just a wee bit older. :) I say BRING IT ON!



While Preston is full energy, he is very much full of love. He is so incredibly sweet and loves to snuggle with his Mommy still. He has no problem falling asleep on my shoulder when he is tired and loves to hug. There is nothing better than feeling him wrap his little arms around my neck and squeeze.



I think I have loved every stage of Preston's development but this one is by far my favorite. Each day he becomes a new little person with new personality traits and characteristics.



Eating and playing are Preston's two most favorite things to do. He has a HUGE appetite and it shows. His legs are so cute and chubby and the last time we got on the scale he had topped the 20 lb. mark. Very exciting!



Overall, life is good and we are thoroughly enjoying being parents to such an amazing little boy. I feel like he is less and less of a baby and becoming a little boy! It's crazy how time goes by so quickly. Next thing I know my sweet boy will be walking all over the place... yikes! :)