Colton is One!!!!!

Colton turned one on Friday! Can you believe it? Unfortunately he got sick that afternoon - just a bad cold and a slight fever - and he was not his normal, playful self. His birthday party was on Saturday, for which he was also sick. Despite him not feeling great, though, it was a great party and a great time. We missed all our family and friends who couldn't be here with us to celebrate, but we're thankful for the family and friends who were here. Now check out some of the pics - there are a lot! :)

Connie made Colton an adorable 1st birthday bib.

Mommy and Colton. How is he already 1?!?

Grammy and Colton. :)

The spread - we had lots of yummy food (homemade guacamole dip w/ chips, sugar cookies shaped and decorated like bananas - a big hit with the kids, banana bread, cupcakes, and a monkey cake) and it was all eaten up during the party!

I made this little banner and hung it opposite the food/drink table in the dining room. It consisted of all his "monkey pictures" through 11 months. We took pictures of him next to his sock monkey at 3 weeks, 7 weeks, 16 weeks, 5 months, 6 months, 8 months, and 11 months to document his growth.

The monkey cake! I came up with the idea but Ross decorated it! He is so good!

Another view of the table.

Our family. I'm so blessed!

Grammy and C, again.

Colton got some play time at the party. It was awesome for him to enjoy time with and around other babies/kids. In this picture he's getting his balance...

...so that he can walk! He's walking a lot now - definitely more than he's crawling.

Playing.

Connie, Mark, and Nana were able to join us at the party via Skype! We wish that they could have been here in person but they added to the festivity of the party with their monkey party hats, noisemakers, and celebratory attitudes! :)

PS: Look at all the presents!!!

Another pic of the decor on the food/drink table. It just looked so cute! :)

Singing 'Happy Birthday' to C. He was so curious about why everyone was singing to him!

He wasn't sure what to do with the cupcake.

...so he knocked it off his tray and onto the ground! But then I gave him a taste of the frosting. He wasn't a huge fan.

But he did like the cake!

In the end, he was over the cake.

A view of the party from the back of our garden. Our apartment is on the bottom floor and those wonderful french doors open up to our amazing patio and yard. We are really blessed to have such an amazing, private outdoor space in the middle of Florence!

Colton had tons of gifts to open, thanks in large part to family from America! Here he is opening Uncle Jeff's card and gift. Uncle Jeff thought it would be hilarious to give him a girl's card - and Colton actually kind of liked it! :)

Colton got an amazing Puma track suit from Grandma Great and Grandpa Grandpa! It seems that they know his style! :) In this picture he's saying, "Whoa, this Puma outfit is WICKED COOL!"

Colton really wanted some bath toys and Aunt Jenn and Uncle Nate helped fulfill that wish. He was pumped!

He also loved his car (and his other wooden toys) from Mor-Mor. He loves cars!

Colton also got amazing gifts from the Stowers side of the family. Unfortunately the friend who took pictures for us didn't get any of those! We'll search the cameras of our friends soon and try to find some - but Colton LOVES the amazing books, clothes, and toys that y'all sent for him!

To end the birthday extravaganza, Colton played some more! Enjoy these closing pics - and check out his awesome birthday shirt! :)

Artistic shot of our sweet, runny-nosed 1-year-old looking out to his future. :) The sky is the limit!

Colton Learning to Walk!

Colton never ceases to amaze and entertain us. As his 1st birthday approaches, just under two weeks away, we have been trying to take lots of videos to document this time in his life.

At the beginning of his 11th month he took his first steps! His Tonka truck walker helped speed up the process, we think, but he is quickly picking up the idea on his own. He's doing a lot of walking now, of his own accord, and before we know it he'll be giving up crawling for good!

He's also been acting really funny - making faces, blowing spit bubbles, snorting, licking inappropriate things, and more.

Check out the three videos below for a good look at what's been going on in Colton's 11th month of life. :)

FINALLY...Pictures of our Apartment

Welcome to our apartment in Florence, Italy. We've had a few *cough* requests to put some pictures up now that our stuff has arrived and we have unpacked (We lived here for two months without any furniture but for a futon mattress, pack n' play, and folding table w/ two chairs.). We're finally getting around to it and hope you enjoy getting an inside look at life in Europe.

Here you are standing in our living room. It's the first room you walk into when you come through the front door - that very sturdy and safe looking door on the far wall, left side. I think even SWAT would have a hard time getting in it!

This is a view from the front door. As you can see, there are no hallways in this apartment. Each room has a door that just opens up off of this room. For example, in this picture you see, counter clockwise from right to left, our little bathroom's door , the door to the storage room, the door to our big bathroom, the door to the kitchen, and the door to the dining room. At first I wasn't sure I liked the no hall set-up but it's been great in practice. It's so easy just to close the doors to rooms I don't want Colton to crawl into! :)

One last view of the living room. You're standing in Colton's doorway now and looking at the guest room door, the master bedroom door, the small bathroom's door, and the storage closets door (again, counter clockwise from right to left).

One of the most difficult rooms for us to set up in the house was the kitchen. This is because it was unfurnished - meaning there was NOTHING in it. Ross took countless trips to Ikea and electronics stores to buy cabinets and appliances and after about a month - and Ross' blood, sweat, and tears - we had a fully functional, beautiful kitchen!

Here you are walking into the kitchen from the living room.

Once you're in you get a view of a wonderful smelling honeysuckle bush that is growing just outside the beautiful doors. These lead out to our private garden - about 40 feet by 30 feet of stone patio and grass. It is a huge blessing to have a nice outdoor space in the city and we are thankful. So are Beau and Colton - it's a great place for them to play!

Now you're standing by the door to the garden and looking back into the kitchen. We have a pretty big fridge by European standards, though it's still small for the U.S.

To the left of the doorway to the outside is what we call our "island." We had enough space on that wall to put an upper and lower cabinet, plus a pantry. Having this space really makes our kitchen feel bigger!

A view from the "island" area to the main part of the kitchen. The oven is the farthest left, then a dishwasher. The rest you should have a pretty good view of!

This is the dining room. It also looks out to the garden.

We are blessed to have two bathrooms in this apartment.

This one is the big one and has a great bathtub, perfect for Colton!

This is the small bathroom. There's a shower to the left of the toilet. Not enough room in here for the bidet, sorry.

The next room is one you need to look at closely - the guest room! Could you sleep here???

Looking in from the doorway.

A view of the "office" section of the guest room.

An armoire for your clothes (We wouldn't want you living out of a suitcase your whole visit!), a queen-sized bed for your comfort, and a mirror so you can get ready in the mornings. What more could you want? ;o)

This is Colton's room. It's one of the smallest rooms in the house but it works great for him!

You're looking straight in from the doorway here. As you can see, he has some beautiful doors that open up to the garden, as well. Besides the lovely doors you can see his dresser, crib, toy box, Gator, and armoire.

A close-up picture of the Gator. He loves to play all over it and to pull his friends out of the trunk.

Looking from the back of the room towards the living room.

Last, but not least, are pictures of our master bedroom. It, like the guest room, faces the street and has a great window to let in plenty of light. It's also at least twice the size of our bedroom in Orlando. Seriously? Who would have thunk it???

Looking in from the doorway.

Again from the doorway - the big thing on the right is our armoire.

For those who have been asking, a good picture of our bedding.

Thank you for touring our apartment. Please consider this your invitation to make a personal visit at any time; we'll always have an open space for YOU! :)