SNOW!

It snowed like crazy here in Indianola just before Thanksgiving.  I got the kiddos all bundled up for the cold and I couldn't even get them off the front porch.  Paul took one look and said "NO!".  Olivia looked delighted, but can't really move around yet, so sitting and looking was fun enough.  It was a fun day even though we were out for 5 minutes.

Indianola Living!!

We have officially (and finally) made it home after 5 wonderful years on the East Coast.  Matt and I had a great time living in Virginia and are so glad we got to experience life on the East Coast and love and miss all the great friends we made. 

Now that our family has grown we realized it was time to be home near grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  We've relocated to Indianola, which also happens to be where Matt grew up.  Les and Kathy are right down the road and Dawn and Mark are just a short trip over the mountains. 

Life in Indianola is similar to living on vacation!!  Everyone has a beachy, laid-back attitude and we are just blocks from the beach.  Small town life is great.  The whole town knew our story before we even rolled into town and I love it!  Although we're just renting for now, I can see us taking up permanent residence in this cute little town...

The view of Seattle from the ferry.

Our view of the Sound from our back deck.

Paul, Angie, Olivia, and I enjoyed a stroll on the dock and coffees from the Indianola store.

Angie was ready to move to Indianola!!

Grandma Kathy and Paul enjoying some sun on our deck.

This little beach is 2 blocks from our house!

Boating over to Seattle for Amanda's birthday. 

We left from Les and Kathy's dock.

One sunny afternoon, we blew off chores for a few hours at the beach.

Beach babies...

We LOVE Indianola living!!

The Shed

Our new home is great, except for one thing is missing... A GARAGE!!!

Matt has a solution for every problem.  This problem's solution: A fantastic shed to hold our stuff (including his beloved motorcycle).

This was an amazingly quick shed build.  I'm super impressed with my handy husband and super grateful to a very helpful and over-worked father-in-law!!

Backyard pre-shed.

And we have a shed!!! Doors and paint yet to come...

Girls night out!!!

Brock is very, very brave.  He volunteered to watch Lauren, Paul, and Olivia for an evening so Natalie, Angie and I could go out to dinner and have some silly girl fun!  Brock put Paul down and comforted a screaming little Olivia.  It was after bedtime that we left, but I am super impressed with this super dad!!!

This is Brock trying to ignore our cackling from the dining room on Friday.

Saturday night was our big night out!!

Friday night we celebrated Natalie's and my birthday with lobsters from Maine.

We spent the rest of the weekend lounging...

Angie and my TV loving babies. I remember swearing my kids would not watch TV.  Yeah right!

Thanks for hosting this great weekend Brock, Natalie and Lauren!!  Thanks for making another trip across the state Angie!!

Moving home!!

Matt and I know how to plan a big move across the country... Throw in a family vacation in the middle!! 
This was our crazy schedule:
7/21- Movers arrive at our Virginia house to pack boxes.
7/22- Movers arrive to load truck.  Matt, Lisa, Paul and Olivia move into a hotel and say goodbye to our first family home.
7/23- Les, Kathy, Dawn, and Mark arrive for our Outerbanks vacation!! We start our drive south.
7/24- We arrive in Outerbanks (see separate post).
7/31- Head north to Virginia for closing on the house and final Virginia wrap-up items.
8/3- Lisa, Kathy, Dawn, and babies fly home to Washington.  Les and Matt begin cross-country drive.
8/5- Our stuff arrives in a big truck!  The Tahoe breaks down in Montana and Matt and Les get stuck...
8/9- Matt finally gets to Indianola after an extended weekend in Missoula, waiting for a new transmission.
8/10- The second truck full of our stuff arrives.  We fit in the new house just fine, until the second truck arrives.  So begins the shed building (see separate post).

Here are some pics from our journey...

Paul loved the moving trucks.

Olivia and I kill time while the movers work.

And more time...

We lived in hotels for several days and got very creative with our time killing...

Olivia was content hanging out.

Grandma Dawn and Olivia on the airplane.

Paul and Grandma Kathy on the other side of the aisle with me. You should have seen the 5 of us holding things up through the airport!

And one final trip on the ferry to get to our new home!

Not a Newborn Anymore!!

Our little baby girl is growing so fast we can hardly believe it!!!  She can hold her head up, sort of hold her body up, and talks and laughs like crazy.  We are all having fun watching her become a baby and grow out of the newborn phase!!  Check out Olivia's baby blog at: http://www.babysites.com/sites/fitchbaby/?seq=2

Captain Paul Fitch!

During our family house hunting trip in Washington (state, for you east coast followers) we got the opportunity to head out on the boat with Grandpa Les for the start of crabbing season!!  Paul got a turn behind the wheel and LOVED it.  I think when we head home for good there will be lots of boating trips with Grandpa.  Just another perk of life on the west side!

Milk Please!!

We can officially scratch one of Paul's food allergies off the list!!  Dr. Kim, our favorite, had us do an in-office food challenge with Paul to determine if he still had a milk allergy.  Paul's blood test numbers have been really low for milk and he had been successfully eating items with milk baked in them (like muffins and cookies) so Dr. Kim agreed that it's time to test and see if Paul could handle straight milk.  The test includes giving a very small amount of milk (about half a teaspoon) to Paul, waiting 20 minutes to see if there is a reaction, and then giving a slightly larger serving.  This continues until he can drink about 4 ounces without any reaction. 

Paul did great and learned that he really likes milk.  He passed with flying colors and we went home super excited and dreaming of cheese and ice cream.  Since the test, he's had a little trouble digesting the milk, but his little body seems to be adjusting over time.  He LOVES cheese and I love the much improved food options I can give to Paul now.  It's amazing how much one food group can open up his diet!!!

 

Lauren and Paul

Our good friends Natalie and Lauren came to visit us this week!!  Lauren is such a cutie and we all had a great time eating, playing, and napping.  Life at the house was pretty hectic with a 1.5 year old, 1 year old, and 2 month old.  But with 2 moms on the case, everything ran pretty smooth.  We had a few outings to the local farm to see the animals and a monstorous trip to the mall.  Other than that, Natalie and I spent our days watching Paul and Lauren chase each other around and around and around.  It was so much fun to watch them play and I'm so happy that Natalie and Lauren made a trip to see us.  When we dropped them off at the airport today, Paul had big alligator tears as he watched his new best buddy head off to the airplane.  We can't wait to see them again very soon and very often!!!

Lauren and Natalie

Lauren and Paul meeting for the first time. 

Lots of walking around and around the house.

It's way more fun to play with a friend.

Lauren is learning to walk!!

Best buds forever!

Lunch time!

Car rides. Olivia is just beyond Paul too.

Best trip to the grocery store ever!!!

Cuddle time in the crib.  "This is my friend Monkey."

Bath time!!

Bath mohawks.  Lauren's totally wins.

At the farm.

Lauren is such a cutie!!!

Sweet Olivia.

At the mall.

Playing outside.

The grass is not so comfy.

Olivia will be on the move with these two very soon.