Q&A: My occupation

Q: And Ashley, what do you do?

A: As of today, I can answer that question quite simply (and happily), "I'm a stay-at-home mom!"

For the past year, that answer has been a little complicated because I have been doing part-time work from home. Definitely the ideal situation for any mom, but I have been looking forward to finishing that job and using the extra time to pour into the family and the house. I'm pretty sure Lee would agree that the house wouldn't mind a little more attention.

So, whether you call me a stay-at-home mom, a home-maker, or a domestic engineer; I'm very excited to have my new title.

It's nice to have a niece!

On July 12th, we were so excited to welcome little Miss Riley James Mery into our lives. Lee's sister, Krista, gave birth to their second child, and she is beautiful.

Taking a nap.

Waking up from a nap. So CUTE!

The whole family (Nate, Krista, Owen, & Riley).

Kara meeting Riley.

Baby News (6 months)

We haven't done an update on Kara in a while, but the 6 month mark is a pretty big deal, so here is the scoop.

• Kara is big. Not as big as her cousins were at this age, but big enough to appropriately be called a Fithian (or even a King). Who knows, we might have a volleyball player on our hands.
• Kara likes to be on her back. Nothing makes her more happy. She can be laying on her tummy with all of her toys laid out in front of her, but she will roll onto her back and start squealing and screaming out of pure joy. She's doubly happy once she gets her feet into her mouth. This is a problem because Kara has a flat head, and if it doesn't start getting better she might have to get a helmet. Cute, but not fun.
• Kara loves her daddy. She gets a huge smile on her face when he comes home from work. Her favorite thing about daddy is his glasses. They are good for grabbing, chewing, and dropping. When the glasses are gone, she goes for his nose.
• Kara is a good eater. She has been on solids for a while. Her favorite food is banana, and her least favorite food is yellow squash. When she tried the squash, she made a horrible face, stuck out her tongue, and started gagging. Sad...I was really hoping for a non-picky eater.
• Kara is in love with technology. Anything that is black or silver with buttons and flashing lights. The Logitech miniature keyboard/remote control is her favorite. We might be able to use this as motivation to start crawling.

There are other fun developments as well, but what you really want are the pictures. So, here are some pictures of Kara over the past month.

We were just talking about getting this specific vehicle

Our first family road trip to Corpus precipitated the discussion of a mini van purchase (we kind of crammed our Forester to its limits).

Thanks to Mark Simoneau for sharing this video!