Charlotte wants to Play too.....

Matthew here. Grampy bought a new toy for Fathers Day (a Nintendo Wii). We decided to break it in with a race on Mario Kart. I think Charlotte wanted to play also, what do you think???

We want Mo!

Mo fun with the Moriarty-Delafuente bunch that is! Thanks you guys for a spending the afternoon with us in Portland at Mt. Taber Park! The playground was fabulous... Carlos and Sara's 4 year old son was hard at play the entire time! Their 6 month old baby Natalya enjoyed the sun while napping. And Charlotte... whew... she ran circles around us for the 4 hours we were there! We look forward to hanging out again... and next time I will take a few minutes break from talking in order to take some pics! Thanks for sharing!

A bath outside?

Summer.... Where are you? Charlotte only had one chance so far to enjoy her little pool. This was taken a few weeks back... when it was OVER 50 degrees outide... remember those 70 degree days we had? What a tease!

Tough Times

Sometimes blogs can be deceiving... looking back on my recent posts I see how I tend to use it as a way to see the positive things in life! To reflect on what brings joy and laughter! I think this is a good thing, but it certainly does not reflect my everyday life. I have been going through a difficult health period again, and although I try to just work through it without complaining too much, I felt it was necessary to post about it. That way down the road when we look back, we can be proud of getting through tough times as well as enjoying the fun times. About 3-4 months after Charlotte was born I began to develop a problem with my remicaid infusions (for the crohns and anklosing spondylitis). I developed severe sinus infections and frequent low grade fevers. I dealt with this side-effect for over 6 months, until I just couldn't do it anymore. The doc administering the drug finally decided he would not give it to me anymore due to the problems. So, it has now been about 3 months since my last infusion. My health has been crazy... maybe because my body is trying to re-balance out? One day I feel ok, and the next I feel terrible. I think I may be close to killing this sinus infection... I haven't had the frequent fevers anymore. So that is good! But I have begun experiencing many of the autoimmune symptoms that I was able to live without while taking remicaid for over 2 and a half years. My doctors keep telling me to "keep the stress levels down". HA! You try on my shoes and say that again! So We keep praying that somehow, someway I will get to feeling good and stay that way! We hope to find a way for me to stay home with Charlotte which would decrease my stress levels. I currently have a good job right now.. one that I actually enjoy! But I really just want to feel good, be healthy, and be able to fully take care of my family and our home. And although I know that life as a mommy and a wife can sometimes be trying, for some of us we just have that yearning to do it.

Hurricane Charlotte

Who needs toys when you have an entire bin of diapers neatly stacked ready for use? Those of you with kids know that this is only one example of the hurricane we like to call Charlotte!

The Fork and the Spoon

Out of the blue the other day I set a bowl of cottage cheese on Charlotte's tray and instead of using her fingers to eat it, she surprised us and immediately reached for the spoon that I left in the bowl. Even more surprising was her ability to maneuver the spoon and actually feed herself! So I gave her a fork a day or so later to try eating some soft cheese, and she ate ever bite with that fork! What a lady! Notice anything peculiar about these pics though?

What ever happened to big wheels...

While sharing old pictures of growing up, Matt and I have often discussed the disappearance of the Big Wheel. If you grew up in our generation without a Big Wheel... well... you were deprived. Even if all you did was ride around on one patio in a big circle... it was still fun! Whether it is myth or truth, we heard that they vanished from stores due to the danger factor. Apparently some parents let their kids ride willy nilly through the streets and obviously these would not be easy to see considering how low to the ground you travel. And thus the extinction of the Big Wheel. Or so we thought... Look what I found on Target.com! WOW!