The A,B,C,'s of L,E,A,H

Well hello there!


I told my mom the other day that my life is pretty boring lately so I haven't had anything to write about believe it or not.  It's not that I don't have the time, I just don't have anything interesting to say, bummer right?


So as I was walking Sierra and pushing Leah in her stroller one afternoon I was wondering if I could come up with the ABC's of what I love about Leah, or just about Leah in general I guess.  I'm going to attempt it without being redundant and keeping it somewhat interesting to you as the reader too.


Lets see how this goes:


A -  Angelic.  She just has this look about her when she is awake or asleep that is so angelic.  She is just a precious little baby and so beautiful!

B - Beautiful baby blues!  If you haven't noticed by any of her pictures, she's got the most beautiful big blue eyes!

C - Chubby cheeks!  I told my mom that her cheeks were like clouds and she said that they are more like feather pillows.  I agree, they are like feather pillows.  You just want to kiss them over and over again because your lips just sink right into them, they are the best!

D - Dimples.  She's got her daddy's dimples and I love them just like I love her daddy's.

E - Elbows.  I know it might sound kinda strange, but she has not one but two dimples in her elbows!  She is so full of rolls that her arms have created two dimples in her elbows, so cute!

F - Fiamengo!  She is a Fiamengo through and through that's for sure!  She has so many characteristics that are just like her Grandpa Fiamengo and of course her daddy.

G - Giggles.  As Leah has gotten to her 4th month of life and entered the 5th she is all smiles and giggles.  The giggles are the best!  They are gut giggles and they just make you giggle right back!  Silly girl.

H - Happy!  Leah is the happiest baby on the block!  Of course she has her cranky nights (we call her Mrs. Crankenstein on those nights) but overall she is one of the happiest babies I know.  I love that about her!

I - Inspiring.  She is so inspirational to both Marc and I.  She inspires me to be the best mom and person I can be.  I know that she will learn by watching me and that inspires me to just be a good person and to be kind and loving to everybody.  She inspires Marc to be the best worker he can be.  He works so hard for us girls to make sure that we can live the best life ever.

J - Jelly Belly.  One of the things that she laughs at the hardest is when you "fart" on her belly or when Marc acts like he is eating her jelly belly.  Here's her jelly belly pic . . . don't judge! :)

K -  Kissable!  She is just so kissable!  She is going to hate me as she gets older because I am constantly kissing her.  If I ask her if I can have a kiss she instantly opens her mouth and I get a juicy wet one.  I'm ok with it just so long as she lets me kiss her.  Also, if you refer back to "C" you will notice that I love to kiss her chubby little cheeks too!

L - Leah.  Obviously I love everything about her so as a whole I just have to give Leah for L.

M - Marc.  Yep, Marc.  She is 100% her daddy's daughter.  She looks just like him, her mannerisms are just like him, she likes the same things he likes and dislikes the same things he dislikes.  She is his new twin, Bryan (his real twin) has got nothing on her.

N - Napper.  I don't want to jinx myself here, but she is a great sleeper!  She sleeps 9-12 hours at night and naps throughout the day, maybe thats why she's such a happy girl?

O - Outgoing.  Sure maybe at 4 months its hard to tell whether your child will be outgoing or not, BUT I think she is outgoing and thats all that matters!  As of now, she definitely knows who her mommy is and sometimes all she wants is mommy.  For the most part though, she will go to just about anyone I hand her too.  She's been in the arms of so many people and she takes it like a champ, she loves all the attention, what a ham!

P - Pooper!  Lol.  I know its a weird thing to love about your baby, but I do love that she's got the best digestive system around!  No worrying about those horrible stomach pains around here!

Q - Queen B.  She skipped right over Princess and went straight to Queen!  She was high maintenance when she came out (2 hours of pushing, cord around her neck, meconium in the womb) and I'm sure she will stay that way!  Good luck to the man of her choice one day . . . many many many years from now!

R - Reader.  Believe it or not, she really enjoys us reading to her.  She even has her favorite books already.  She really likes Little Pookie, Ocean Babies, Toddler Bible, and all of her sleepy time books too!

S - So many S words for her.  Smile, she's got a great smile and she shows it all the time, gums and all!  Skin, such unbelievably soft skin.  You just want to rub her arms and legs and face all the time because her skin is just so soft.  Sophie, her little Sophie giraffe is her travel buddy, she almost always has Sophie under her arm.  Sierra, her all the time buddy.  She LOVES Sierra!  Sierra will instantly put a smile on her little face.  She loves to just watch her or to pet her soft fur.

T - Tongue.  She loves her tongue and she has a long one too!  So that sucker is always sticking out of her mouth and she is always playing with it if she's not playing with her toes!

U -  Unbelievable.  She is truly unbelievable.  All of the new things that she learns every day and every "1st" that she has is unbelievable to us as her parents.  Just the idea of pregnancy and birth alone is an unbelievable thing, I still can't grasp it all.

V -  Voice.  Leah is discovering her voice and its the cutest little thing you will ever hear!  When she laughs you can hear her little voice in there but all of her coo's and goo's and talking are pretty much the best.

W -  Watches.  She watches our every move all day long.  If I walk across a room 100 times she will turn her little head back and forth 100 times just to watch me.  If someone across the way is having a conversation with me she will just sit there and watch that person move their mouth and talk to me.  She is always watching.

X -  X-tra healthy.  I know, I know, lame, but you try to come up with an X adjective to describe a baby!  Anyway, Leah, as you can see by her photos, is an extra healthy girl!  She is full of rolls!  So super roll-y all over her arms and legs . . . and chin!  Thats what makes her so cute!

Y -  Yeeeeeah!  Pronounced Yee-Ahh.  This is how our nephew Dylan says Leah so now her name has been dubbed Yeeah by my side of the family :)

Z -  Zzzzzzz.  Leah is mommy and daddy's little sleeper!  She loves to catch Z's and she is the best because she will nap anywhere!  In her crib, on the couch, in her pack n play, in the car at the beach, at the pool, wherever she is she will nap.  Plus she sleeps through the night (for the most part).  She's a good girl!

Well . . . there it is!  Leah's alphabet soup!  I hope you enjoyed the pictures at least :)  Hope to have something a little more interesting to talk about next time.

Enjoy this beautiful day! 

XOXO

Proud!

You got that right!  I'm proud to be an American.  Call it corny, call it what you will, but I was born and raised to be a proud American and that is exactly what I am.

I come from a family of proud Americans and from a family of servicemen as well.  We celebrate 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and of course the upcoming Patriot Day, otherwise known as September 11th.

My Papa, in his heyday also known as Gunny Sergeant Watson, was in the Marine Corp for twenty something years.  I'd like to refer to him as a badass if I could.  He was in the Army for his first 3 years of service time at 18 years old.  Then at 21 he entered the Marine Corp and stayed.

My Papa with my dad, aunt and uncles

While in the army at just 18 he was deployed to Korea to fight in the Korean war.  He and a couple of other men were captured while there.  They had their wrists and ankles barb wired together to try and keep them from escaping . . . Papa still has scars to this day.  He and the other men were able to escape and make their way back home.  Papa earned himself a Purple Heart for his courageousness.

Once Papa entered the Marine Corp he knew that was where he was supposed to stay.  He doesn't say much about his years in the service, I think a lot of what he saw still haunts him today.  He did love being in the Marine Corp and fighting for his country.  He went to Vietnam three times on his own admission, he doesn't talk about his time there though.  He eventually climbed the ladder in the Marine Corp becoming a Gunny Sergeant, a Senior Drill Instructor.  Papa was a badass.  He admits that he's not trying to be cocky but that he was very good at what he did.  In fact, a few years back a man wrote Papa a letter thanking him for building him up to the man he is today, it was a very flattering letter . . . Papa didn't respond to it :(

Papa traveled the world while he was in the Marine Corp.  He's been to several countries and he's seen a lot, good and bad.  He stands by the motto, "Once a Marine, Always a Marine."

Every year Papa and Grandma go to Camp Pendleton and RV on Del Mar beach.  Papa says that he hated being stationed at Camp Pendleton back then, but he sure loves it now.  Marc and Leah and I were able to camp out there with them this past week.  It was such a great experience for us and it will be the start of great memories for Leah when she is old enough to remember these trips.  We were able to drive all around and have Papa show us the ropes.  We saw the tanks and amphibians (tanks that go in water) drive right by us during training.  We were able to hear the men and women run by in cadence and singing their songs.  It made me proud.

I'm the kind of person that will cry when I hear "Proud to be an American" kind of songs.  Well . . . I cry at just about everything so thats not saying much, but nevertheless, I get choked up.  I am proud.  I'm proud of my Papa for fighting for our country.  I'm proud of my dad for spending time in the Marine Corp and wanting to be like his dad.  I'm proud of every man and woman that fights for our freedom.  I'm proud of the families that support their family members in fighting for us.

I'm proud of every police and fire person that ran to the first sign of danger on September 11th.  I'm proud of our nation for standing up for ourselves and going outside of our houses on the days after 9/11 to fly our flags high on the street corners.  I'm proud of my husband for putting his life on the line every day he drives into work, he could have a call to go on just like the men and women on 9/11 at any time.

9/11 truck that came through our town

Parts from the WTC

I'm proud to be an American and I hope that this weekend amongst football games and pizza parties you take the time to thank a serviceman, thank God and fly your flags high.

Happy Patriot's Day weekend!  

Happy Opening Football Weekend!  Go Cowboys (Big bucks riding on this game)!

Happy Birthday to my furry baby girl Sierra!

Cheers!

Jen :)

Generosity . . . .

People.  Good people.  Bad people.  The rest of us.

Although we hear and read about a lot of bad people in this world, there are far more good people that we don't hear about.

We do hear about the famous good people.  Princess Diana was a good person.  Mother Teresa was a good person.  There are a few good people that get a lot of publicity, but what about the good people that go unnoticed?  In the past few months I've had the opportunity to come across more good and generous people than ever.

It's a funny thing, when you find out you are pregnant, people (90% women) bring out their kindness and generosity.  After announcing my pregnancy almost one year ago I received cards and gifts for my unborn baby almost instantly.  Then I had my baby shower and received an unbelievable amount of gifts for baby. People are so generous when it comes to babies.  Not only that, once I had baby Leah and everyone found out she was a girl, I had baby girl clothes coming in left and right!  Which was a great thing for us since we had zero clothes for our poor little baby girl.  Here we are, 3 months later and just last week we still received a gift card in the mail for baby Leah.  People are just so nice and can be so good sometimes.

After my cousin got into his first accident in January, my family came across more good-hearted people than they could have ever imagined.  People from other countries had heard of Tyler's accident and began sending my aunt cards, gifts, money, you name it.  My aunt opened a mailbox strictly for Tyler so that people could send him cards and she could read them to him in the hospital.  The cards came pouring in for Tyler, it was amazing.  Then came all of my aunt's wonderful friends!  They came through and made, shirts, stickers, websites, bracelets and put together fundraising events to help pay for Tyler's outrageous medical bills.  After Tyler's death now, those kind-hearted and generous people are still working in my aunt's life.  Another fundraising event is happening next weekend, a car wash took place before Tyler's funeral, and dedications in Tyler's name are happening.  Even a group of professional BMX riders took time out of their day to attend Tyler's funeral and sign his guest book, how amazing for Tyler and for my family.  It's a great thing when people can push aside the bad and come together for a greater good.  You never know how your kind actions truly help that person in need.

Not only that, Marc and I have found that we have some really great friends in our lives.  We are so lucky.  From the smallest actions to the biggest one, we are truly grateful for the generosity of our friends.  Whether it be us hopping on their boat for the weekend or shacking up under their umbrella at the beach, we appreciate them.  We have so many people that we can call at any time and they will be there for us in a second.  We don't want you to go unnoticed and we want you to know that your generosity and your big hearts make us want to be better people as well.

It's funny how one good action can lead to another.  You know, like paying it forward?  That whole concept of paying for the person behind you in the Starbucks drive-thru.  Hopefully that one action will lead to a string of others and the good people will make the news rather than the bad.

I encourage you to do something kind for someone today, you'll never know how that one action might make that person feel.  Even if it's just as simple as a smile or a hug.  Life is too short to be unhappy.  Live life to its fullest, love unconditionally and laugh some belly laughs every now then would ya :)

If nothing else, take the time to smile at this beautiful little bundle of joy!

Baby Leah @ 3 months young

Happy Monday to all! 

XOXO Jen 

See you later . . .

Well . . . my blogs are normally pretty upbeat and happy, but I must warn you, this one is not.


My cousin Tyler passed away on August 7th at the young age of 18.  He would be blowing out the candles on his 19th birthday next month.

Here he is just one year ago on his 18th birthday at Bari Bari 

Tyler was on his way to becoming a professional BMX bike rider.  He was sponsored by Monster Energy drink and was the biggest daredevil you've ever seen.  The things he could do on that bike were just so unreal.  He could fly so high in the air with no hands and do all of those crazy tricks that you see in the X-Games!  Look at him fly:

Tyler used his bike riding as a hobby and was planning on making it his career.  He is very well known in the BMX world and without a doubt would have been pro in the upcoming years.  

Tragically, Tyler was involved in a hit and run accident back in January.  A truck came from behind and hit Tyler as he was walking on the horse trail just 200 feet from his house.  The driver took off leaving Tyler there to die.  After much publicity thanks to Casper News as well as our local news stations Kcal 9 and ABC 7 the driver of that truck was found in the high desert.  Unfortunately, our justice system is crap and almost 7 months later a trial has still yet to begin on Tyler's case.  To keep it simple, that accident left Tyler with a brain injury.  Tyler was in the process of healing and just beginning to get back on his bike again and re-learn how to live life.  

On Saturday July 30th the unthinkable happened, Tyler was hit a second time by a car.  This time the car did not see Tyler at all and was going about 60 MPH or so.  The driver did stop and call 911, Tyler was in a coma when he arrived to the hospital.  I'm going to spare you all the details because it's not necessary to explain.  Tyler put up the biggest fight possible and after 7 months of fighting from his first accident his body just couldn't handle any more.  

Yesterday we celebrated Tyler's life.  He was one special guy that's for sure.  He had so many people there to celebrate that it became a standing room only for some.  Tyler had a bike outside his casket because we all know that he is really flying high up in the clouds of Heaven right now.  We were all able to sign his casket and say our "see you laters" to him.  He was an amazing guy and he touched the lives of so many.  Even now, he is still living on after his death.  His family made the selfless decision to donate Tyler's organs and he now lives in a 4 year old child and a 30 year old man, way to go Tyler!

Some say that Tyler must have been a pretty important guy to be needed in Heaven so soon.  I agree.  

If you believe in any type of higher power I would just like to ask that you please pray for my Aunt Belinda and my cousin Michael (Tyler's mom and brother).  They need strength to move forward from such a difficult and tragic time in their lives.  Thank you so much!

Heaven is an unimaginably beautiful place, enjoy Tyler, see you later!

September 23, 1992 - August 7, 2011

Ride in Paradise

Let's Talk Food . . .

Yes, lets!


If you've read any of my blogs, it's no surprise to you that we enjoy food over here in Fiamengo-ville!  Pretty much everything that we do revolves around where we are going to eat, what we are going to eat and when we are going to eat.  Is that just our household or is it yours too?

That's my mom.  Yes she has two donuts for eyes, is there something wrong with that?  This was taken while on one of our San Francisco trips.  We went to a donut shop called Dynamo Donuts that was televised on The Food Network Channel.  I don't remember what the chocolate one was but the other one is a maple bacon donut!  They are notorious for making creative donuts that you otherwise wouldn't think to eat.  We ordered 3 different donuts but the only one that sticks out in my mind was the maple bacon one.  We like to look up different places that have been made famous by The Food Network Channel and try them out, its fun!  

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that eating is a great thing.  What greater joy in life is there other than eating (rhetorical)?  If you are going to go out on a date what are you going to do . . . most likely dinner and a show or something pretty darn close to that.  If you are going to hang out with your friends what are you going to do . . . most likely dinner and drinks.  If you are going to celebrate a Holiday or a Birthday what are you going to do . . .  most likely make food AND dessert.  Yes, food revolves around a lot of what we do and since we need it to nourish our bodies, why not make it fun!

I'll share with you some of our food pictures . . . since we tend to take a lot of food pictures . . . and I'll share with you the story behind that experience, sound good?

This is the infamous clam chowder in a bread bowl.  Anytime you pass through Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco you have to have clam chowder in a bread bowl!  I don't even like seafood but I'll eat the most seafood-i-est soup on the planet if it's from Fisherman's Wharf, yum!

This is obviously a delicious plate of fries.  Now, the Orange County Fair as I've mentioned before is known for it's food.  Hence the theme of the fair this year being "Lets Eat!"  Perfect!  If you were to people watch at the fair you would see some of the happiest people there are the people who are eating.  Some examples of fair food include, chocolate covered bacon, a stick of fried butter, grilled corn on the cob, fried Twinkies, pulled pork sandwiches, corn dogs, Carmel apples, turkey legs and oh so much more yummy goodness.  What do we do at the fair?  We eat! 

So, this might not be the most exciting food picture ever, but it comes with the greatest experience of all! This is a photo of the food at our wedding.  We had a buffet style dinner with fajitas and rice and beans and all that delicious Mexican food that we all love.  The only downfall of this delicious meal . . . I only got one bite.  The reason why I even got the one bite was because our photographer photographed a picture of Marc and I feeding each other.  Thank goodness he did that otherwise I wouldn't have even tasted the food!  Anyone who has been married should know that eating at your wedding is pretty darn close to impossible because everyone wants to come congratulate you and hug and kiss you and then before you know it you are swept off greeting all of your guests.  Bummer!  Best day ever though, tied with Leah being born of course. 

You've seen these, you know these, you love these!  Of course these pictures are all repeat pictures of previous Mexico blogs.  Although fair food is pretty darn delish, nothing in this world could ever compare to the food we eat in Mexico.  There is nothing better and that's a fact!  Not to mention we get to eat all this food on the patio overlooking the beautiful water with dolphins swimming by and pelicans flying through the air.  Are you starting to see why food makes me so happy? 

Lastly, lets talk dessert! 

These two cakes were from our wedding.  My cousin made them for us and they were by far the best part of the wedding.  The first one is of course Marc's grooms cake from me, have to have the fire truck! Then there is our wedding cake, gasp!  It was beautiful!  I know that I'm biased, but that cake had to of been the most beautiful wedding cake I've ever seen.  Not to mention, Jan's cakes don't only look great, but they taste beyond amazing too! 

Like I said, food often times means a celebration.  In the case of these three pictures, we were celebrating birthdays!  The first being pumpkin cupcakes (my favorite!) for my birthday, the next being a GIANT cupcake for Wesley's birthday that Dylan is eating and the third being a homemade German Chocolate cake for Marc's birthday.  Each of these photos bring great memories with them.  I remember that birthday because my mom gave/made me everything pumpkin related, it was the BEST!  I remember Wesley's birthday because it was his 1st birthday and because Marc was stung by a bee and honestly almost died of an allergic reaction!  I remember Marc's birthday because it wasn't that long ago and because my mom and I tried really hard to make him that cake and although it tasted good, it turned out really ugly, oh well! 

Another one of my favorite cakes by my cousin Jan . . . . 

Baby Leah Fia's Shower cake!  SO cute!  Lemon cake with fresh raspberry filling, yuuuuummmm

Well . . . I could definitely continue on my food rant for days.  We have pictures of just about everything we eat, I think it's safe to say you get the hint though.  We love food!  We love everything that has everything to do with food.  I don't like exercising the food off my muffin top love handles BUT it's worth it so I can experience eating.  I feel sorry for people that don't enjoy food, its one of the greatest things in this life!

Happy Thirsty Thursday!  You are that much closer to the weekend! 

Cheers!

Jen :)