Evolution of the Christmas Dress(es)

There are many things I love about having a girl, one of which is getting to dress our Little Miss up in a special Christmas dress. Of course the real reason we celebrate this holiday has nothing to do with clothing, however it sure is fun to find a dress (or "dresses" as it may be). It's amazing to think how much our girl has changed over the years when we look back on her fancy attire:

Yes, I realize that she has more dresses than the number of Christmases she's been alive for, thus far. We were blessed with three beautiful dresses from two of my aunts and our friend Mel last year. That made it extra fun!

This year our girl will have a special "sun" dress for the holiday itself. Considering it's been really cold here lately, we'll save that one for later. For now, here's our Little Miss in her pre-Christmas 2008 dress (I sure like quality second-hand store finds).

Doesn't she look like a porcelain doll in this picture? I'm biased but I think she's simply adorable.

Date Night

Mr. Wagner and I joined the Booths on a double-date this weekend. My hubby and Janelle both work at the same company so we all got gussied up and attended the big event together. As you can see, my manly man sure cleans up well!

(P.S. A big Thank You! goes out to Janelle's parents, Wally and Carolyn, for watching the kiddos!)

O' Christmas Tree

Not to brag but I must say, the West Coast Wagners have a Christmas tree that gives the Rockefeller Center tree a run for it's money.

Their tree may be over 75 years old, but our tree will last for that and much longer! Their tree may be grandiose and well lit but our tree is unique in it's own way (aside from the mere fact that there are thousands of others that were mass produced at the same time). At 72 feet tall, you would have to have binoculars to clearly see details at the top of the Rockefeller tree. At 1.5 feet, the star on top of our tree is easily visible. Our tree even sits gently upon a bookshelf, I bet their tree couldn't do that!

Yessiree, I think our tree is the clear winner in this contest. Don't be too jealous, dear Readers. Next year, we plan to lower our lofty standards and will just get a REAL tree (ha, ha).

(For those of you wondering why we have a plastic potted plant as our tree this year, let's just say that the only live tree we could have for the holiday would be a Palm tree).

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you all had a terrific day of Thanks with your families. We are extremely thankful for our family...extended families...adopted extended families...and friends!

Happy Thanksgiving from the West Coast Wagners!

Cake Decorating 101

The cake decorating class that Joani talked Mel and I into taking is officially coming to an end (that's worth a hallelujah!!!). Aside from the fact that it's been a blast spending time with these two wonderful women, I am looking forward to the conclusion of this creative (or lack thereof) endeavor.

I have learned a thing or two about myself as a result of this challenge. First, it WAS a challenge (for me!). I've always wanted to learn to decorate cakes but I now know that my talents lie better along the lines of baking (and eating) the cakes. Both Mel and I decided we should leave the decorating to Joani.

Second, this class reiterated my ability to rebel. Our instructor, while a very nice lady, must be lacking taste buds on her tongue. She gave us a recipe for her frosting and encouraged us to use it for the class each week. Who knew that decorator's frosting is mostly made of Crisco? Bleck! I of course refused to follow suit and made several different versions of buttercream (Italian Meringue, French and Cream Cheese). While my frostings tasted yummy, real butter is harder to work with than the tasteless hydrogenated oil.

Here are a few pictures from the class:



Yes, I know Sunflowers don't actually "smile". We were practicing our writing skills. And the spiderweb cake? Not my pick, it was a Halloween themed cake. Since I don't like spiders I had to visualize "Charlotte" to make it through. The snowman cake is my favorite. It was the very last cake so I finally caved and used the Crisco frosting. Lesson learned is that I should have listened to the instructor. Even if the cakes tasted horrible, they would have looked nicer and I would have saved myself a lot of calories!

If any of you need a cake decorated in the near future, just let me know. I'll be happy to call Safeway, Costco or the nearest bakery for you.

Alive and Well

Hello, dearly beloved blog readers. Please don't give up on us, I know we've been slacking on the updates. The Wagner family is still alive and well. Like most of you, we are keeping busy at this time of year. Here are just a few of the things we've been up to lately:

We accepted the fact that our little girl was ready to graduate to a toddler bed so Mr. Wagner played handyman a couple of weeks ago and converted her crib to the toddler daybed. Our Little Miss loved her "big girl bed" from the first moment she saw it. She's done great with the transition and has only fallen out a couple of times.

Next up is a picture of the most recent home decorating project that we completed in the guest/playroom:

It was amazingly simple and inexpensive. We painted a piece of trim, added furniture knobs and used ribbon to hang the frames. Don't look too closely though or you'll realize I've still yet to add real pictures. I'll get around to it, eventually.

Finally, Saturdays have been filled with this:

Beaver football has been keeping us on our toes. It's been exciting enough that Mr. Wagner has to drink out of a sippy cup so he doesn't spill his soda (ha, ha, not really of course). The Little Miss is a great cheerleader and proudly says "Go Beavs!" as she watches with her Daddy.

That's all for now! I'm off to plan for the Big Day of Thanks coming up next week. More to come about that later...

Planning to be Random

I was "tagged" by my friend Sam a few weeks ago and was asked to post 7 random facts about myself. Since I'd already confessed 6 random quirks in a prior post and didn't know how much more you all could stand to know about me, my initial temptation was to pretend like I just missed the request. However, since Joani, Janelle and Mel have all faithfully followed through, I figured I too would jump on the band wagon. Here you go, 7 random facts:

1) I have a hard time being random.
It wasn't only that I'd already posted those quirks, I also just plain had a hard time coming up with random facts. I'm a "planner" by nature. I get paid to manage a team of project managers and large projects. What do project managers do? We plan. This request to share random facts has just reiterated my need to plan as I've had to ponder ideas for weeks now. Speaking of planning...

2) I really enjoy planning parties and surprises for others.
Coordinating events, including coming up with the details (a theme, decorations, and food) is something I truly enjoy. I much prefer to do this for others than to have it done for me. I think it's because this is one way my (limited) creative side can be exercised. Party planning does have it's downfall though because it often brings to light one characteristic that I struggle with...

3) I have a tendency to be somewhat of a perfectionist.
I can go detail-overboard. I don't expect perfection in everything, and try not to put that expectation on others, but I can be hard on myself in certain areas. The best example I can give is when I finished my thesis. Many graduate students have to do a number of re-writes before they are approved. Since I was so thorough in reviewing my drafts, by the time I presented, my graduate committee had no corrections. It wasn't that I was a genius, it was that I can be anal retentive. That leads me to another quirk...

4) Color coordinating is very important to me.
While I am far from a fashionista, "matching" is something I'm a stickler about. This crazy need relates to both clothing and decorating. Poor Mr. Wagner doesn't even attempt to pick out an outfit for our Little Miss for fear that it will not meet my color coordinating standards. However, being that one of my first memories of my husband-to-be was of him wearing a mismatched plaid shirt with striped shorts, his cautionary approach may not be such a bad thing. Speaking of my main man...

5) I had a crush on my hubby for a long, long, long time.
Ok, so this isn't new news for most of you. It was actually the same day that he was wearing the mismatched outfit that he first caught my attention. We were at a church picnic playing beach volleyball with a group of friends. The rest is history (about 7 years later!)...

6) I can be stubborn.
Some may think that I must be extremely patient to have waited for Mr. Wagner that long. In actuality, those who know me well can tell you it's probably more likely the fact that I can be a little stubborn (a quality inherited from my dear, sweet Dad). Once I realized that Mr. Wagner had the qualities God had laid on my heart for a husband, I knew he was worth the wait (so yes, I did have one very short season of dating someone else during that time but let me remind you again, I did have 7 years to fill. Elizabeth Elliot didn't even have to wait that long!). And...

7) I completely love being a wife and mom.
The wait was more than worth it. A day doesn't go by where I'm not reminded of just how blessed I am to be Mrs. Wagner and together, how incredible it is to have the joy of parenting our Little Miss. There are no words that could fully describe just how thankful I am for my husband and child. I'm so glad I have a lifetime to do my best to try to show them.