Photo UPDATE

Okay...so after my long winded post yesterday, I finally downloaded a months worth of pictures off the camera...so this willl be a Photo update blog...just a few cute things:

Megan is a great builder....this was a tower she built me one day last month. we were pretty proud of it!

The moosh LOVES to eat and actually she is really good at feeding herself and even holds all her utensils properly:)

In our family, we have a tradition we started a few years ago of having "Daddy-Daughter" dates and "mommy-daughter" dates:) Actually we got the idea from church...I think it's great and if you don't already do it, you should try it....

So, anyway...this was their date last month...a hike! Megan loved it! Steve was exhausted as she was supposed to hike most of it with him but instead opted to catch a ride! haha....

I love this one. look at that cute face!!!

One tired daddy.

When we got home from Maui last month...Megan had worked VERY hard to decorate the house for us (with Lacey's help of course!) she posted welcome home pics everywhere!!! so cute.

I just love this pic. My little bath baby with her cute piggy tails.

Erika is getting into dress up more and more...she found Steve's hat one day and loved it...

and did I mention she is obsessed with ALL of Megans shoes...and boots

So, as I mentioned yesterday, Erika LOVES to have her back (and arms, legs, tummy etc) scratched or tickled..the other day we walked into the living room to find this.

Anytime Megan tried to stop or get up and leave Erika would lift up her shirt and yell "mama ! Mama!" (which means "megan" lol). She is definitely MY daughter:)

**oh, oh...and something kind of exciting for me.....

It looks like Erika has picked up the artistic talent from me and her Uncle Shawn. For those who dont' know Steve's brother is a professional animator: http://gibsonanimation.com/

He is VERY talented..and I have been drawing since befor I was 2yrs old.

Anyway...not only is Erika left handed (she hasn't used her right hand for over 2mo's and uncle shawn is a lefty too) but she holds her pen PERFECTLY! we never showed her how she just does it. This is her drawing at 16mos old. This is incredible to me and very exciting. Megan didn't hold her pen like this til she was atleast 2.5yrs old:)

I love it! so cute...she looks like a little grown up there coloring away. I can't wait to see more of her talents emerge:)

man am I behind...I don't even know what to blog about.....

Man....I'm SO far behind. I'm sorry..I've just gotten really lazy.
I guess I will just make this an UPDATE post for all my friends and family who are out of town:

1. Steve has completely finished school. He will write his liscensing exam in May and then he is free to work as Dr. Wagner:) With the economy, we have not had too much luck lately but we are both choosing to be optimistic and we encourage each other and are trying to exercise our Faith that Heavenly Father will bless us with something great:)

2. I'm starting my own REAL WEBSITE! it will be www.nicolewagnermakeup.com
I have never been lacking for business but this year with the economy we have noticed things are abit slower and so we decided to make the investment to get me a newer website and hope to generate for exposure for Nicole Wagner Makeup!!!

3. Megan has recently interviewed with the School nearby for early entry into Kindergarten.
Down here, you MUST be 5yrs old by September 1st or you have to wait til next year. No exceptions. Your only option is to apply for early entry and have your child go through interviews and testing to see if they can score in the 98th Percentile across the nation, proving they are a talented and gifted child and therefore being admitted "early" into kindergarten.
Megan misses the cutoff by a mere 3wks. At first I wanted to keep her home for my own selfish reasons...i'm just not ready to let her go..but everyone who knows her has told me (gently) that she is way too smart and READY to hold her back. I agreed and started to make some phone calls.
she had her first interview with the Principal where she read the word "WILDCATS" all by herself !(keep in mind she is barely 4.5yrs old)..she blew us all away. He recommended her to take the TAG testing and said he thinks she needs to start this year.
Today she was invited back to attend the kindergarten class for an hour this morning and then she did a reading test where the lady said she thinks she's at about a first grade level but wants her to come back for further testing this week. SO....that is where we're at with that.

4. Erika. Oh Erika..that kid cracks us up!!! she is starting to say some words....they might not be completely understandable to everyone else but they are to us:
the words include:
"Aaaa Duh!" (all done)
"Cheh-deh" (Chester. The squirrel who visits us on our patio each day)
"zzzzzhhhh" (cheese)
"ssssss" (sleep)
" dgeh dgeh" (danger!)
She also walks around saying "mow" with her little cat all the time having us kiss it lol.
she does lots of signs and is just an all around funny kid.
I have noticed how much she is like me!! she LOVES to get dirty (okay, I meant ME when I was LITTLE.). she will sit and play in the dirt for a long time and be totally okay with getting filthy. she loves to collect rocks and bring them home. She also LOVES to have her back scratched. For those of you who know me best (Mom, Dad, Tina, Tracey, Davina)..you know what I'm talking about! haha. Anyway..we can be ANYWHERE and if I start scratching her back she immediately lays down. she did it on the metal stairs at the playground the other day. too funny! Often she will come up to me, lifting the back of her shirt saying "mama, mama!!" b/c she wants me to tickly her back. I love that my genes got passed on somewhere! lol.

5. I'm back to my running again. Last May I took up running again which has always been a love of mine, since I was a little girl. Just ask my mom...she is sure to recount the story of my first race at bear creek park...that story just never gets old;). Anyway..I ran a few days a week last year from May to October....did my first 10K in September but then it got too cold and I stopped.
So I've been back at it for aobut 8wks now and I'm currently training for a 12K (7.5miles) on May 9th. It should be fun. I have such a competitive spirit ( I try to control it) but I just love the feeling of getting in a huge group and running....it pushes me to run harder and the adrenaline is so fun.
I 've been running with a group of girls from church and we go 3 times a week at 6am. It is so beautiful to get up early before the world is up and to run. As hard as it is to get up in the morning ...I NEVER regret it..I always feel great after:) I WANT To run a half marathon this year but unfortunately all the days I could find I already have weddings so I might just keep signing up for 5-12K's to keep me busy til next year.

Well....I think that's about it for the Little Wagner Family:) we are loving life and are so grateful for all our blessings!!!! I have absolutely nothing to complain about!! (that doesn't mean I DON'T complain...but I really have no reason to!;)

Hope all of you are welll...

What happens when your 16mo old is the size of a 2 1/2 yr old?

She climbs out of her crib!!!!
I'm not even kidding.
I put her to bed tonight and a few minutes later I heard this really hard cry so I went in and she's standing on the floor reaching into her crib to get her blankie and stuffed animal.
I think she was more upset that she couldn't reach them than she was that she fell on the floor!
I knew she'd be the kind of kid to climb out some day just didn't think it would be this soon!
....what a nut!

MAUI Trip 2009

Okay...I'm FINALLY blogging about our Maui Trip....

** disclaimers before you read on:
1. There are ALOT of pictures and this is just the tip of the iceburg lol
2. If you don't want to see me in a bikini or are planning to judge me for wearing one..don't look b/c I Lived in it anytime I was at the beach:)

Maui was wonderful...aside from the constant wind storm we had, I was in love.
by far the best part of the trip for me was our day trip to the Island of Lanai:)
I was able to swim with a resident pod of dolphins (story below) and fullfill a dream I've had for over 18yrs.

Day 1 on the plane...we were SO excited ...we could not believe we wer ectually on our way!!

Notice how I look all chipper and Steve is about to fall asleep ? lol...it was actually opposite, I fall asleep as soon as the plain takes off everytime...it's like someone has given me a sedative.
We couldn't help ourselves...we got to our hotel, dropped off our luggage and literally RAN to the beach and jumped in! I was incredibly happy in that moment!!

We grabbed the first person we saw to get a picture of us before we got drenched.

I learned the power of waves and water very quickly....I was in the water and a huge wave came behind me and knocked me into a full summer sault which slammed my head into the floor of the ocean and left me with a lower back muscle pulled for 3days. oops....we should have listened to the pool boy who told us not to go in.................nah!

Just enjoying the beach infront of our hotel:)

That big scrape on steve's chest is from his first encounter with the waves too...he got washed up on shore and scraped himself pretty bad on the sand:)

we look so happy here! and we WERE!

Steve riding the waves in

This was at Big Beach in Makenna...it was one of my favorite beaches

we met a nice young couple on their honeymoon who took some pics for us

Look at Steve. He is SO funny! he said going in feet first with the waves was "the best" lol

a beautiful shot of our beach

"Sunset Love" in Lahaina harbour

Thanks to Google earth we found this AMAZING place called "La Parouse Bay"...

it is so stinkin' beautiful!

Steve snorkelling. we did LOTS of snorkelling and LOVED it

I LOVED this water....about to jump in!

It was colder than it looked...next time I'm going in May!

Recognize this guy?

cute.

On the boat heading to Lanai for our day trip snorkelling....

still on the boat

first stop. snorkelling in a bay near Lanai

we look like snorkelling nerds here, I love it.

This the island of Lanai...there is 2 hotels there and that' s it. Cost from $500 - $7,000 night to stay there. it's incredible! I want to live there.

Oh...and this is Steve's bay watch picture! LMBO

The Pod of Dolphins I swam with!!!!

When the dropped us off on Lanai for 3hrs, we left our snorkelling gear on the boat=not smart.

we were on teh beach for mabye 3minutes when we saw these guys. You've never seen me strip down and get in that water so fast in my life! I swam SO FAR to get to them but it was totally worth it. there was about 50 and one baby. truly the most amazing experience!!

My bay watch picture lol

everytime I look at these I laugh to myself and think we are such geeks and the people there probably thought we were nuts

Hiking up Sweet heart rock

Sweet heart rock is taht rock to the left of me in the background. Legend has it a man took his dead girl friend up there, barried her and then jumped off and killed himself.

You could see the grave. Not sure if it's true or not but it is a cool story.

On the beach of Lanai

I loved the palm trees

back on Maui...overlooking some crazy coastline

what I call the "crazy bridge". This should not be allowed. super freaky.

Hiking:)

I think My husband looks like a GQ model here. don't you?

Me getting really tired of smiling for the camera. This put him off for a while.

and this is me about to cross the "crazy bridge again"

On our dinner cruise...overlooking the mountains of Maui. so beautiful!

I have to add that while I was in Maui...I missed my girls SO much..when I got home and woke up Megan to see her at midnight I just cried and cried. I learned to appreciate my role as a mother even more and how important quality time is with them. I've been staying off the computer more and just being with them. I'm glad I learned that while being away.

As for the girls...you're probably wondering what we did with them?

They were in GREAT hands with Lacey the whole week. She far exceeded my expectations in being a mother of 3!!!

She has been a great friend and I can't ever thank her enough for being so fabulous.

Her sister in law and My other friend Lyndsey was here all week to help her out. They took the girls to the western party at the school and did so many fun things with them. I felt so much peace knowing they were in the hands of 2 women who would LOVE them the way that I do!

thank you so much girls for everything...I will truly love you forever for helping us out the way you did!!!

xo

Here they are!

for more pictures of their fun filled week, see Lacey's blog at:

http://poytress.blogspot.com

seriously?

If Erika grows up to be a total bratt because she always got her way and I could never say No to her...just remember these pictures and You'll understand why....

I'm just kidding....but seriously? ?? I must be blinded by love because I really don't think I've ever seen a cuter face in all my life! I am totally smitten...

Here's my little Mooshy makeing her most common faces:

Oh Mooshy...how I love you so....you're my spicy little girl...You're so full of fire and I Love it!!

12yrs and counting.....

So, today March 8, marks 12yrs since I was baptized as a member of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints.

I know I still haven't posted pictures of Maui but I thought this was more important. I want to publicly express my love and gratitude to my Savior Jesus Christ and my loving Heavenly Father for all they have done for me.
12yrs ago I was 18yrs old (now you all know how old I am…incase you didn’t pick it up in December;)).
Anyway, I had graduated high school and was dating a guy who was a member of the church. When he took me home to his family, I felt something different in their home. A unity, a peace, a love. I was drawn to them. I wanted to be there all the time. I loved the way I felt when I was there.
After a few months, I happened to pick up his Book of Mormon. I didn’t really know what it was. I opened it up and began to read.
I read the title page, introduction and entire Joseph Smith testimony in the beginning of the book about how the book came to pass.
(you may read that here: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/jstestimony )
I can’t describe what I felt that day when I was reading it except to say that something burned within me and I knew that what I was reading was true.
I walked out and asked His mom if I could join them at church that Sunday.
The first time I walked into the LDS church, I felt at home. I began studying with the sister missionaries and it took me on a journey that would change the course of my life forever. In hindsight, I still feel so humbled and grateful that the Lord blessed ME with the gospel. I never did anything to deserve it. …but isn’t that how his love is? Unconditional and endless.
I have such a strong desire to share the gospel but have not made much of an effort the last few years to do so. I feel bad about that. If you’re my friend or acquaintance and I have not shared my testimony of or love for the Savior with you, I’m sorry. I hope I can do that now.

To say that joining the church took me out of darkness and into marvelous light is an understatement. I remember the first few weeks and even months after I was baptized….I felt this constant light around me. I still have days where I feel that…mostly when I’m striving to read the scriptures daily and make sure I’m praying more honestly and earnestly.
But I think what I want to express the most is what I’ve learned about Jesus Christ and My Heavenly Father by Personal experience. I have learned that I am a daughter of God. That truth alone changed my life and gave me a sense of self worth that I had been lacking for a long time.
I have learned that His love is Infinite. It is all encompassing….it can heal a broken heart or even a broken relationship. It can forgive and help US to forgive. His love is patient, kind, and sees past who are we now into what we will become. It is hopeful. I have never had someone have so much faith in me as I have felt the Lord has in me. I know He loves me and I have come to learn and understand that He loves ALL his children…he is No respecter of persons. His children are his children. He does not know hatred. When I have His spirit with me I feel happy, peaceful, kind, generous, jovial, patient, humble. This has taught me that HE must have these characteristics since I have them when I have His spirit.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt and because of my own personal experiences with Him that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. That He lives and that He loves us. ALL of us. I know that he Died for all mankind, that all mankind might be saved.
I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is His church and was restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know this because I earnestly prayed and asked Him and he answered me by the Power of the Holy Ghost.
I love Him. I can’t express how much I love Him and how strong a desire I have to do better….and to BE better. I want to show Him my love and gratitude by being obedient to His commandments.
I’m so grateful for my family, my job and everything good in my life. I recognize His hand in my life and know that all my blessings have come from Him.

I Know that He lives.

In a world that is trying to persuade men to believe that He was only a prophet or just a good man, I declare my knowledge that:
He Is the Son of God.

I know that the path to Happiness is found by following Him.
I love Him.

If you want more information about the church you can go to:
http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/
or of course I'm always willing to answer questions:):)