Merry Christmas!

We just want to wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Finalist (too)

Erik told me about a photo contest for scenic pictures and I entered it. I just got an email letting me know that I'm a semi-finalist in that contest as well. Here's the picture, it's one that I took last year when Erik and I were in Southern Utah. It's a picture of Pine Valley Mountain.

Finalist

We just found out that Jordyn is a finalist in a photo contest (YEAH!!). Here is the photo that helped her to get there.

We can send in 5 more photos to help convince the judges that our baby is the cutest. I've narrowed it down to these seven, I just need your help picking out which five would impress the panal of judges the most. PLEASE let me know what you think, I'm a mom, and can't eliminate any of them, so I need an outside opinion. Thanks for all your help. (the pictures are numbered from top to bottom)

 

 

 

Zugner Family 2007 Newsletter

As Erik and I sit here contemplating the highlights of the past year one event keep coming to mind, my pregnancy which ended in Jordyn’s birth. I’m sure you don’t want to be bored with all of the details, so here are a few highlights that we’ve picked out. Erik and I started the year off with a bang. I surprised him a few days after New Years by bringing home a pregnancy test, which as we all now know, came out positive. A few weeks later we got an appointment with our OB and had those results confirmed.
Our OB, Dr. Thomas Ryan, was an awesome doctor. He was very friendly, and made sure that Erik was involved in every appointment (yes, Erik came to every appointment with me, except one). We decided not to tell anyone about the pregnancy for a little while, we ended up telling our parents at about week 12 by sending them bibs that said “My favorite website: www.grandma.com” and a little poem “Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger too, are here to say, Amy and Erik have a baby on the way.” (Our nursery theme is Winnie the Pooh). It’s a good thing we included the poem or Grandmother’s would have wondered why we were sending them a bib, they didn’t get the hint from just that.
When those packages arrived, and the news sunk in, phones were ringing off the hook; we had two very excited grandmas on our hands. Of course, the first questions were when

are you due, and what are you having. The first question changed within the first few months of the pregnancy. At our first appointment, we were told September 5th and at our appointment at 16 weeks, we were told September 3rd (where it stayed for the remainder of the pregnancy). As far as what we were having, we didn’t know then, and didn’t find out until Jordyn was born. This was not due to choice. Jordyn was a very modest baby and kept her self covered very well. She didn’t let us see her little parts and kept us all guessing until the end, which was fine for us, we didn’t care either way.
Knowing that our lives were about to change, Erik and I took advantage of the time that we had as a childless couple and did things that we wouldn’t be able to do for a while. We continued our tradition of going to the temple each month, and were able to do that until August. We also went to a Houston Astros baseball game, a New Orleans Voodoo arena football game, and several New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball games. We got tickets to the Lynyrd Skynyrd/ Hank Williams Jr. Rowdy Friends concert and a Kenny Chesney concert. We made a trip to Utah in May, got to see Erik’s mom, and two brothers, Scott and Trevor in July, and enjoyed a visit from Toni and her friend Sara in August.
Along with all this, I worked up until the Saturday before Jordyn was born. Erik was still working two jobs and working on his Master’s degree. Needless to say the pregnancy went by fairly quickly (except for the last week or so when I was ready to get the baby out, but she wanted to stay put).
The past three months, since Jordyn was born, have been the filled most trying, tiring, wonderful experiences. Erik and I just adore our little girl and are grateful that she’s part of our family. We are surprised and amazed by her daily.
We are grateful for all of our friends and family who have helped us and supported us throughout this past year. We love you all and can’t wait until we get to see you again. We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Trees

Yes, we have more than one Christmas tree, in fact we have three. I am allergic to real Christmas trees, and our fake one is buried in storage so this year I went to Michael's and got this set of three trees. They fit nicely in front of our fireplace (which we never use). I'll have to say that my "tree hunting" experience wasn't as fun as those I've read about thus far and I hope that one day my allergies settle down so that I can go tree hunting (for a REAL tree) with my own little family. On that note, we want to wish all of our friends and family a very Merry Christmas. We hope that everyone has a great holiday wherever they may be.

Santa

Erik and I took Jordyn to see Santa Claus while he was visiting Lakeside Mall. We weren't sure how she'd react to a bearded stranger holding her, especially since she was just getting over a cold, but as you can see from the picture she didn't mind one bit. (for those of you who are wondering, her shirt says, "All my mommy wants for Christmas is a silent night)

Thanksgiving

This year we have been very BLESSED. A beautiful baby girl joined our family and on Thanksgiving day, a day when we recount all of our many BLESSINGS, our little angel was given an name and a BLESSING. At this special occasion, we were BLESSED to have both sets of granparents. Our little family is BLESSED to have the love and support from extended family and great friends. We are BLESSED to have food on our table and a roof over our heads. We are BLESSED to live in a free country where we can worship our Heavenly Father as we choose. We are BLESSED to belong to a religion that has the fullness of the gospel. We are Blessed that Erik is able to hold the priesthood, and had the opportunity to pronounce a beautiful BLESSING upon Jordyn. Most of all, we are BLESSED that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to send His Son down to earth to die for us. We are BLESSED that our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, also loves us enough to die for us that we may return to live with Him and one another again some day. We have been very BLESSED in our lives and hope the we continue to remember our many BLESSINGS and the loving Heavenly Father who gives us all things.


The blessing that Erik pronounce upon Jordyn was beautiful (though after a long pause while giving her a name, I'd thought he he was contemplating changing her name on me, which my grandpa did when blessing my mom). Along with Erik, Grandpa Stratton (my dad), Great-Grandpa Stratton (my grandpa), Uncle Colt (my brother), Uncle Lee (my mom't brother), and Bishop Campbell (my paren't bishop and a long time family friend) join in the blessing of Jordyn. Also present were my mom, my grandma Stratton, my sister Heather and her family, my little sister Toni, Erik's parents, and my Uncle Lee's family. My parent's house was full of people, and full of love, and one very special little girl is what brought us all together.

Plane Ride

This is the first of many catch-up posts. For the past week and a half, our little family has been in Southern Utah (Hurricane to be exact). We went to visit my family for Thanksgiving, and we had the privilege of having Erik's Mom and Step dad join us for a couple of days. We flew out of New Orleans on November 19th and flew back home on November 28th. It was a great vacation and very relaxing (for the most part) It's hard to get a lot of relaxation in with an infant and BOTH sets of grandparents around, especially when your infant (aka Jordyn) decides a few weeks before the trip that she doesn't like anyone (not even Daddy) to hold her except for Mommy. Yes, we have been experiencing this clingyness for a couple of weeks now. This made the trip hard for everyone. Grandmas who had been (not so patiently) waiting to hold Jordyn again were met with red-faced screaming each time they tried, and I didn't get the nap that I was looking forward to with great anticipation. I do have to say, that towards the end of the trip, Jordyn warmed up a little, and Erik and I were able to have a breakfast date while she took her morning nap. Other than this attachment to Mommy we only had one other "issue" on our trip. Jordyn now hates her car seat. The weekend after Thanksgiving, we made the long drive from So. Utah to Logan (about 6 hours) to see my Grandpa and Grandma Wahlquist. We drove up on Friday and back on Saturday (my dad had to be back for church on Sunday). Jordyn didn't like the long hours in the car and now cries every time we have to put her in her car seat. Other than that she traveled really well. She slept most of the plane ride to and from Vegas and her sleeping schedule wasn't messed up too bad. We had one or two extra wakings a night, but since we were down two one waking a night it didn't make it completely awful. Now the task is to get her back on schedule. All in all, we had a good trip, but we're glad to be home.

Lint Collection

I don't know about the rest of you with young babies, but my little Jordyn seems to be starting her own lint collection. I don't know how she does it, but she get's lint everywhere. I find lint between her fingers and toes, under her arms in the crevas of her neck, and in the rolls of her thighs. It amazes me how dirty she can get from just laying around. I would expect this from a toddler who was playing in the dirt all day. (I guess others would to since I was reading in the book Great Expectations: Baby's First Year and the author stated that infants don't need daily baths since they don't do anything to get dirty. I guess she's never met an infant like mine). So, if anyone would like to start their own lint collection or would like some more lint to add to their already growning pile, just let me know, I've got a lint factory growing at my house!

Our Story

Since Erik and I celebrated our two year anniversary yesterday I thought I'd jot down "our story". To give you a little insight, it was a whirl wind romance with enough drama and excitement to keep you on the edge of your seats.

My story begins in the small town of Hurricane (pronounced Hurricun) Utah, where I was born and raised. After graduating high school I left the nest, (and the continental U.S. for that matter) and went to school at BYU-Hawaii, where I earned my BS in Biology. I then took a break from education and went to work for my dad doing traffic control work for his road construction company (a bit far from biology, I know, but there aren't many biology jobs in a town of 10,000). During that time I decided to go back to school and work towards a Master's Degree, so in January 2004 I flew to New Orleans to begin my MS in Human Genetics at Tulane University. It was a one year program. During my first semester at Tulane I got a job doing research on psychiatric genetics. To learn more about the neurological part of that I decided to also earn a MS in Neuroscience, so in August 2004 I started my Neuroscience program. I graduated with my degree in Human Genetics in December 2004. (This is where I leave me for a while as I just to Erik's side of the story). Several states away, Erik was being raised in the great state of Texas, in Houston to be exact. He graduated from high school and then went to San Jacinto Community College to get his AA in Auto Mechanics. After a period of building (and driving) race cars he decided to go back to school. He went to the University of Utah (where he did more skiing than schooling) for a year and then transferred to University of Houston, where he graduated with his BS in Criminal Justice. At that time, he wanted to go into the FBI, but there was a hold on hiring since the war had just broke out, so he decided to join the Coast Guard (it gave him military preference on future jobs and meant he didn't have to go over to Iraq). After boot camp and a short stint on a buoy tender out of Baltimore, Erik went to school to become a Marine Science Technician and was sent here to New Orleans. (This is where I reenter the story).

Erik and I met in typical mormon fashion, at our singles ward FHE. I had heard about Erik while I was in Utah for spring break in March 2005 (a new male in the singles ward here in New Orleans was BIG news). I figured one of the other girls would snatch him up quick and I really wasn't interested. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't interested in any of the other girls. By April we'd become fairly good friends and realized we that we had a special connections. Erik jumped in with both feet and never looked back, I, on the other hand took some convincing. And convince me he did, though it took some work, and there were several bumps along the way. To give you an idea of how our courtship started off, on our first date we went to the Preservation Hall to listen to music. When we got back to his truck, we realized there was no truck, it had been stolen. This was at the end of April, and I graduate and moved back to Hurricane mid May (yes, less than a month later). Still, by this time, we were pretty sure that this relationship was going all the way, so there were many late night, long distant phone calls (it was a really good thing we had the same wireless provider). There was a weekend trip to Houston in June, then a week long trip to Utah (where Erik "officially" proposed, and then we got our engagement pictures taken the following day). There was supposed to be a visit to New Orleans for my birthday (September 2), but a gal named Katrina, changed those plans. So, I was supposed to meet up with Erik a couple weeks later in Houston, however, the Coast Guard had other plans in mind, and called Erik back to Louisiana (on the day that I was supposed to fly to Houston). Erik was able to sneak away for a weekend in October so I flew to Houston for his birthday. Luckily, the things had slowed down enough by November that Erik was able to take a week off of work so he could fly to Utah to get married (his commanding officers weren't sure that they were going to be able to give him anytime off). Erik flew into town, we were married on November 12, 2005 in the St. George temple. We went to Vegas for two days and then got to make the long drive from Southern Utah to New Orleans, unload our U-hal, turn around and drive to Houston for our reception there and then drive back to New Orleans so Erik could be to work on Monday. There have been ups and downs along the way, but we wouldn't change a minute of it. These bumps in our path have been stepping stones to lead us to where we are now. We have two great years behind us, and many, many great years ahead.

Updates on Jordyn

Come tomorrow, Jordyn will be 10 weeks old. It's been an amazing 10 weeks. We've had our ups and our downs, but her cute little smile and budding personality have made it all worthwhile. Jordyn had her 2 month appointment today (a little late, but it's when we could fit it in around work schedules). It was awful to have to hold her arms down while they gave her her shots. I had to keep my head down close to hers and not watch them poke my baby girl. Jordyn is gr owning quite well she weighed in at 12 lbs even (just above the 75%) and 24 1/2 inches (above the 95%), so she's quite long for her age, but that's not surprising looking at how tall Erik and I are. Her soft spot is closing in at the correct rate, and her hemangioma is looking good, part of it is even starting to turn a dark purple color which the Dr. says means that part is starting to go away. Yes, Jordyn too has a hemangioma. It's not as severe as Jacque or Hannah's. Jordyn's is a superficial hemanioma or "strawberry birthmark".

Jordyn is finally starting to get back to her normal schedule after the time change, which is good for both her and I. She usually only wakes up once during the night, but after the time change she was walking up two or three times a night, it was awful. She still wakes up between 6:00 and 6:30am and thinks it's time to get up for the day. I believe that is due, in part, to the fact that when Erik has to work at the Coast Guard he gets up at 6:00am and she still sleeps in our room so she too wakes up to his alarm clock. So, we'll be walking up at 6:00 until we move in February and get a place where Jordyn gets her own room, and Erik doesn't have to get up at 6:00. We are greatly looking forward to that day (which will be in about 2 1/2 months. YEAH!!)

New Orleans Weather

The weather here in New Orleans is crazy. One day it'll be nice and sunny and the next it will be chilly with a strong breeze blowing. A couple of weeks ago we thought that maybe fall weather had actually arrived, I had to put sweaters and a hat on Jordyn when we went for our morning walk, and there were a few days that it was too cold to take Jordyn out for our morning walk. Then a few days later we have 80 degree weather again. We went to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival this past Saturday and had to make sure Jordyn had a hat and sunglasses so that she wouldn't get a sunburn. Looking at http://www.weather.com/ it says that this weekend it's supposed to drop down the the high 60's and then get back up to the mid-to-high 70's next week. All this jumping up and down is enough to make someone with sinus problems (that would be me) crazy!

Dinner Guest

We pulled out our travel high chair the other day to see how Jordyn fared in it, because we're looking for a seat for her to sit in when we're in Utah for Thanksgiving. Not only did she fit (though we did have to put blankets around her so that she wouldn't fall to one side), it seemed like she quite enjoyed it, especially after we gave her some baby utensils to play with. So it looks like we have a new guest at the dinner table with us. We enjoy having her sit with us, and it means that Erik and I can actually eat dinner together instead of one at a time while the other entertains Jordyn. We're not quite sure what's going on in this picture, though she just might be getting ready to devour the spoon. In this bottom picture she decided to show her table manners and was sticking out her tongue for the camera. That's our little lady for you!!

Sunday Stroll in the Park

Sunday afternoon, we decided to go for a stroll around Lafreniere Park. It was a perfect day for a Sunday stroll with Jordyn in tote. We were not the only ones to think so either. The park was packed, and we even ran into our friends Mindy & Jerry Giles, with their little one, Anna. I took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and got some great pictures of my two favorite subjects. I’m no professional photographer, but I enjoy taking photos. I personally think that I do a better job with landscapes, but I’m trying to get the hang of taking portrait style photos, especially now that I have a little angel to photograph. (As you can see from some of the photos, Erik is trying his hand at photography as well, and I don't think he did too bad).

Why Daddies don't do diapers

Erik was changing Jordyn's diaper for me the other day, well, I thought he was changing her diaper. Instead I walked into the room and saw this....

Our Little Pumpkin

This week for FHE we went to a local "pumpkin patch" to take pictures and pick out Jordyn's first pumpkin. At the patch, they had these large cardboard boxes full of baby pumpkins. Erik laid Jordyn down on top of them. We got some great photos, and in some of them it even looks like Jordyn might be enjoying herself. We were even able to prop Jordyn up against some pumpkins and haybails to get her to sit. It was a fun family outing, though we could have done without the wind blowing.

Back to Work

Going back to work wasn't quite as hard as I'd imagined that it would be. Not that it wasn't difficult, but I managed, and actually I believe that I managed better than Erik did. Wednesday, I worked the evening shift so Jordyn pretty much slept the whole time. All Erik had to do was get her bathed and ready for bed (all of which he's done before),so he was able to get his homework for the evening done, thus giving him high hopes for Thursday. Today, I worked the morning shift, so Erik got to stay up with her when she wanted to play at 4:00 this morning. Then, to top things off Jordyn wasn't feeling well ( I think she has the flu). We had a blowout right before I left for work, and then Erik tells me that right after her lunch, she threw up everything she had just ate. Needless to say, when I got home around two, we were on outfit number three. Out of curiosity, I asked if he'd got his reading done (he was wanting to get two of his four chapters for the week read). He was quite dissapointed, he hadn't got any reading done, he actually said that he hadn't got aything done. To help brighten his out look, I pointed out that when you're watching a little one, especially a sick little one you have to look at the little things. He'd showered and got dressed, he had the bed made, he started the dish washer, and he was able to get a haircut. I'd say he had a productive day.

Just trying things out

I've heard several ladies from church talk about blogging so I thought I'd see what it was all about. I've actually had this blog set up for a few days, but it seems like everytime I sit down to write Jordyn wakes up crying. It seems like she's always hungry, so it seems like I never get anything done these days. Most days I'm lucky if I get showered dressed and the bed made. If I get much else accomplished, it's a miracle. I don't know how you ladies with more than one kid do it. I admire you. Don't get me wrong, Jordyn is a good baby, she only crys when she's hungry or in pain (she is a very gassy baby). We love our little angel and wouldn't trade her for the world, but it's still a big adjustment to make and we're still trying to work things out.