“Everything changes doesn’t it baby;
It’s amazing how time flies.
Turning the pages of yesterday
In only a blink of any eye.
Everything changes, everything changes.”
~ Little Big Town “Everything Changes”
The chorus of this song sums up our year. We’re ending the year in a new home, in a new city with a new job. Last year saw us in a one bedroom apartment in New Orleans as Erik was finishing up in the Coast Guard. Now, we are the proud owners of a beautiful new home in Humble, Texas (just outside Houston), and Erik is a courageous member of Houston’s Police force.
It’s been a whirlwind of a year as Jordyn started out a quiet little one who was just learning to sit up on her own, and is now a full fledged toddler running all over the place and talking up a storm.
We’ve had the privilege of being able to see all of our family this year as we went to Virginia for Uncle Scott’s wedding and got to see Grandpa Zugner, Great Grandma Gallagher and all the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins on that side. We also went to Austin for Aunt Kelli’s wedding and got to see Aunt Shannon, Uncle Karl, and our sweet cousins Kendall, Breck, and Alta. Then Jordyn and I were able to fly to Utah for Great Grandpa Wahlquist’s funeral and were so grateful to be able to see Great Grandma Wahlquist, both sets of Stratton Grandparents, and all of our Aunts, Uncles and cousins on that side (especially baby Keegan).
As Erik patrols the streets of downtown Houston (having way too much fun at work), I get the opportunity to stay home and play with Jordyn (along with pick up after her). This year, we also welcomed a 7 month old kitten, Max, into our home. Jordyn just loves her cat, and Erik & I enjoy having him around as well. We can’t wait to see what changes this next year has in store for our family. We hope you all have many happy and welcome changes in the coming year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Amy, Erik & Jordyn Zugner
(aah, run for your lives!). As the town lay in utter ruin at her feet, Jordynzilla looks on with pride. 
To add to the horror of the event, baby Jesus was last seen in the back of a police car (driven by a donkey from the stable) speeding across the kitchen floor. 
and beautiful hand painted wood ornaments (all courtesy of my wonderful mom!). 
Every morning when Jordyn wakes up, we go out to the playroom and turn the light on the tree on, and she oohs and aahs and plays with the ornaments. This morning during our morning ritual, we had a surprise in the tree. 
Max, had decided to climb into the tree (think he was trying to climb under the tree but didn't quite fit). Jordyn thought this was very silly of Max and really started to giggle. I hope she enjoys the surprises under the big tree on Christmas morning just as much!
the advent calendar with the bowl of ornaments, 
and one of my most cherished decorations, the porcelain reindeer & sleigh that my mom painted (isn't she just the craftiest lady you've ever met).
I've also been making ornaments for our Christmas tree. All of the ornaments I've used in previous years are breakable, and I have a strong feeling that our Christmas tree will get pulled over this year so I decided to make some Jordyn friendly ornaments. 
I've strung bells, made bead candy canes, wreaths, and snowflakes. I've decorated pine cones, and am in the process of making paper strip ornaments. Needless to say, I've been keeping busy, but I'm almost done. A few more ornaments, and Mom Wilson's gift and then I can relax and enjoy the Holiday season!
These cute little boots are 50% off in an early bird special (8-11, that's my kind of early bird). Erik's has wanted to get Jordyn some boots for a while, and who could resist these cute things at 50% off. Well, were off to claim our prize. I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving, and a happy shopping day to you all!
nothing. Maybe next time?
each night with her, and then saying prayers. We've also been saying prayers at every meal (we've always said prayers at dinner, but I have a hard time remember to say them at breakfast and lunch when it's just Jordyn and I). We've been working on having her fold her arms during the prayer, and sometimes she'll even bow her head. We also point out Jesus in the pictures in the hallways at church, Jordyn can now say "Jesus" and pick Him out on her own, in fact, she loves to look at the pictures of Jesus, and read the stories about Him. I was cleaning the office today and noticed that Jordyn was being awfully quiet. I went into her room and saw this...
She doesn't look too happy in the picture, but that's because she was so cold. In fact, we had a hard time getting her to leave, she wanted to try ALL of their horses out. After getting her to leave the store, we decided to let her ride another type of horse, one on the carousel.
Since I've had the opportunity to take her on the carousel at the zoo, we decided to let Erik ride with her. Can't you tell, he's a proud Daddy?
After all that riding, Jordyn decided it was time for her to help out a little, so she helped to push her stroller. In fact, this is a common occurrence, she pushes her stroller when we go for walks, she pushes the cart at the grocery store, if it has wheels, she'll try to push it. She's quite strong and push it by herself, she just needs help steering (which probably has to do with the fact that she always puts her head down when she pushes.) 
After walking around for a while, we headed over to the kids section. The first thing we did there was ride the elephants (which was a total rip off). Jordyn seemed to enjoy the ride, so it made it all worth it. 
After that we, wondered around to see if there were any games that Jordyn could play, there weren't but this kind lady running the fishing pond let us take a few pictures of Jordyn and one of the fish (for free!). 
Then we headed back to the shops where we found Jordyn a cute renaissance dress before heading home. 
At dinner that night, Jordyn enjoyed playing with her cousin Kendall (who just turned 3), but it made for a long day, and then Sundays are always rough on us due to the time that church is. Jordyn finally fell asleep last night (after Erik took her to bed with him), and she's taking a nap as I type, so hopefully we're getting back to a normal schedule. We need to catch up on our sleep now because we have a busy two weeks ahead of us (my parents fly in on Wednesday and then Erik's dad and siblings fly in next week for Thanksgiving!).
