Christmas 2012

Christmas went by very quickly this year- I guess that's what happens when you have two kids, right? 

Adaline is finally old enough to enjoy the activities surrounding the holidays and so we packed in as many as we could.

We started out with picking out our Christmas trees on the first weekend of December. We were all a little nervous getting real trees that early, but it turned out to be the best tree we've ever had. It didn't start to drop needles until after Christmas! 

A little rain never slows us down :) 

 Next, we met up with some long-lost friends, the Petty's, and walked down the street to Turlock's Christmas Light parade. It was a beautiful, crisp night and we had a blast watching all the floats go by.

Well, most of us had a blast- Spencer was a little upset that the parade started AFTER his bedtime.

 Next was Adaline's first Christmas Program at her school. If you can see her, you can tell she's a little over-whelmed by the whole thing and all the people.

We also went to a Christmas party at my old job and met Santa, sort of...

Then, our multiple family Christmas gatherings.

After Christmas dinner with the Walsh family we stayed up in the mountains for a few nights to enjoy the fresh snow...more on that next time :)

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday season for us. I loved seeing everything through Adaline's eyes- she was so excited about everything! Hope you had a great holiday, too!

Miss Mary's Christmas Party

Mary, one of my old co-workers, hosts a Christmas Party every year for her current and past students and their families. She has invited me every year that I have worked with her, but I've never been able to make it. This year, Travis and I were able to take both the kids to meet Mary and her amazing staff. It was wonderful seeing everyone again, and seeing how much some of my students have grown in the last few years. 

Mary had multiple craft stations set up around the room, as well as a station for Santa to sit. Adaline would have NOTHING to do with Santa- aside from the high-five she gave him as we walked in the door, but was quite happy to decorate cookies, color, and get her face (okay, her hand) painted. 

 Miss Mary and I both have two kids. Both kids are close in age: our first children would only have been a month apart, but her son came early (you'd never know it now- he is a healthy, big guy!) and our second children were born one week apart. Spencer was only okay with Santa because beautiful Annabelle was already sitting on his knee (just so happens, this Santa is her daddy!)

 And since Spencer was okay with Santa, Adaline reconsidered and stood next to him for a picture.

Thanks again for inviting us, Mary! It was great to see you, the staff, and the kids. Hopefully we can meet up again soon for a play date!

Spencer's First Christmas

 Isn't he cute?!

Hahaha! This is what he's really like 90% of the time!

(no, seriously, he keeps me on my toes!!!)

 (Hey, it's the only picture I could get of them both looking at the camera...)

(See? He never stops moving...)

Knitting again...

Because the Tornquist family is so large, we have resorted to only giving presents to the youngest generation. I, personally, love this. Travis and I make edible gifts to give to my aunts and uncles as well as my cousins and their spouses, and many of the other family members do the same. With the youngest generation, the great grandchildren, the grandchildren draw a name or two and pick out gifts that we hope will work for the intended children :)

This year, I was given the youngest two members of our family, Audrey and Kennedy. I have been dreaming of knitting booties for months, but just couldn't make myself commit to it. This was the perfect motivator for me...I knit the same pattern twice, and I have to admit, they look much better in these photos than they did in real life (I'm sorry, April and Danielle! I meant it when I said feel free to use them for the stuffed animals and dolls!)

Anyway, it was challenging and fun to try out the pattern and actually see the booties coming together. I still need to work on my seeming, but I liked them overall :)

Feeling Better

 After a few weeks of feeling down and out, we were all finally feeling better. One morning, we were hanging out on the bed for a lazy morning and I had to grab my camera and utilize the natural light.

 (This is the personality we usually see in Spencer! He is definitely feeling better!)

 "Mommy, take a picture of Emma, too!"

("What?! This is Adaline's blankie, NOT MINE?!)

("Ahhhhaaahhh!!! That was funny!!)

I am so thankful that both the kiddos are feeling better!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, I know it's now January, but it's been a rough couple of months.

The first week of Novemeber, Spencer came down with some sort of stomach bug. It was lower intestinal and didn't stop him from eating, so we (along with his doctor) decided to let it run it's course. He wasn't acting completely himself so we decided to cancel a long awaited trip to Tahoe. Thankfully we did, because we received an early morning call on Sunday, a day we would have been in Tahoe, that my grandpa had fallen ill and the whole family was being called to the hospital to say our goodbyes. I was able to be there for that special time, say my goodbyes and thank yous to an amazing man. That is something I will forever be grateful for being able to do.


After a full week, Spencer started throwing up, too. I took him back to the doctor and had him checked out. Doc said we'd keep an eye on it and to call if he started getting dehydrated. Unfortunately, I had to call the next evening because Spencer just wasn't keeping fluids down. He was hungry and would grab at his bottle, but just couldn't keep it down longer than 30 minutes. Doc had us come in first thing in the morning, which was the day of my grandfather's funeral and celebration of life. I took him in and Doc said he was on the verge of dehydration and he would call me at lunch to check on him. One of the best friends I have ever had insisted on coming over to watch Spencer, putting her health and her own boys health at risk so that I could attend the ceremonies. I will forever be grateful for that act of love and kindness, Jen. Spencer seemed to be on the mend during that time because he kept his two 2 oz bottles down (usually he eats 6 oz at a time!). But, a few hours later after we returned home, he started vomiting again and continued throughout the night. I called the doc in the morning and as we had discussed earlier, we took Spencer to the ER for IV fluids. Doc had us go ahead and stay the night to ensure he was going to stay healthy. All the labs came back fine, he had a regular old case of the flu and was severely dehydrated. After the first hour of IV fluids, color came back into his cheeks and his personality came back- he was wooing all the nurses (male and female) and he was smiling and laughing again. From the time of his 6-month check up two weeks before his illness to our stay in the hospital, Spencer had lost 2 lbs- over ten percent of his body weight. Two months later, and he is just now getting back to his 6-month weight. Before The Illness, we were close to sleeping though the night, then we were back to being up every two hours to feed him because he was starving all the time. Two months later, we are now back to only getting up once or twice a night.

This is what Spencer looked like a month before he got sick...

This is after two weeks of being sick...

AND THEN- on Thanksgiving Day (which we were hosting) Adaline gets the stomach bug. Wonderful.
My mom talked me out of canceling the whole thing, and Adaline hung in there like a champ. I couldn't tell you much about the day, honestly. I was so worried about Adaline getting sick and Spencer would not let me get more than a foot away from him (I swear we were both traumatized by his illness), so I feel like the night flew by.

The next day, Adaline said she felt "all better" and wanted to go visit the Walsh Cabin. So off we went, with our fingers crossed- and amazingly, she did okay!

Spencer and Auntie Sara

It has been a crazy month and it took us right into December which is crazy in its own way, so I know this is a Thanksgiving post and it's already January, but that's where we're at these days.

Veteran's Day

Usually, I take time on Veteran's Day to tell the veteran's in my life thank you for their service to our country.

This year, one of the greatest veterans I know, my grandfather Robert Tornquist passed away on Veteran's Day. His passing was somewhat of a surprise to us, but we were all able to gather at the hospital and say our goodbyes. It has taken me two months to write about it because there is so much to say and I don't really know how.
I keep trying to write a summary of what I know about my grandpa to share with you and I have struggled with it. There's just too much to say and I don't feel like I could do the man justice.
My grandpa was a well-know, well-respected tractor expert. He was a WWII veteran. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and had amazing stories of warfare and survival. Above all, my grandpa was a family man, and he always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He was quick to joke with people and try to make them laugh. He was kind, so very kind. I have heard more stories than I can recount of times when he helped a family member, friend, or neighbor through a hard time. So many of my dad's stories started with, "We had this horse/goat/mule/cow/truck/car that my dad received as payment for doing x,y, or z for this farmer..." and every one of those stories ends with everyone laughing and me pondering how my father and his siblings survived their crazy and exciting childhood.
As a grandpa, he was always on the floor letting us ride on his back while we played horsey. He let us drive his riding lawnmower and his tractors. As we got older, he always knew of a detail to ask us about our lives, and even let us drive his treasured Model T. One of my favorite stories at the Celebration of Life for him is how Grandpa told one of grandkid's partners, who called him Mr. Tornquist, "If you're here, you better call me Grandpa."
Our family is large, and we have all gone separate ways, but we still come together for parties a few times a year. Christmas Day breakfast has always been amazing, because give or take one or two people, we all manage to meet up for a few hours. Last year it was 47 people, this year, adding three more babies would have made it 50, but we all felt Grandpa's absence. On our way home, Travis told me, "Grandpa always made his way around the crowd and talked to every single one of us. He made us all feel special."
I am honored to be a part of my family, and I have always held my name in high regard. I was raised with the idea that our name is well-known in this community and to represent it the best I possibly could. I will continue to honor my grandpa by living by the values he passed down to my dad who passed them down to me.