21 months 30 days

Day 669. Last night I made it to bed a little earlier, at 12:30 am. This morning it was Randy who went into their room as he heard them mess with the blinds. But once you go in there, they just cry when you walk away, so we had to get up early, at 7:20, today. After breakfast I cleaned them up and dressed them. Often they have objects or animals on their clothes, and they point at them, and I say their names. Today Emmy had sharks on his pants and I told him the German name "Hai". In the afternoon he greatly impressed me, when he pointed at his pants and said "Hai". He had remembered that new word from this morning and said it again many hours later! Wow!

I took them downstairs where we were worshipping God and reading the Bible together, until Randy arrived with his breakfast. I went upstairs to clean up and do office work. I was able to work longer than usual, as it was leftovers day. I just warmed up some jars, the lentil soup and chicken, and at 11:30 they came upstairs to eat. Thankfully their appetite is back, so that they ate most everything on their plates, plus watermelon, apple and yoghurt. I cleaned them up and dressed them, and Randy went downstairs with Tammy and Emmy, while I cleaned and dressed Sammy and put him to bed. A few minutes later I put Emmy to bed who now falls asleep pretty fast, and then Tammy, who still talked for a long time before sleeping.

The boys already woke up after an hour once again, and Randy went downstairs with them. The girl woke up a little later, and I called the boys to come upstairs to eat. Tammy as resting on my chest until Emmy came, who wanted to go out on the balcony again, so I opened the door, and we all went outside, where they hd fun. I had the jar with me and put food into their mouths out there. After a while we went back inside, where they had some watermelon and cookies, and then I dressed them for leaving the house. We were in no rush. Tammy once again did not want me to put any shoes on her; ever since she had that sore spot and the shoes hurt her, she dislikes putting shoes on.

We left the house and walked to the tram. We rode a few stops and got off at the big shopping mall. It'd been weeks since I got my new prescription for glasses from the eye doctor, but I had still not gone anywhere to have my new glasses made. Today was the day. On a hot day like this, an airconditioned shopping mall was the perfect place to be.

It was the first time being in a shopping mall for the little ones. We had to somehow find the store we were looking for in this huge place, and it turned out to be a challenge. We took the elevator up, and Tammy and Emmy were both out of the strollers and walking. It worked pretty well at first. I had them to my left and right, holding their hands and walking, while Randy was pushing both strollers. But then Emmy did not want to walk any more but be carried. I've done so much carrying recently, that my left arm is hurting so bad. And then I had Sammy in my other arm, as he was crying in the stroller, and I was not gonna leave him there. But I just couldn't do it, as my arms were hurting too much. I ended up putting Emmy on my shoulders which worked better, and we finally found the store. A lady told me to disinfect my hands, which wasn't so easy, as I was holding Emmy's legs, him being on my shoulders. It was also that lady who told me where to look for frames. She did everything in the end, but never so much as acknowledged the little ones. I sat down by her desk and had Emmy and Tammy on my lap. Then I picked up Sammy who was unhappy, and Tammy was happy to have a chair to herself, and Emmy was with Randy. In the picture you can see me in the mirror, holding Sammy. I did it all really fast, grabbing one of the cheap frames, and getting the cheapest glasses possible. So it didn't take long before we were done.

We left the store and talked about where to go next. Unfortunately there were no playgrounds around. Emmy still wanted me to carry him, but he did go to the ground at one point, he and Tammy climbing on a bench and looking at a screen. We continued on to the exit, when I saw two red cars there, and a clothes store. The cars were actually to put kids in and use them as shopping carts, but you had to pay for them and they were locked up. As I was in dire need of clothes, I decided to make a quick run into that store. I'm not someone who enjoys shopping. I took Sammy with me who was still unhappy in the stroller, and he was very happy coming with me. Tammy and Emmy were also happy getting to sit in the red cars. I grabbed a few dresses and went to the dressing rooms. I put Sammy on the floor and quickly tried them on, and ended up keeping two for me to wear at home. I picked Sammy back up and went to the exit to get my ATM card from Randy, then went to pay for the clothes. Once again no acknowledgment of the baby on my arm. Then it was time to finally leave the mall. Emmy accepted to be put into the stroller, and we headed back to the tram stop.

It had rained while we were inside, which was nice, as it was not quite as hot as before. We had to let the first tram go, as it was an old one with stairs, and took the next one. We rode one extra stop so I could go into the grocery store. Of course Emmy was gonna come along, and I put him into the grocery cart. Tammy was immediately jealous, wanting to come with us, but whatever I did, she was upset with it all, and so I finally had to leave her with Randy crying, while we went inside. Whenever I picked something up, Emmy took it and put it into the cart. I went as fas as possible, and Tammy was still not happy, when we came back out. Emmy went back into the stroller, and then we just had to walk a little more to get home.

It was nearly 6 pm, when we got back home. They all ended up going downstairs, so I could make their dinner, and I went as fast as possible, calling them up before 6:30. Emmy was really hungry and ate a lot, but Tammy was just cranky and not really interested in eating. Once they went into the bathtub, the reverse was true. Tammy was eating and finished all the fruit, while Emmy was just crying and not eating anything at all. He was so tired, that Randy got him out early, while I continued feeding the other two. And so he was ready for bed, before the others were done eating. Randy held him until the others came out, but then had to put him into his bed. Of course that meant Emmy was crying hard, while we were getting the others ready. I put them all to bed, but Emmy was so worked up and tired, that I picked him up and sat down with him. Randy left to pick up some used swim rings from someone.

I tried to put Emmy down a few times, but he was not ready to lie down by himself. I tried to hold him down, but he'd just get up and want me to hold him. I sat down by his bed, when a determined, desperate Emmy suddenly put his leg on the railing and pulled himself up!!! He was on top of his bed's railing! It wouldn't have taken much for him to fall off on the other side! And he did that several times, with me putting him back flat on his face each time. FINALLY he stayed down, being satisfied with me stroking his head, and then it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. The girl was awake and having fun the whole time, and I was surprised that she did not complain, when I finally walked away.

I made my food, ate, and went to work. Now it's midnight, and I'm tired, but I still have to clean up the kitchen and dining room and do the dishes.