22 months 20 days

Day 690. Last night I was heading to bed at 1:50 am. Before I could even lie down, Emmy got up and came into our room, and I walked him back to his bed, and he simply climbed back in and lay down. I had read that you simply keep walking them back, even if you have to do it a 100 times, and so that's what I was gonna do. I was hoping he wasn't coming dozens of times like the night before, and decided to count. He'd lie down, I'd go to bed, and a few moments later he was by my side, I'd get back up and walk him back. I counted 9 times, and then it stopped. That wasn't that bad. I was finally able to fall asleep. I'm curious how often he'll come tonight.

In any case you must have prayed because everything was much easier today, from this morning to nap time to bedtime. I don't remember what time Emmy came to me in the morning, some time between 6 and 7. He never lay down to sleep again, just to be with us. Then he got up, his siblings woke up, and we ended up with all three in bed with us, which they thoroughly enjoyed. We sat down for breakfast at about 7:30 am.

After breakfast we went downstairs to dance and worship Jesus. I actually heard Tammy say "Jesus" for the first time today. They say "Hallelujah" quite a bit now, any time it has to do with church. When Sammy joined us, I got the Bibles out, and it was the usual not being able to share a Bible with a sibling.

When Randy came, I went upstairs, cleaned up and sat down to work. Even though I was tired I did not lie down for a nap, but wanted to make some progress. At 10:45 I stopped to cook, and at 11:30 we sat down to eat lunch - pork chops, potatoes and sauerkraut. Emmy is always asking for "Eier" (eggs) meaning "Eis" (icecream) before he's done eating. Today I heated some raspberries and put them on top of their vanilla icecream, and they liked it. Then I cleand them up and dressed them, and Randy went downstairs with Tammy and Emmy, while I cleaned up and dressed Sammy and put him to bed. It was 12:15 pm. At 12:30 I went to get Emmy and put him to bed. I stayed to encourage him to sleep, and he fell asleep rather quickly. At about 12:45 I put Tammy to bed. I was still cleaning up, and then sat down to work again, and did not sleep.

Sammy slept pretty long today, which is good, over 90 minutes. Randy went downstairs with him, and Emmy was still sleeping, which is unusual, but encouraging. In fact today it was Tammy who woke up first, just before 3 pm. She shrieked a little, and that was enough to wake Emmy up, who jumped up startled and started crying. He was so disoriented and sleepy, he tried to climb over the railing, forgetting he had an opening in his bed, and I tried to direct him to that, which upset him even more. As I had Tammy already on my chest, I had a hard time picking him up as well, but finally did, and I had to just hold him for a while before he calmed down. Randy came back upstairs with Sammy, and then we opened the balcony door and went outside, where I fed them, and where they get to watch people walking by and greet them. After the jar they shared, I got some watermelon and apple and set them down for them to help themselves. Emmy wanted me to pick him up so he can see over the railing, and we stood there for a while, waiting for people to come by so he could say "hello" to them. Today he wasn't saying it very loud though, and often too late, but a few people noticed and waved back or said "hello". He also points out every time you hear a motorbike or car, and when a dog was barking somewhere nearby, he was scared and came jumping into my lap.

Grandma had given them bottles with soap for bubbles, and I thought the balcony was a good place for them, so I started blowing bubbles, which they greatly enjoyed. They tried to catch them. They also wanted to blow bubbles, but they're not quite able to blow yet.

We were playing for a while, and then I went downstairs with them, while Randy was finishing up with Sammy. Sammy is also starting to say more and more different words. He does like saying "nein" (no) now. When Randy came with him, I left them to work a little longer. At 4:45 pm I could already hear Tammy being upset, and so I rushed to get downstairs to be with them until 5:30 pm. I made sure I had the bubbles with me, and opened the door to let them go outside. Immediately the tears and crankiness disappeared, as they were so happy to get out. Tammy started playing with the sand, and Emmy running up and down on top of the tarp, with Tammy joining him. And again they were greeting every person walking by. The two were having fun together, and I was having fun with Sammy.

At 5:30 I got up to clean up and to take them back inside, as Randy usually does not stay outside with them. Of course they are never happy to go inside, and Randy not happy for the sand to be brought inside. I went to the kitchen to get their food ready, and just after 6 pm they came upstairs to eat. Tammy ate all the bananas first, not touching the bread, and Emmy was eating bread and other stuff. But they never eat much at the table. Tonight they did not finish all their food in the bathtub either, none of the three. But they were having fun in the bathtub as always. Until Emmy staretd to just cry because he was so tired. So they came out and went to bed. Emmy was so tired, he actually never got back up on his feet and fell asleep fast. Thank God! What a difference to yesterday! Tammy was tired too. She fussed for a while and then fell asleep. By 7:30 they were already sleeping, which is rare. And then I fell asleep in the chair myself, which never happens, but I allowed it to happen, as I was so tired. I woke up at 8:30, go myself something to eat, and was a little slow for a while, before picking up speed. Thankfully I did not take many pictures today. Now it's 1 am, and all that is left to do is to turn the dishwasher on.