23 months 1 day

Day 701. Last night I went to bed after 1 am. This morning Emmy came after 6 am, which is his typical time. We sat down for breakfast before 7 am. After breakfast we were worshipping God downstairs, with the instruments, and then reading the Bible. When Randy came with his breakfast, they did not want to give the Bibles back to me but continue reading them.

I went upstairs to clean up and then do office work. I was really tired, and just after 8 am I lay down and closed my eyes, after setting my alarm. I needed to be awake before 9 am to hear the doorbell, as the Mobile Support lady comes every Monday morning. After opening the door for her, I started working. At 10:30 I stopped to go to the kitchen to cook, and just after 11 am we sat down to eat lunch.

After chicken, potatoes, brokkoli (that they did not like) and icecream, I cleaned them up, dressed them, and put the boys to bed, while Randy went downstairs with Tammy. Emmy was having a little bit of a hard time - until I let him lie on me for a few minutes. Those few minutes were enough for him to then sleep in his bed. I then put Tammy to bed, who always needs a while before falling asleep.

Sammy woke up after over an hour of sleep, and and hour before we had to leave. Emmy woke up after nearly 2 hours, just at the right time, and I dressed him right away, then we woke Tammy up and dressed her, and we all left on time just after 3 pm. We took a subway and a train and got to the swimming pool early. We all gather outside before the class, so that the teacher can check our Covid tests before he lets us in.

There was water coming out right there, which of course attracted Emmy right away. He and Tamara started playing with the water, so I soon realized it was better to take their clothes off before they were completely wet. We had to wait quite some time, so they got to play for quite a while, and greatly enjoyed it. I took my own shirt off, as I already had my swimsuit on, and then I carried both Emmy and Tammy inside, as they were not making my clothes wet.

A few minutes later we were in the water. Emmy was eager to go in, and more courageous, but still pretty fearful the whole time we were in the water. Sonja and I switched a few times who had Tammy and Emmy, and in the end I had Sammy and Randy Emmy. We were once again pretty much left to ourselves, with just a few things suggested to us by the swim teacher. Tammy enjoyed jumping into the water from the side of the pool, as long as I had my hand on her, or she thought I did. Emmy did as well and enjoyed it. I even put Sammy on the side of the pool and let him jump in, which made him laugh. Tammy was floating in the water sovereignly, and with the swimring, she didn't need any help at all.

Time went by fast, and we had to get back out and leave. I got some food out where we had left the strollers, as they usually eat little before the class, even though it's their afternoon snack time. After a few minutes we left the swimming pool.

Normally we'd stop at where the water comes out of the ground, but we had to get home as I had to personally take possession of a package. Thankfully they weren't too upset when we didn't stop. They were even sitting in the stroller, by the way. We continued on to the train, and noticed there was a big problem, with all the trains delayed. An accident had damaged a bridge and stopped the trains. We still got on a train, but after a few minutes we were told to get out. So we went to the tram stop and waited for the tram. Sonja had to say her goodbyes, and she was gonna be late because of this delay. Our tram finally arrived, and it's rather slow, taking longer to bring us home, even though it's a straight shot. Tammy and Emmy were on a bench with me, and they were both rather restless. Until Tammy went to be with Daddy, and then I realized that Emmy had just wanted to have a seat all to himself, right next to me.

This morning, Emmy said "Sammy" for the very first time, and he said it quite a few more times tonight. Tonight he also said "Tammy" one time. The other two can't say those words yet. And when I ask Emmy what his name is, he can't answer yet.

We got home at 5:10, and my package arrived a little later. Everyone went downstairs to play, while I was making dinner and called them upstairs just before 6 pm. They ate a bit at the table, then we went into the bathtub, where they ate most of their food. Then they went to bed. Emmy was pretty tired, but he was once again very concerned about where Daddy was and needed reassurance that he was there. Tammy was having a hard time as usual, and I made it easier for her by stroking her head through the bars. Emmy fell asleep before she did.

After everyone was asleep, I left to get myself something to eat, and then went back to work. Now it's midnight, and everything is cleaned, and I'm planning on going to bed soon.