25 months 1 day

Day 763. Last night I fell into bed at 12:20 am. However, it is not sleep I found. It wasn't long before Emmy came crying, and I walked him back to his bed, then left, which made him cry again and come again. He wanted to sleep with us, but I was determined that he'd sleep in his own bed. Our bed is too small, and so it prevents me from sleeping well when there is more than the two of sleeping in it. And so I kept walking him back, over and over again. I got so tired that I finally just stayed in bed, while he was standing next to me. He held my hand and put his head on my body and silently stood there for a long time. I was wondering whether he was gonna sleep like that. I finally told him (again) to go to bed, and without a word he went back to his bed and then slept there. Thank God! When he came again at 5 am, Tammy was already with us, and I let him climb into bed with us as well.

While they were up and busy at 7 am, it was 7:45 before we got up for breakfast. I always have some kids cookies and a bottle by our bed to give them when they're asking for food early. After breakfast we went downstairs, where I turned worship music on and go their Bibles out. When Randy came with his breakfast, I left them to clean up and then work.

Because we have been getting up later again, especially today, I decided we'd have lunch at 11:30 again, which also gave me some extra time to work. Today they ate better than they have been, and so they both got some pudding. Sammy had his special high calorie pudding to help him gain weight. I cleaned them up, dressed them, and Randy went downstairs with Tammy. The boys fell asleep rather fast. When Randy returned with Tammy, I was wondering how well it'd work to put her to bed at 12:15. And it was another disaster, just like yesterday. It was exhausting and frustrating, and she woke up her brothers before she'd ever fallen asleep herself. Yesterday I was able to get Emmy to fall back asleep, but not today. He went downstairs with Randy, while I sat down by Tammy's bed, and she fell asleep a little later - at 1:40, that is 90 minutes after putting her to bed! Sammy was awake but still resting, until he'd had enough of bed, and so I got him out at 2 pm and took him downstairs as well.

I went back to work and made good progress. I knew Tammy would be asleep for a while. Some time after 3:30 pm Randy came upstairs to change a diaper, and that woke her up. And so we started dressing them and lef the house at 4:15.

It was the last warm and nice day, and so we had to take advantage of it. We walked the 12 minutes to the closest decent-size playground. As it was Sunday, there were a lot of children there, and they got right into it. We started by the smaller slide and swing, then moved around a little, and I got stuck at the regular swing with Tammy. She quietly sat on the swing that I pushed and stayed there for a long time. Then Randy and the boys came our way, together with the two balls we had brought, and we all started playing ball/soccer together. Sammy loves playing soccer. A group of people was doing a birthday party, and they had lots of balloons that Emmy really wanted. It was 5:15, and we decided it was time to walk back home.

But we didn't walk straight home but did a detour through the park, and so it took us 25 minutes. I was struggling a little with pushing the strollers, and kids were going in and out. I was tired and wasn't sure our outing had been worth it. By 5:40 we were back home, and it was time to sit down and eat. I prefer getting their food ready without them around, but tonight I had to make it and give it to them right there at the table. They were eating some, but it wasn't long before Tammy got up instead of eating. When I turned the water on in the bathtub, they both went there, wanting to get in. I still finished getting all their food ready before putting them all in. They ate most of it in the bathtub. In fact, Randy had to bring more bread and cream cheese as I had not made enough. They even had their puddings in the bathtub. And they had fun, and then they had to get out. We got them ready for bed, and just after 7 pm they were all in bed. The boys fell asleep quickly, but with Tammy it was a struggle like always. However, I stayed with her and that made it a little easier. I was finally able to walk away and start making my food. It all took a while before I was done eating and could back to work.

And then Emmy has had a tough night already. He wakes up a lot, cries, gets up, and wants me to be there. I then take my computer and sit down by his bed to work there. After a while I walk away again, but it doesn't always work. Now it's nearly midnight, and I hope he'll be asleep for a while. I still have to do all the cleanup before I can go to bed myself.