28 months 27 days

Day 879. Last night I was heading to bed at 12:30 pm. Emmy had woken up crying for me and was okay with sleeping in my bed until I came. So I picked him up and tried to put him into his own bed, which he was not happy about. And then Tammy woke up as well and also tried to get into our bed. I put them both into their beds and sat down on the chair right by them, but only for a few minutes. I went back to bed, and Emmy was right by my side, crying and wanting to get into bed with me. I didn't let him. I took them back to their beds, sat down again, went back to bed again. They finally stayed in their beds, and I was able to fall asleep. I don't know what time they both returned to our bed. When we're asleep or half-asleep, we're not even aware of them coming. Emmy was the first one up at 7 am, and Sammy was also unhappy in his bed. I finally got him out and put him on the floor. Tammy slept the longest. By 7:30 I got up as well to start making their breakfast.

We sat down to eat, then I cleaned them up and dressed them and went downstairs with them, where we read a Bible story. Then Randy came, and I went upstairs to work. At 11:15 I went to the kitchen to start cooking, and at noon they came up to eat. FINALLY a meal, where Tammy and Emmy cleaned their plates off. Then they had pudding and cake. And we had lots of fun, dancing to action songs that Randy had asked Alexa to play. They were great. I cleaned them up and dressed them, and the boys went to bed, while Randy went downstairs with Tammy. Sammy fell asleep right away, and only slept one hour. It took Emmy until 1:10 to fall asleep, and didn't even sleep an hour. Tammy fell asleep at 1:30 and slept 90 minutes. Randy went downstairs with the boys, while I continued working upstairs until Tammy woke up at 3 pm. Then we also went downstairs, and took some more snacks with us.

For the next 2+ hours we were all downstairs together. I was at my desk trying to work, while also playing and interacting with the kids. They were all in the swing at some point, Tammy and Emmy at the same time as well as separately. They want to swing as high as possible. We all sat on the shelves by the windows at another time and watched Randy put up the new picture on the wall. And we called Sonja as well as Grandma and enjoyed talking with them. We all miss seeing them in person.

Sammy wants Randy to hold him all the time, and he does much of the time. He pushed him around on a car for a while, and always works with him, doing exercises. When Sammy was really cranky, I took him and threw him around, which made him laugh and laugh. I also had to throw Emmy around for a while. Emmy is the one who is the most attached to me. He sat on my lap at times, while I was working. And when I tried to sneak out at 5:15 pm to go make their dinner, he noticed and came running to go upstairs with me, and I let him. Tammy was watching babies on my phone at that time.

I was cutting up food in the kitchen, and Emmy pulled a chair up so he could stand on it and see and take food already. Once it was all done, which doesn't take as long as it used to, I told him we'd go back downstairs to tidy up before having dinner. Of course Emmy didn't lift a finger, only Tammy helped me and got 10c for her piggy bank for it. She never lets me forget to give her her money! I give her the coin, and she puts it into her piggy bank.

After tidying up we all went upstairs and sat down to eat. Emmy always eats  the cream cheese and salami off the bread and then asks me to put camembert cheese ("Mommy cheese") on it. Tammy just eats the salami off, if anything, but won't eat the bread. At least Emmy also eats the bread. And tonight it was Sammy who ate all the bread and fruit on his plate.

Then they went into the bathtub, where they were having fun. So much so that Sammy was very upset, when he was the first one to be taken out of the water. The other two followed. They wanted some cake, so they all had some cake before I brushed their teeth. Then it was bedtime. It was rather early again, just after 6:30 pm. And Randy was the one sitting down first, when they all asked for him. Since Emmy had slept little at lunch time, he fell asleep first, really fast. When Tammy calling for me became more insistent, I relieved Randy and sat down on the chair. Sammy was still pretty active and trying to get close to his sister to play with her. Tammy was getting tired, but it took her until 7:30 to fall asleep, after Sammy. Then I left to go downstairs and work.

I continued working for a while before I decided it was time to get something to eat. And I chose to make a salad, which is very time-intensive. And so it took a while before I got to eat, and then I went back to work. At 11 pm, the same way it's been for days now, Emmy showed up at the gate at the top of the stairs calling for me. I went upstairs and put him into my bed to wait for me. I guess we'll have the tears again, when I'm done working and going to bed and will take him back to his own bed. But I've got to do it if I want any time without kids in our bed.