Day 913. Last night I headed to bed at 1 am, later than planned because I was trying to resolve an issue. Emmy came in the early morning hours, but he did not lie down to sleep but was already up for good some time before 6:30. I tried to keep him from leaving, as we didn't want him to go wake his siblings up, but it was impossible. Once they were all up, Randy moved Sammy to our bed, and I then let him down to the floor to join his siblings. When Randy heard them move the chair to the shelves to get the cookie boxes, he got up to keep them from getting them. At 7 am I fnally got up to keep them from more mischief.
I made breakfast, and we sat down to eat. Then I cleaned them up and dressed them, and we went downstairs. Randy was already there, and so I went back upstairs to clean up and then work. I worked for a while, but it got harder and harder because I was so tired. Some time after 9 am I finally gave up fighting and closed my eyes. I was woken up by Tammy crying, asking to watch Barbapapa. I finally got up, went downstairs, and Emmy and Tammy sat down to watch Peppa Pig. Then I returned upstairs, worked until 11:15, and then went to the kitchen to cook. At 11:45 I stopped the video downstairs, which led to protests and fits and crying. They then came upstairs, and Emmy and Tammy sat on the kitchen counter, while I finished cooking. Just before noon the doorbell rang and Sonja arrived.
Thank God! She was the only antidote to their crankiness. She helped undress them, and everyone sat down to eat.
And they ate really well. They like spinach with potatoes and sunnyside up-egg. Tammy had a pudding, but Emmy was eager to get into the bathtub, which is best with the green spinach everywhere. And they were having lots of fun in the water, including Sammy. We got him out first, and he went to bed first, then it was Emmy's turn. He's never very happy having to go to bed, when Sonja is here. By 12:55 he was asleep. Tammy came back upstairs from playing with Sonja at 1:05, and by 1:30 she was finally asleep.
I went back to work. At 2:07 Emmy walked into the room asking to go downstairs to Sonja, and Randy took him there. Usually Sammy wakes up at the same time as him, or even earlier, but not so today. At 2:25 Randy woke him up and dressed him and left with him a few minutes later to take him to his physiotherapy session. At 3:15 I stopped the ocean sounds, and immediately Tammy was awake and came running to me. She wanted some milk, and then we walked downstairs taking their snacks with us. I left her with Sonja and Emmy and went back upstairs to work. After a while I heard her ask for a pacifier from the bottom of the stairs, and so I threw one down to her.
After having worked for a while I thought it would be nice for them to go outside a little, considering that it was a relatively warm and sunny day, and that that would allow them to run their cars around freely. And so I took their ski suits and shoes and went downstairs at 4:30. They were excited, as they hadn't been right outside our apartment in a long time. They've been riding them inside a little, but there isn't much room. The other day Emmy tried to pedal on the tricycle, which they have not mastered yet. And so I got the tricycle out, and their bike without pedals, as well as the cars. They would not even get on the bike at all! So far it had always been a little too big, but now it might work. We'll never know. They didn't get on the tricycle either; Sammy got on it, when they returned a little later. Instead they hopped on the cars, and off they went. I had never seen them have this much fun on them before! It shows you that a few months make a big difference at this age. They were going up and down and back and forth and really fast, like never before. And they were grinning and laughing all the time, especially Tammy. It was so much fun to watch them! They couldn't get enough. Sammy got pushed up and down by Randy at first, and then by Sonja.
After a while I left them to their fun and returned upstairs. I had 15 minutes left to work before going to the kitchen to make their dinner. And then I heard them crying hard downstairs. Randy had decided to bring them inside, against their will, as they wanted to continue having fun. I felt for them. After I was done making their dinner, I went downstairs to tidy up - without them, as they were not willing to help. At 5:50 we were done and went upstairs. Emmy was pretty cranky and wanted me to hold him, and then for Sonja to hold him. At first he did not want to sit down by the table. In the end they did, ate a little, and then already got up. Sonja said her goodbyes, and the kids went potty, only Emmy with success. Then they headed straight into the bathtub, Emmy by himself, Tammy with help. They ate quite a bit more there, nearly everything, while having fun. Then they came out one after another, we got them ready for bed and put them to bed. It was exactly 7 pm, when they were all in bed and I sat down by them. As always we were talking, and Tammy lay on me for a few minutes before going to bed. I stayed until 7:40. By then Emmy was asleep, so was Sammy, and Tammy was on her way and let me go.
I went to the kitchen, got myself something to eat, and after eating I went back to work. I had intended to go to bed at a decent time, but I got distracted. It's our anniversary on Sunday, and after Sonja agreed to stay with the kids, so we could go out, I started looking for a restaurant we could go to. All the nice ones were either closed or were booked full. But in the end I found the perfect place. And so it's much later as I have intended, and I have yet to clean up the kitchen.
