32 months 25 days

Day 998. Last night I went to bed at 12:30. A few minutes earlier Emmy had walked up to and asked for milk, then he went to bed in my bed to wait for me. By the time I went to bed, he was fast asleep, and so I was able to take him back to his own bed. This night was a little different in that Tammy did not come to us. It was Emmy who was the first one to come around 6 am, and he actually fell asleep in my arms today. Tammy came a little later and lay down between us. Everyone was asleep, and then Sammy started crying and crying hard. He eventually woke up Tammy. Randy gave him milk, but he wanted to be with us, and so he put him on our bed. Needless to say, Emmy was soon awake as well, and they all got up. It's extremely rare for Emmy to sleep until 8 am.  We then got up at 8:20.

After emptying the dishwasher, and Randy giving them new diapers, I asked them what they wanted to eat, as they so often hardly touch the food on their plates. Tammy wanted plain yogurt, then Emmy too, and they both wanted sausage, and then strawberries and sweet bread. They had some oatmeal as well, then they got up, I cleaned them and dressed them, and then we went downstairs once all three were ready. We read a Bible story together, then I went upstairs to work.

I was able to work until just before noon, when they came upstairs to eat. We ate the chicken noodle soup I had made yesterday, then they had dessert. They did not want to go potty today, so I cleaned them up and dressed them. The new photobooks had arrived, and the kids were eager to open the package. Then we took the book downstairs with us, where they started looking through it. I left them there with Randy and went upstairs. It wasn't long before I heard Tammy cry really hard. I comforted her; she said she was tired and wanted to go to bed. And so we already went upstairs together at 1:15. By 1:35 Tammy and Emmy were asleep, and I was able to walk away. However, Sammy was first playing, and then crying after I walked away. I kept coming back and stroking his head, but every time I left he'd cry again. In the end Randy sat down by him, and by 2:15 it finally got quiet.

I was working and got really excited, when I received more detailed information about our Mexico trip in 10 days. I was talking to Randy, when Emmy walked into the room at 3:10. Emmy can't whisper yet, and so Tammy walked into the room a few minutes later, and then Sammy was awake as well. As they like the balcony so much, we opened the door and let them go outside and jump on the trampolin.  However, it's the hottest day yet with 32 degrees Celcius, which is really July or August weather. They had some snacks outside, but didn't stay long. I was so exited about Mexico that I showed them pictures of the hotel and especially the kids stuff in the pool area and told them more about it. I also ordered some more items that they'll need, and Emmy even got to choose which pool shoes he wanted. Then we all went downstairs, where they stayed with Randy.

Emmy was crying really hard, wanting me to come downstairs or for him to come up, and he ended up climbing over the gate with the help of one of their cars that he stood on. I spent a few minutes with him, and then we went downstairs, where I sat down with him for a few more minutes, before he started playing happily so that I could leave.

It was already after 4 pm, when I got back to my computer, so time was short. Where had the time gone!

 A package arrived for them without them noticing. Just before 5:30 pm I went to the kitchen to start cooking. They were close to the bottom of the staircase, and I asked them whether they wanted to open their package, which was a resounding yes, of course. And so they came upstairs and opened the package to find Peppa Pig kitchenware and Tammy's knee protectors. Emma's are only arriving after the weekend. They were excited about it all, but Emmy really wanted to watch Paw Patrol until dinner time. I finally gave him and let them watch, as those 20 minutes was exactly the time left until dinner. I made them promise not to cry after, and Emmy did not cry at all, while Tammy did a little bit. They came upstairs, I took their clothes off, and they sat down at the table to eat. Emmy had the new Peppa Pig plate. They all ate, with me feeding Sammy, then they left to go straight into the bathtub. Randy stayed with them, while I was finishing up with Sammy, who then joined them as well. They were having fun in the bathtub, then came out one after another. Tammy and Emmy successfully went potty after the bathtub. By 7:15 they were all in bed, and I sat down by them. Tammy was first to be rocked as usual, and stayed quite long, while Emmy was impatient to get his turn. While I was rocking him, Sammy was impatiently waiting for his turn. After Sammy was back in bed, it was time to hold hands, but I only have two hands for three kids, so one kid has to pass at all times. Eventually I was able to get my hands back to use my phone while waiting for them to sleep. By 8:20 pm I was finally able to walk away.

I got myself something to eat, ate, then went back to work. I ended up spending a lot of time on paperwork for our trip to Mexico in 10 days. When you're a family of five, it takes time to fill out papers for everyone, but it got me excited about our trip. Now all we need is for Randy to test negative for Covid. Please pray for that.