15 months 16 days

It took me a long time to do all the pictures and write the travel report last night, so it was 3:30 before I was done and ready to go to bed. I could barely keep my eyes open any more, having slept 3 hours the previous night. Little did I know that 3 hours of sleep was all I'd be getting last night as well, so I'm just as tired tonight, and have been struggling to get going, but I just have to get this done before going to bed, which I'll do right after finishing my report.

It wasn't even 3 hours of sleep, as it was 6:15 when the first baby woke up, followed by the other two. It's an hour earlier here than in central Europe, so it would have been a more decent time there. We gave them all some milk, and Randy changed them and put clothes on them. I wasn't really that tired at that time, and ended up staying up, and taking them to the living room to see their reaction to the new house with 200 balls. They were cautious, and it took a while before Tammy was the first one to go through the tunnel. And Emmy really enjoyed throwing one ball after another out of the house, while Mommy kept throwing them back in. I'm sure the cats will love them too.

It wasn't that long before I decided to make their breakfast, cereal with milk, and we fed them right there, as the high chairs we had brought with us were not put together yet. Then we continued playing, and at same point Barbara joined us. It's been hard, as they're still adjusting, are still tired from the trip, and from the heat, and want to be with Mommy and Daddy all the time, and not Barbara. One time today Emmy was crying for about an hour, wanting a parent, with a half hour nap in the middle, and it was breaking my heart that Tammy was sleeping on me, and there was nothing I could do to comfort my son, as it would have meant a crying daughter. Thankfully she woke up soon after, and I was finally able to hold my son, as he melted into my arms, calming down immediately. But back to earlier in the day.

Having gotten up so early, it was also earlier that they were getting tired - at least in this time zone - so just after 9 we put them down to sleep. It worked better than expected, having the boys in their bed, and Tammy on me right next to them in our bed. Emmy could see me, and he eventually lay down and slept. Tammy also fell asleep faster than usual, and Mommy got a nap in as well, as the short night was hitting me by then. The boys were still crying when Tammy fell asleep, and both drank some milk before finally falling asleep after 9:30. Emmy woke up after his typical half hour, and thankfully Randy could sit down with him, and he fell asleep again on his chest. Unfortunately Sammy woke up as well, though he wasn't really crying. I could tell today that he really enjoys this bed, which was also the case in January, when he kept turning over all the time. Right now he's crawling a lot in there, as well as laughing.

Tammy ended up sleeping for nearly 2 hours and woke up about half an hour after the boys had gotten up. I was pretty tired, but stayed up, as it was time to give them some food.

And that was challenging. While in Mali, they'll be eating food we cook, no jars! And we had only just arrived, and Paul had not returned from the supermarket yet. I had eggs, and I had vegetables, so I made them scrambled eggs. That had been their first dinner food in Austria for a while, before changing it up. The food was pretty hot, but cooled off quickly with the ceiling fans running. It's been pretty hot; 31 Celcius in our bedroom when I put them to bed tonight.

Randy had put the chairs together, so they each went into a chair, and I had bought another set of plates for them that I put the eggs into. They all put their hands in it, and Tammy was the best today in putting the eggs into her mouth and ate the most. Sammy always wants to eat by himself, and not have Daddy feed him, which is quite challenging, as he's not able to do it. Emmy is the pickiest eater and didn't want the eggs. It's watermelon season in Mali, and I cut up some to give to them. Emmy made a face and refused to eat it too, while Tammy ate it. Thank God Emmy loves his bananas, and he gladly ate the cut up banana.

Emmy is our fearful one, while Tammy does not know any fear. We have two cats, one VERY loving one, and the other avoids humans and won't let anyone touch her. Brownie has been so excited to have me back, as nobody pets her when I'm not here. I was petting her with Emmy on my arm, but he was very suspicious and scared when I put his hand on the cat or touched him with her tail. Tammy on the other hand was extremely interested and had no problem getting to know Brownie.

People came and went all day, and of course everyone wants to hold the babies, so we have some nice pictures, like the one with my girl Sarata (15) and Emmy.

Little Amaga (4 months old) also came over with Fanta, who did the dishes and some kitchen work. I hadn't seen any pictures of him since his birth, even though I repeatedly asked for pictures, and now I finally got to hold him and take some great pictures. He's just learning to sit (still falling over), and it was really cute to see him and Emmy interact while sitting next to each other. It was also great to have Esther (3 years old) over and watch her with Tammy; they'll be besties!

They had eaten lunch at noon, and as time went on, they were getting pretty tired and cranky again. It was their regular bed time in the Austrian time zone when we put them to bed at 1:30 pm. Emmy especially throws fits when he's tired and cries hard, and he really wanted me to hold him. I had already put him to bed, but got him out and held him for a while, and then he was ready to sleep alone. And I got Tammy and lay down with her at 2 pm. Again, I was ready for a nap myself! Unfortunately that's when Tammy's nap was cut short because of Emmy crying so very hard for a parent out in the living room, even making his Mommy shed tears for him. I tried to slide her onto the bed and get him, but she woke up, and so we ended up going to the living room, where I finally got to comfort my son. I was still extremely tired, and Emmy would have needed Randy to rock him after waking up after his typical half-hour.

After a short while they were all okay again and started playing. Fanta was in the house, and the plumber was here to fix two of our bathrooms, and I was torn in every direction, not even being able to drink or go to the bathroom. The babies were getting hungry again (they'd had cereal bars earlier, thank God we had some left from the trip, though we should save them for the return trip), and with everything still being a mess, I decided to give them cereal with milk again, which was easy to make. I should have brought enough cereal with me to do this every day, if we choose to do so. They sure enjoyed their cereal, even though there was no fruit in it. Tammy LOVED putting both her hands into it and throwing it all over the place, including her own face and head! I should get that picture for you tomorrow. She looked hilarious!

Then it was bathtime. Having been so busy, I had not filled the tub before the meal, which was not helpful, as the water pressure is not very high and it takes a long time to fill. And especially Emmy is scared of the running water, so I turned him off when they came, even though it wasn't much water. Sammy was the first one in, and at first he was screaming. They had gone two days without a bath at night, and it was a new bathtub. It didn't take long, though, before he was enjoying it as much as always. Barbara brought Emmy, but he simply did not want to go into the water, so he sat on the edge, while I playfully brought the washcloth up to him. I thought he'd eventually go in, but he never did. Tomorrow is another day. Tammy had no problem being in the water.

We took them out one by one and put their pj's on; it was bed time! By 5:45 they were all in bed, pretty much their regular time. Emmy was the most tired, and wanted to sleep, but his siblings wouldn't let him. That's what I had expected. Sammy was crawling to his brother, lying down next to him, and Tammy was walking all over the place going to both brothers and keeping them from sleeping. She seemed surprisingly awake. The boys would definitely have slept much earlier if she hadn't been there. And she gave me a really hard time tonight, needing an hour and 15 minutes before she FINALLY fell asleep around 7 pm. She was crying, and wanted me to sit right by her, and even when I sat on the chair not far from her where she could see me, it was not good enough. The last picture showes her while I sat in that chair, and she's definitely been trying to climb out, and I have no doubt she could succeed before we leave Mali. That wood bar across was actually not there before, and I had asked our carpentry apprentice to put it up so they can't get out. I wished he had closed it completely, and I'll probably ask him to, as well as to sand it, as it's pretty rough.

By that time, I was so very exhausted - and hungry - I could barely keep my eyes open. I was so glad when I was finally able to get something to eat, but as I started processing the 150 pictures of the day, I was having a really hard time because of being so very tired. I just HAVE to have more sleep tonight, and as I'm finishing today's report just before midnight, I just might make it to bed early (for me) tonight.