Well, it's already after 3 am, normally I'm asleep by now, but now it's 2021. HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! That means I was busy until half past midnight, which explains why I only got done with the pictures now.
For the babies the day was like any other. They won't even know a new year has started when they wake up today. They got up after 7 am again this morning, had breakfast at 9, and then Sammy lay down for his nap. However, I could also hear Emmy cry a lot, so I knew he was tired, and so he came to sleep on me. I enjoyed having my boy. The girl was back to being herself, without being extra tired, and once the boys were up, she came to sleep on me instead of her brother.
There was still a little time until lunch when she woke up. At noon we fed them, and the girl finally ate again. Then we went back to the play area. Emmy doesn't like to be that confined and always wants to get out. I took them both out a few times today, letting them run around, running after the cat, and watching them like a hawk as the house is not child-proof. Emmy now has no problem touching the cat, but Tammy is a little more hesitant now.
Today I accidentally showered her with my water bottle. We're trying to get them to drink all day long so they don't get dehydrated, and they are eager to drink out of regular water bottles or cups like us. Tammy was lying down in bed with me, but when I put the bottle to her mouth, suddenly all that water came out and showered her. She was so startled and sat up quickly! Poor girl. After that, she refused to drink out of the bottle.
Emmy was tired early again and lay down at the same time as his brother, just after 1 pm, and slept on me. After he woke up, it was his sister's turn, but there were so many distractions, she just never fell asleep, and so I finally gave up trying and we returned to the living room. She had hardly eaten anything for the afternoon meal. Emmy had done the opposite, not eating at lunch, and eating the afternoon meal.
It didn't take long before Tammy got pretty cranky, not having slept, and Emmy was as well. I had two crying babies hanging on me! Twirling them around helps, but they're getting pretty heavy, so I can only do that for so long. And then we found the perfect way to distract them. The alphabet mat was in cubes right now, and they started playing with them, Tammy putting ball after ball inside through the holes, while Emmy prefered taking the cubes apart. I have quite a long video I'm trying to upload right now. They were so concentrated while at work, and so serious about it, and stayed busy that way for a long time. It was fun to watch them! But then the crankiness returned.
None of the kids had come over to play with them today, which was a shame. I guess the novelty of having them here has worn off. When Paul came over, they were so happy and wanted him to hold them both. I've uploaded a cute clip where Paul tells Tammy how much she looks like me and that she was gonna be a great leader like her Mom. They did not want to let him go.
At 5 pm it was dinner time, and I was able to get Tammy to eat some, though not a great quantity. Paul had gone to great length to pick up their prescription he could only get in one place, and they only had one box instead of the needed two. Tonight we gave them the first dosis of that diarrhea medication, and on Saturday morning our driver will check at two other pharmacies whether they have it there.
Then it was bathtub time. Tammy was so extremely tired that she came out first tonight. She did not appreciate being the first one in bed. Then the boys followed, and they all got some milk to drink. Tonight it did not take long for them to fall asleep.
Then it was time for us to get to work, moving around furniture and preparing for our Malian family to come over at 9 pm. We got the rest of the Christmas cookies out, and made hot chocolate for them. And I attached my computer to the TV so that we could look at all the pictures of 2020, and watch the video clips. Obviously, most were pictures and videos of the babies, and it didn't take long before they got tired of them. We still spent 2 hours doing this, and being far from done, with some kids complaining, others being bored or falling asleep. Paul is an early riser and not used to being up late, so he fell asleep a few times as well.
We stopped at 11 pm and started talking about the past year, what our highlights were. Then I handed out the papers we had written a year ago (actually when we came in January), and some shared what hopes or aspirations had been fulfilled, and which ones hadn't. Then I handed out the papers to write down our goals for next year, and we also talked about what we'd like to see in the year to come. We prayed, thanking God for the past year, and sang a simple Bambara song saying "thank you, Daddy". And then it was nearly midnight, and we counted down the last 10 seconds before cheering. We all hugged each other and wished each other a Happy New Year. Then we sat down again and prayed for this new year, though not many prayed aloud at that point. Then we said good night to each other, and the kids left to go to bed.
And while everyone on the base went to bed, I went to work, going through the pictures, choosing the best and editing and uploading them. And that's how I'll be going to bed at 4 am this morning.
