17 months 22 days

Last night as I was goig to bed, something came up and so it was way too late before I made it to bed. The little ones still got up at 8 am, I made their breakfast, and we fed them. Then I went back to bed, and Randy downstairs with them. At 10:30 he put the boys to bed, while the girl stayed up with Daddy. I try to alternate between feeding them jars and cooking for them, as I still have lots of jars to use up. Today was jar-day, as we still had leftovers for the adults to eat. Before my alarm could wake me up, I was up because of the boys waking up, so I took them downstairs and put their jars into the warmer, before going back to bed. A few minutes later I was up again, when Sonja arrived, and I opened the door for her. I ended up staying up then. The food was warm, and so everyone came upstairs.

I fed Tammy and Sonja Emmy, and the girl ate it all and fast, plus cantaloupe which she loves and yoghurt. Then I put her to bed, while Emmy went downstairs with Sonja. I got the food for the adults ready and cleaned up. For a while Sonja was by herself with the boys downstairs, while we ate upstairs, then we joined them downstairs. I had fun with the boys. Sammy has been very active, moving more than usual, and seeming to be more able to pull up his knees under his body, which is the actual way to crawl. Today Randy put two small steps up (the physiotherapist always puts up steps for him), and he moved up easily, though it was slippery once on it. I'm uploading a video of it.

At 2:15 Randy started feeding Sammy upstairs, and we were feeding Emmy downstairs. Neither one really wanted to eat; I guess it was a little early. I was amazed that Sammy was not cranky and did not seem cranky. Emmy was somewhat cranky, and I put him to bed after the little he had eaten. Tammy had already woken up with Randy feeding Sammy right near her, so I took Tammy downstairs with me, while Randy put Sammy to bed. Both boys fell asleep right away, and so Tammy was with Sonja and me downstairs. And Tammy was the one most cranky today, as she was yesterday. Is it her runny nose, though it was better today? It was tough. At times she would just cry and cry and there was nothing I could do to comfort her. If only she could talk and say what's wrong. I was hoping to get some work done and let her play with Sonja, but it was not possible.

The boys woke up again just before 4 pm, and we immediately started dressing everybody to go outside. This morning there was fresh snow outside, and with temperatures rising again, today was the day to go outside with the sleds to take advantage of it. We went to the park right next to our apartment building, and were surprised at how many kids there were. The little hill had no snow left on it because of the hoards of kids sledding down. We ended up going up and down the entry into the park, which had an incline, and it worked really well, and no one else was using it. I gave them a little shove, and they'd slide down all alone, not fast, but at least a good distance, just right. Tammy was smiling all the time. We also pulled them on the flat surface, and I would run so Tammy got some speed, and again she had a big smile on her face. Today Emmy also enjoyed the sled, though he was not smiling like his sister. And Sammy did not like it too much; I don't think he was very comfortable sitting in the sled.

I also let Tammy and Emmy run around a little bit, and there mostly interested in the other kids. Emmy was pulling Tammy's sled for a little while. Tammy was getting really cranky, and so was Sammy, so we decided to return home. We hadn't been there long, but it was long enough. Tammy refused to let me put her down, and so I had to carry my heavy girl home, while Emmy happily walked home.

When we entered the building, there was a little boy with a little dog. He said he was a very friendly dog, and so Tammy and Emmy got to touch their very first dog ever. Emmy went first, cautiously and quickly touching him and retracting his hand, and I held Tammy's hand while touching him. It was great to see their reaction, and it was nice that the boy took the time to let them do that.

Back in the apartment, it was just after 5 pm and time for me to get their food ready. I figured out that Tammy was so cranky because she had hardly eaten anything either in the afternoon and was simply hungry. So instead of having them wait until I was done, they sat down in their high chairs and I quickly gave them a piece of bread, and then brought them food as soon as I had cut it. So I stayed in the kitchen, while Sonja and Randy fed them, while I cut the next item and took it to them to eat. There was a little bit left, when they went into the bathtub, and they finished it there. Then they drank the breakfast leftovers of cereal with milk, which they love doing, and the bathtub is the perfect place for it, as it's messy.

Then they went to bed, and it was another tough night. Sammy was crying a little, but he did not want milk, and was quiet, when I put him back to bed. Tammy did not want milk either and was just crying, as she does, especially when I'd walk away. Emmy was wide awake again (why?!?), and whenever I'd be there, he was messing around. He needs me to leave to sleep, while she needs me to stay, so what to do? He did not want milk either. It took a few times of coming and going before the girl finally fell asleep, and Emmy continued having fun by himself for a while, before laying down to sleep. He's woken up a few times since, just crying and crying and wanting me to hold him. I held him twice, and he'd cry again when I put him down, but quieted down after a while. He still didn't want any milk.

I got to eat my food, and get to work, and hope to go to bed earlier tonight, as I have to be up in the morning tomorrow.